Why do things fall if gravity is not a force?

In general relativity, gravity is not a force between masses. Instead gravity is an effect of the warping of space and time in the presence of mass. Without a force acting upon it, an object will move in a straight line. This explains why all objects fall at the same rate.

What causes an object to accelerate when falling?

The force of gravity causes objects to fall toward the center of Earth. The acceleration of free-falling objects is therefore called the acceleration due to gravity.

When gravity is the only force acting on the falling object?

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object but weight is a measure of the gravitational force that is exerted on an object. When the only force acting on an object is gravity the object is said to be in free fall. The rate of acceleration due to gravity is 9.8m/s.

What forces will act on a falling object?

The two forces acting on the object are weight due to gravity pulling the object towards earth, and drag resisting this motion. When the object is first released, drag is small as velocity is low, so the resultant force is down. This means the object accelerates towards earth.

Is gravity a force or an acceleration?

Gravity is a force that causes acceleration. It is measured by the force that it applies per kg of matter. On earth, 9.8 Newtons of force are applied to each kilogram of mass. This causes objects to accelerate at 9.8ms^-2 towards the earth.

Does gravity cause objects to accelerate?

When objects fall to the ground, gravity causes them to accelerate. In fact, its velocity increases by 9.8 m/s2, so by 1 second after an object starts falling, its velocity is 9.8 m/s. By 2 seconds after it starts falling, its velocity is 19.6 m/s (9.8 m/s + 9.8 m/s), and so on.

What factors affect acceleration due to gravity?

The acceleration due to gravity depends on the terms as the following: Mass of the body, Distance from the center of mass, Constant G i.e. Universal gravitational constant.

What factors affect the rate of fall of an object?

Drag and gravity are two factors that affect the rate an object falls through air. If the gravity (relative to Earth’s gravity) is greater, the rate would change very quickly from slow to fast, but if the gravity is weaker, it would change slower.

How does gravity affect falling objects How does the force of gravity between Earth and an object change as the mass of the object increases?

Since the gravitational force is directly proportional to the mass of both interacting objects, more massive objects will attract each other with a greater gravitational force. So as the mass of either object increases, the force of gravitational attraction between them also increases.

What is the acceleration of a free falling object?

The Acceleration of Gravity. It was learned in the previous part of this lesson that a free-falling object is an object that is falling under the sole influence of gravity. A free-falling object has an acceleration of 9.8 m/s/s, downward (on Earth).

Why does a freely falling observer feel no force while accelerating?

Since the freely falling observer is accelerating, in his frame, there appears a fictitious force that acts on him upward and is proportional to his mass, but gravity acts on him downward and it’s proportional to his mass as well! Therefore, they will cancel each other out, and he feels no force, even though he’s accelerating!

What is the acceleration due to gravity in physics?

The acceleration of free-falling objects is therefore called the acceleration due to gravity. The acceleration due to gravity is constant, which means we can apply the kinematics equations to any falling object where air resistance and friction are negligible. This opens a broad class of interesting situations to us.

Why do objects accelerate once they hit the ground?

The gravitational force exerted on Earth is constant, thus the object will continue to accelerate, until this gravitational force can be canceled out. When the object hits the ground, the contact force and the gravitational force balances, providing a zero net force, therefore it will stop. They do only accelerate once.