Gravitational Field Strength & Planets
- The strength of gravity on different planets after an object's weight on that planet
- Weight is defined as:
The force acting on an object due to gravitational attraction
- Planets have strong gravitational fields
- Hence, they attract nearby masses with a strong gravitational force
- Because of weight:
- Objects stay firmly on the ground
- Objects will always fall to the ground
- Satellites are kept in orbit
The Effect of Gravity on Earth
Objects are attracted towards the centre of the Earth due to its gravitational field strength
- Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g differs between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space, including the Moon because of the planet or moon's mass
- The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field strength
- A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards the centre of that planet or moon
- g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is roughly the same
- The strength of the field around the planet decreases as the distance from the planet increases
- However, the value of g on the surface varies dramatically for different planets and moons
- The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg
- The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the Earth
- This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than on the Earth
- The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and Saturn) is more than on the Earth
- This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the Earth
Values of Gravitational Field Strength
Value for g on the different objects in the Solar System
- On such planets such as Jupiter, an object’s mass remains the same at all points in space
- However, their weight will be a lot greater meaning for example, a human will be unable to fully stand up
Comparison of g on Earth & Jupiter
A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up
Examiner Tip
You do not need to remember the value of g on different planets for your exam, the value of g for Earth will be given in the exam question.