Question

How does the value of ‘g’

vary with height or altitude

above the earth surface?​

Answer 1

We know that that the formula for gravity at a height h above the surface of the earth is given by:

$gh = g \: (1 - \frac{2h}{r} )$

Here gh is the acceleration due to gravity at height h above the earth's surface, g is the acceleration due to gravity at the earth's surface, h is the height from earth's surface, and R is the radius of the planet earth.

So we can say that as we move upwards, then h increases, and since it is associated with a negative sign, the value of gh decreases and becomes less than g.

Therefore gravity varies with height

$gh = g(1 - \frac{2h}{r} )$

and it decreases as we move above the surface of the earth.