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How does gravity affect weight?

Answer 1

More gravitational field means that a given mass will weigh more.

An object's weight is given by this equation: #w=mg#

Gravitational field strength at a distance, r, from a centre of mass is given by this equation: #g=(GM)/r^2#

If an object is moved from a distance R away from one center of mass and placed a distance R away from the center of a smaller mass, then g will be smaller and the weight of the object will be smaller. If an object is closer to a center of mass, then r will be smaller and g will be larger.

As an actual illustration, an astronaut on Earth would weigh 833 N, but on the moon, that same astronaut would weigh only 136 N.

Using #m=w/g# the mass of the astronaut is #833/9.8=85 kg#.

So the weight on the moon (#g_M=1.6 Nkg^-1#) is: #w_M=mg_M=85×1.6=136 N#

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Answer 2

Julia Aguilar

Gravity affects weight by exerting a force on an object, pulling it toward the center of the Earth or another massive body. The weight of an object is the measure of the gravitational force acting on it. Therefore, the strength of gravity directly influences an object's weight; the stronger the gravitational force, the greater the weight, and vice versa.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.