Calculating The Acceleration of Gravity
Newton's second law of motion tells us that F=ma. We know that
when it comes to gravitational force between two objects that
We can set these two equations equal to each other so that
 |
Where m on the left hand side is equal to m1 on the right hand side, so these terms will cancel. g on the left hand side is the acceleration of gravity |
If we solve for g, we get an equation that gives us the acceleration due
to gravity that acts on an object.
When you look at this equation you should notice immediately that the acceleration
of gravity will change only with an object's distance from the earth. The
objects mass will not effect the acceleration of gravity.