The force of gravity acts on all apples on an apple tree. Some apples are twice as far from the ground as others. These twice-as high apples, for the same mass, have

Question

The force of gravity acts on all apples on an apple tree. Some apples are twice as far from the ground as others. These twice-as high apples, for the same mass, have

A) 1/4 the weight.

B) 1/2 the weight.

C) practically the same weight.

Answer 1

the average g = 9.8 m/s^2. which is good enough average acceleration due gravity for certain height near the surface of earth. so the weight must be same for all apples.

However, if your apple is above troposphere then g starts decreasing in noticeable.

gh = g (1-2h/R) See Newton's law of gravitation.

Answer 2

Weight = mg

g varies with the inverse squared distance from the center of the Earth

For the two apples that distance doesn't vary much so g will be about equal for both apples

So the weight will practically be the same