5.2.1

Gravity

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Mass

The mass of an object is a measure of the amount of matter it contains. The mass of an object is constant. It is the same on Earth, on the Moon and in space.

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Amount of matter

  • An object's mass is a measure of the amount of matter that it contains.
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Inertia

  • An object's mass is also a measure of how difficult it is to change the object's motion.
  • This is called inertia.
  • An object with a high mass has more inertia than an object with a lower mass.
  • It is difficult to move an object with a high mass (and high inertia), and once it is moving, the object’s motion is hard to stop.

Weight - Examples

Weight = mass x gravitational field strength.

Gymin'

  • This would be easier on the Moon, where the gravitational field of strength is lower.

Experiment

  • Both balls used are subject to the same gravitational field of strength.

Centre of Mass - Examples

Although the mass of an object is spread out across its body, it is possible to find a single point where all of the mass appears to be. This point is called the object’s centre of mass.

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All in a single point

  • The centre of mass is the point through which an object’s weight appears to act.
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Hanging objects

  • If an object is hung from a string, it will hang with its centre of mass directly below the point that it is hung from.
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Toppling over

  • An object will fall over if its centre of mass is outside its base.
  • An object will fall off a surface if its centre of mass isn’t over the surface.

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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