It’s the force of attraction between any two objects in the universe due to their masses.
Universal force — acts whether you like it or not.
The force of attraction between two masses is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
Where:
The acceleration experienced by an object due to Earth’s gravitational pull.
Where:
Value on Earth: 9.8 m/s²
Gravitational acceleration decreases as you go higher.
Where h is the height above Earth’s surface.
Your phone on the table is attracted by Earth — that’s gravity. Even your fries have weight.
PYQ Type: Unit of G?
Ans: Nm²/kg² (2021 Shift MCQ)
When you drop your phone and it falls at 9.8 m/s² — that’s g pulling it down.
PYQ Type: Value of g on Earth?
Less gravity at airplane altitude than ground.
Energy due to the position of an object in a gravitational field.
Negative because force is attractive.
The minimum speed needed to escape Earth’s gravitational pull.
For Earth: vₑ ≈ 11.2 km/s
2021 Shift 2: Unit of gravitational constant G (theory MCQ)
2022 Shift 1: Value of g at Earth’s surface
2023 Dec: No direct Q — but fair game for theory filler MCQs
You need to hit 11.2 km/s to escape Earth’s gravity — like a rocket launch.
PYQ Type: (Occasional MCQ in concept papers)
| Formula | Meaning |
|---|---|
| \( F = G \frac{m_1 m_2}{r^2} \) | Universal Gravitational Force |
| \( g = \frac{G M}{R^2} \) | Acceleration due to gravity |
| \( g_h = g \left(1 - \frac{2h}{R}\right) \) | g at height |
| \( U = -\frac{G m_1 m_2}{r} \) | Gravitational potential energy |
| \( v_e = \sqrt{\frac{2 G M}{R}} \) | Escape velocity |
| Concept | GenZ Example |
|---|---|
| Gravity attracts all masses | Earth pulling your sneakers |
| g value decreases with altitude | You weigh a fraction less on an airplane |
| Escape velocity | How fast a rocket must go to ditch gravity |
| Negative Potential Energy | You always get pulled back by gravity |
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