Gravitational Acceleration

As discussed in a previous notes section, acceleration occurs when a force is applied to an object. This includes the force of gravity that the earth exerts on any object in its gravitational field.

• What is the value of acceleration due to gravity? The gravitational acceleration is 9.8 ms-2.
  • In Paper 1 gravity is assumed to be 10ms-2
  • The variable for gravitational acceleration is g, rather than a.
    • Often, it is not given, rather, the student is assumed to know it.
• The gravitational acceleration always points downward (towards the earth’s center/surface)
• The gravitational acceleration is only 9.8ms-2 on the earth.
  • Different planets have different gravitational accelerations, due to their different masses and sizes affecting the properties of their gravitational fields.