An object with mass m in a gravitational field will experience a gravitational force F = mg which is equal to its weightProvided that no other force acts on the object it will experience an acceleration according to Newton's second law of motion of a = F/m.The object will therefore fall freely with an acceleration of g, so g may be described as the acceleration of a freely falling object due to gravity.
Free fall in a gravitational field.
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Specification: OCR Physics A (H556), A-level, 5.4.2 Newton's law of gravitation and 5.4.1 Point and spherical masses. Topic: Gravitational Fields.
Key terms in this lesson
- capacitor
- A component that stores electric charge, consisting of two conducting plates separated by an insulator, called a dielectric.
More in Gravitational Fields
- Gravitational Fields.
- The Strength of a Gravitational Field.
- The Earth's gravitational field
- Gravitational Potential Energy
- Gravitational Potential.
- Equipotentials.
- The potential gradient.
- Newton's Law of Gravitation.
All 14 lessons in Gravitational Fields · All OCR A-level Physics topics