Question

The acceleration due to gravity on earth will decrease as which of the following occurs. The mass of the object decreases. The distance of the object to the center of the earth increases. The acceleration due to gravity is constant. The distance of the object to the center of the earth decreases.

Answer 1

Answer:

The distance of the object to the center of the earth increases.

Explanation:

The formula for the acceleration due to gravity is given by :

$g=\dfrac{GM}{r^2}$...........(1)

Where

G is the value of universal gravitational constant

M is the mass of earth

r is the distance between object and the center of Earth

It is clear from equation (1) that the acceleration due to gravity depends only on the mass of earth and the distance between the object and the center of Earth.

The acceleration due to gravity on earth will decrease, as the distance of the object to the center of the earth increases. Hence, the correct option is (b).

Answer 2

As the distance is tripled, the gravitational acceleration decreases by a factor of 9, and so on. At the surface of the Earth, the acceleration due to gravity is roughly 9.8 m/s2.