Earth's Gravity
Earth's Gravity - Related Videos
00:55
Acceleration due to Gravity on Earth
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2023
Newton's second law is closely related to his first law of motion. It mathematically gives the cause-and-effect relationship between force and changes in motion. Newton's second law is quantitative and is used extensively to calculate what happens in situations involving a force. All external forces acting on a system add together to produce a net force Fnet. A larger net external force produces a larger acceleration. This acceleration is directly proportional to, and in the same direction as,...
01:21
Acceleration due to Gravity on Earth
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2023
According to Newton's law of gravitation, the gravitational force on a body is proportional to its mass. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration produced by an external force is inversely proportional to the force. Hence, the acceleration of an object under an external force of gravitation is independent of its mass. The acceleration of an object close to the Earth, because of the Earth's gravitational pull, is called the acceleration due to gravity. It is always directed...
01:20
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface
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2023
An object's apparent weight is its weight measured by a spring balance at its location. It is different from its true weight, the force with which the Earth pulls it, because of the Earth's rotation. Mathematically, an object's apparent weight equals its true weight minus the centripetal force that keeps it in a circular motion along with the Earth's surface every 24 hours. The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's angular speed. Since the...
02:26
Responses to Gravity and Touch
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2020
Gravitropism: Plant Responses to Gravity Higher plants sense gravity using statocytes, cells found near the vascular tissue in shoots, and in the root cap columella in roots. Statocytes contain starch-filled organelles called statoliths. The statoliths settle, or sediment, at the bottom of the statocyte in the direction of gravity. Statolith sedimentation triggers a signaling cascade, resulting in the asymmetrical distribution of the plant hormone auxin across root and shoot tips. This...
00:58
Center of Gravity
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2025
The center of gravity (COG) of an object is the point where the object's total weight is considered to be concentrated. Knowing the location of the center of gravity is useful when predicting the behavior of a moving object or designing static structures. In a uniform gravitational field, the center of gravity is similar to the center of mass (COM); yet, these two points can be positioned differently. For example, the Moon's center of mass lies very close to its geometric center, but its center...
FAQs
The force becomes weaker as the distance between Earth’s center and another object increases, following an inverse-square relationship. This means that doubling the distance reduces the force to one-fourth, while increasing either mass strengthens the interaction. The relationship explains why gravitational effects are strongest near Earth’s surface and progressively weaker throughout surrounding space.
Mass describes the amount of matter in an object, whereas weight is the gravitational force acting on that mass. Because Earth’s gravitational acceleration can differ with position, the same object can experience different weight while retaining the same mass. This distinction helps physics experiments separate an object’s intrinsic properties from gravitational effects.
During free fall, an unsupported object accelerates downward because Earth’s gravity acts on it. Projectile motion combines this downward acceleration with the object’s existing motion, producing a curved path rather than uninterrupted straight-line travel. Studying these situations allows physicists to examine gravitational acceleration and predict how objects move near Earth’s surface.
Gravity continually influences both satellites and the Moon, preventing their motion from being independent of Earth. Investigations of orbits examine how this attraction shapes their paths through space. Orbital studies therefore extend gravity research beyond falling objects, showing how the same interaction governs motion near Earth and at much greater distances.
A free-fall investigation observes the motion of an unsupported object and determines how its speed changes during the fall. The measured acceleration can then be compared with the average surface value of about 9.8 m/s². This procedure connects direct observations of motion with Newtonian predictions and provides a practical way to study gravity in physics.
Tide investigations examine gravitational effects on Earth’s oceans as part of the broader behavior of the Earth-Moon system. They extend gravity research beyond laboratory-scale motion and surface falling experiments. By including tides alongside orbital and free-fall studies, physicists can investigate how gravitational interactions influence large natural systems over space and time.
Gravity provides a framework for studying Earth as a physical planet rather than only analyzing motion near its surface. Geophysics uses gravity-related investigations to examine Earth-scale behavior, while planetary-structure research considers how mass and gravitational effects relate to planets. These applications broaden the subject from classroom mechanics to questions about planetary organization and dynamics.