Question

Define acceleration due to gravity. Explain how it varies with

i) altitude ii) latitude iii) depth​

Answer 1

Answer:

i) The gravitational acceleration decreases with altitude, as shown by the solid line in Figure 1 (left). g is equal to 9.5 m/s2 at 100 km altitude, which is 9% larger than 8.7 m/s2. However, at 500 km altitude, g is close to 8.45 m/s2, which is close to 3% smaller than 8.7 m/s2

ii)At different points on Earth's surface, the free fall acceleration ranges from 9.764 m/s2 to 9.834 m/s2 depending on altitude and latitude, with a conventional standard value of exactly 9.80665 m/s2 (approximately 32.17405 ft/s2). Locations of significant variation from this value are known as gravity anomalies.

iii)If we go deeper, g decreases. Acceleration due to gravity also decreases with height and it also varies with latitude. ... The acceleration due to gravity decreases linearly with depth and at the center of earth it becomes zero which may seem to you counter-intuitive