Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity

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written by Tom Henderson

This tutorial introduces the concept of gravitational acceleration. This tutorial explains the notation, numerical value, and how the numerical value of the gravitational acceleration is obtained.

This tutorial includes two widgets: one where one can see the strength of the acceleration of gravity from any location on Earth, and another one where one can see a comparison of the acceleration of gravity of planets in our solar system to everyday objects, and to other objects in the solar system. The tutorial also includes a pictorial example, along with the widgets, along with links to tutorials to other general Physics concepts, simulations, and student activities.

This is part of The Physics Classroom. This web site also includes interactive tools to help students with concepts and problem solving, worksheets for student assignments, and recommendations for simple introductory laboratories.

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Motion in One Dimension = Gravitational Acceleration	- High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Tutorial - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners	- text/html - image/gif	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 1996 Tom Henderson
Keywords:: P/T graph, Position vs. Time, V/T graph, Velocity vs. Time, constant acceleration, free fall, gravitation, gravitational field, gravity, position graph, tutorial, velocity graph
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created March 28, 2011 by Tom Henderson
Record Updated:: June 15, 2012 by Zachary Davis
Last Update when Cataloged:: July 1, 2011
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4B. The Earth

6-8: 4B/M3. Everything on or anywhere near the earth is pulled toward the earth's center by gravitational force.

4F. Motion

6-8: 4F/M3a. An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion, or both.
9-12: 4F/H1. The change in motion (direction or speed) of an object is proportional to the applied force and inversely proportional to the mass.

4G. Forces of Nature

9-12: 4G/H1. Gravitational force is an attraction between masses. The strength of the force is proportional to the masses and weakens rapidly with increasing distance between them.

9. The Mathematical World

9B. Symbolic Relationships

9-12: 9B/H5. When a relationship is represented in symbols, numbers can be substituted for all but one of the symbols and the possible value of the remaining symbol computed. Sometimes the relationship may be satisfied by one value, sometimes by more than one, and sometimes not at all.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11114">Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity. July 1, 2011.</a>

AIP Format

T. Henderson, (1996), WWW Document, (https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm).

AJP/PRST-PER

T. Henderson, Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity (1996), <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm>.

APA Format

Henderson, T. (2011, July 1). Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm

Chicago Format

Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity. July 1, 2011. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Henderson, Tom. Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity. 1996. 1 July 2011. 1 May 2025 <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Author = "Tom Henderson", Title = {Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {July 1, 2011}, Year = {1996} }

Refer Export Format

%A Tom Henderson %T Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity %D July 1, 2011 %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Henderson, Tom %D July 1, 2011 %T Physics Classroom: The Acceleration of Gravity %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 July 1, 2011 %9 text/html %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/1DKin/U1L5b.cfm

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