gravitational forces

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gravitation potential energy

According to Georgia State University, gravitational potential energy is the energy an object possesses because of its position in a gravitational field. This is most commonly in reference to an object near the surface of the Earth, where the gravitational acceleration is assumed to be constant at about 9.8 m/s2.

air resistance

Air resistance is the frictional force air exerts against a moving object. As an object moves, air resistance slows it down. The faster the object's motion, the greater the air resistance exerted against it.

gravity

Gravity is a force which tries to pull two objects toward each other. Anything which has mass also has a gravitational pull. The more massive an object is, the stronger its gravitational pull is. Earth's gravity is what keeps you on the ground and what causes objects to fall.

acceleration

In physics or physical science, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or derivative with respect to time) of velocity. It is thus a vector quantity with dimension length/time². In SI units, acceleration is measured in meters/second² using an accelerometer.

weight

Mass and Weight. ... The weight of an object is the force of gravity on the object and may be defined as the mass times the acceleration of gravity, w = mg. Since the weight is a force, its SI unit is the newton. Density is mass/volume.

newton law of universal

Newton's law of gravitation. (n t'nz) The principle that expresses the force of gravitational attraction between two bodies as a function of their mass and their distance. ... Newton's Principle of Gravitation is an example of an inverse square law. Also called law of gravitation , law of universal gravitation.

kinetic eneregy

The energy possessed by a body because of its motion, equal to one half the mass of the body times the square of its speed. kinetic energy in Science Expand. kinetic energy. (kə-nět'ĭk) The energy possessed by a system or object as a result of its motion.

normal force

The normal force is the support force exerted upon an object that is in contact with another stable object. For example, if a book is resting upon a surface, then the surface is exerting an upward force upon the book in order to support the weight of the book.

distance

The scientific definition of distance describes the length of a line between two points, or how far apart two objects are. The scalar measurement uses the curved line of the path between two locations as opposed to a vector, or straight line which begins and ends with '0.'

inverse-square relationship

inverse-square law in Science Expand. inverse-square law. The principle in physics that the effect of certain forces on an object varies by the inverse square of the distance between the object and the source of the force. The magnitude of light, sound, and gravity obey this law, as do other quantities.

mass

mass definition. In physics, the property of matter that measures its resistance to acceleration. Roughly, the mass of an object is a measure of the number of atoms in it. The basic unit of measurement for mass is the kilogram.

gravitation

movement, or a tendency to move, toward a center of attractive force, as in the falling of bodies to the earth.

potential energy

potential energy. The energy possessed by a body as a result of its position or condition rather than its motion. A raised weight, coiled spring, or charged battery has potential energy. Compare kinetic energy. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary.

force

strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement.

acceleration due to gravity

the acceleration of a falling body in the earth's gravitational field, inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the body to the center of the earth, and varying somewhat with latitude: approximately 32 feet (9.8 meters) per second per second. Symbol: g. Expand. Also called gravity.

orbit

the curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a star, planet, or moon, especially a periodic elliptical revolution.


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