Kepler’s Second Law and Transverse Acceleration – Rankers Physics
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Kepler’s Second Law and Transverse Acceleration

Assertion (A): The radius vector from the sun to a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal times interval.nReason (R): Transverse (perpendicular to radius vector) acceleration of the planet is zero.
(1) Both (A) & (R) are true and the (R) is the correct explanation of the (A)
(2) Both (A) & (R) are true but the (R) is not the correct explanation of the (A)
(3) (A) is true but (R) is false
(4) Both (A) and (R) are false

Solution:

Assertion (A): This statement is Kepler's Second Law, which is a direct consequence of angular momentum conservation. So (A) is true.nReason (R): For a central force, like gravity, the force acts along the radius vector, meaning no transverse force component exists. Thus, transverse acceleration is zero. So (R) is true.n(R) explains (A) because zero transverse acceleration leads to conservation of angular momentum, which implies Kepler's Second Law.

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