Question

What do you mean by the term acceleration due to gravity? Explain the meaning of the following statement ' acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 ms^-2.

Answer 1

Definition of acceleration due to gravity:

1. Every body is attracted to the center of the earth with a force known as gravitational force.
2. This acceleration that a falling body undergoes is termed acceleration due to gravity denoted by ‘g’.
3. All bodies fall towards the center of the earth with the same acceleration of 9.8 m/s² irrespective of the size and mass.
4. Similarly when any body is thrown up they move with the negative acceleration ( retardation) g = - 9.8 m/s².

The meaning of the following statement ' acceleration due to gravity is 9.8 ms^-2 is that the velocity of a falling body increases by 9.8 m/s in every second of its motion.