No, it doesn't say this. What you posted says that the particle is projected away from M at a speed of u. After the particle is moving at a speed of u, the only force it feels is the gravitational attraction from mass M.
In what direction is the force acting on the particle?
In what direction is the particle's acceleration?
cloud360 said:
The force is acting in the opposite direction of the vector r. the particle points towards the positive r. so the force points towards the negative r?
Which direction does r point? What I'm looking for are answers like "toward M" or "away from M."
The particle doesn't
point anywhere, but at the start, the particle is
moving in the direction of positive r. IOW, away from M. And yes, the attraction force is in the direction of negative r; i.e., toward M.
cloud360 said:
the particles acceleration is just in the direction of the vector r? or does the particle orbit the mass M or something.
No and no. How can the particle's acceleration be in the opposite direction of the force due to gravity?
Also, this problem is
strictly one-dimensional. It either moves in a straight line away from mass M, or it moves back in a straight line toward M. There is no orbiting going on.