Weight, Mass And Gravitational Force Flashcards
What is gravitational force?
The force of attraction between masses
What will happen if anything gets close to a planet or star and what does gravity have to with it?
The object will be attracted to the planet and star very strongly and that’s because gravity attracts all masses
There are two things that gravity does to objects. What are they?
On the surface of a planet, it makes things fall to the ground
And it also gives everything a weight
What is mass and what is it measured in?
Mass is the amount of matter in an object and it’s measured in kilograms
True or false: the mass of an object will change depending on gravitational field strength. Explain.
False, for any given object, the mass will have the same value anywhere in the universe
What is weight and what is it measured in?
Weight is the force acting on an object due to gravity– it’s the pull of gravitational force on an object. It’s measured in Newtons
How does the gravitational field strength vary along with weight? (hint: how do both vary across different conditions)
Gravitation field strength will vary with location. It’ll get stronger the closer you are to the mass causing the field and it’s stronger for larger masses. Weight depends of gravitational field strength so weight will also change with location
Why will an object weigh differently on the moon compared to on the earth (hint: what’s the gfs for the moon and earth)
The moons gravitational field strength is around 1.6 N/kg and for the earth it is around 9.8 N/kg. An object will weight less on the moon simply because the gravitational field strength on the surface of the moon is less
Weight acts from the centre of mass of an object. What is the centre of mass and where is it located?
It’s the point where you can assume an object’s full mass is concentrated. For a uniform object, it’ll be directly in the centre of the object
What do you measure weight with and what do you measure mass with?
Weight– Newton-meter
Mass– with a mass balance.
If you know the mass of an object, you can calculate its weight and the gravitational field strength it’s in. How!
With the equation: weight (N) = mass (kg) * gravitational field strength (N/kg)
If you double the mass of an object, what happens to its weight and what does this mean for weight and mass?
If you double the mass, the weight will also double. Weight and mass are in direct proportion.
What makes gravity weaker?
The distance between masses that’s attract because of gravitational field strength. The size of the masses. The larger the mass, the greater the effect gravity has.
