Gravity & Weight (Edexcel GCSE Physics)

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Gravity on Different 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

5-1-4-weight-force

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

  • 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

Gravitational field strength diagram, downloadable AS & A Level Physics revision notes

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

gravitational field strength, downloadable AS & A Level Physics revision notes

A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up

Exam 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.

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Ashika

Author: Ashika

Ashika graduated with a first-class Physics degree from Manchester University and, having worked as a software engineer, focused on Physics education, creating engaging content to help students across all levels. Now an experienced GCSE and A Level Physics and Maths tutor, Ashika helps to grow and improve our Physics resources.