Table of Contents (click to expand) Why does weight change with location? Are you lighter on the equator? Why weight varies with location Yes, your weight can vary in different places in the world due to different gravitational forces in those areas
For example, Colombo, Sri Lanka would weigh less than Kathmandu, Nepal because of the different relative weights in the two cities
We usually think of gravity as a standard force that affects everyone in the world equally and pulls us down towards the earth at a speed of 98 m/s2
However, there are actually small variations in gravity across the planet, meaning your weight can vary
Why does weight change with location?
The reason for this was that the gravitational acceleration was stronger in French Guiana than in France, so the pendulum swung slightly faster, causing the clocks to speed up
When you’re standing at the equator, you’re about 1% lighter than at the poles, so the closer you are to the equator, the less you weigh (and the faster your pendulum clocks will run)
2 The Earth’s Surface If there are ice sheets or cracks in the crust where the mantle flows upward on the Earth’s surface, gravity is usually lower in that area
This “hollow” part of the Earth’s crust, devoid of metal and hard rock and largely supported by ice, creates a region of low gravity
Gravity analysis is actually an important aspect in the field of mining, as it helps to discover potential mine locations that are rich in heavy metals or oil
Rich mineral deposits increase the relative gravity of an area (Credit: chalabala/Fotolia) Also read: Why does free fall make you weightless, even in the presence of gravity? Are you lighter on the equator?
Similarly, the rotation of the Earth can also reduce the perceived gravity (a measure of acceleration toward the center of the Earth) of a region
This is because the centrifugal force on an object due to the Earth’s rotation is greatest at the equator
This mostly cancels out the acceleration due to gravity, but it’s the difference between the two that causes your weight to decrease slightly closer to the equator
Also read: If there is no gravity in space, why don’t things collide? Why weight varies with location If you are in Colombo, Sri Lanka, you will weigh just a tiny bit less than if you were in Kathmandu, Nepal again
So if your weight goes up a bit after your trip, check out this model below to see if it has to do with the gravity of the region or if you just ate too much
Can you answer some questions based on the article you just read?
References (click to expand) Does gravity vary across the Earth’s surface?
miteduthe shape of the Earth and its gravitational field
University of California, San Diego Share this article Suggested Reading The Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration of the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel Check on Amazon The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor Check on AmazonH2OC Check on Amazon Was this article helpful?YesNo
Table of Contents 1 How does a change in location affect mass and weight? 2 Does weight change when an object’s location changes? 3 How does an object’s mass affect its gravitational force? relative to location, but its mass cannot?6 How does changing an object’s mass affect its acceleration?
How does changing location affect mass and weight?
If you change your location with respect to gravity, the mass will remain the same, but the weight will not
For example, your body mass is a set value, but your weight on the Moon is different than on Earth
How does the location of an object affect its weight?
The force with which gravity pulls an object near the Earth or another celestial body toward the center of the body
The weight of an object depends on its mass (the amount of matter it consists of) and the strength of the gravitational force
Does the weight change when the object’s location changes?
Weight is a measure of how gravity affects the mass of an object
Mass is the amount of matter in an object and does not change with location
If an object is moved to a place with a greater gravitational force, such as Jupiter, its weight will increase, but its mass will still remain the same
How does the mass of an object affect its motion?
Heavier objects (objects with more mass) are more difficult to move and stop
Heavier objects (greater mass) resist change more than lighter objects
How does the mass of an object affect its gravitational force?
Since the gravitational force is directly proportional to the mass of the two interacting objects, more massive objects will attract each other with greater gravitational force
So, as the mass of any object increases, the force of gravitational attraction between them also increases
Why does the mass of the object not change?
As masses approach infinity with increasing speed, it is impossible to accelerate a material object to (or beyond) the speed of light
Which varies according to the mass or weight of the location?
Although the mass of an object remains constant, its weight varies with its location
The Moon’s smaller mass and radius compared to Earth’s mass together cause the same object on the Moon’s surface to weigh one-sixth of its weight on Earth
The weight of an object is always directly proportional to the mass of the object
that is, the weight of an object will increase or decrease if the mass of the object increases or decreases
Let be the mass of the object and the weight of the object
Weight is a measure of mass and the effect of the Earth’s gravitational force on matter
Mass only measures the amount of matter
What is the measurement of matter whose value depends on the force of gravity?
How can the weight of an object change while the mass of that object remains the same?
The weight of an object will change if it is moved further from Earth or placed on another planet, as the force of gravity on the object will change
However, the mass of an object will remain the same whether the object is on Earth, in space, or on the Moon
How does a change in the mass of an object affect its acceleration?
The acceleration of an object is directly dependent on the total force acting on the object and inversely on the mass of the object
As the force acting on an object increases, the acceleration of the object increases
As the mass of an object increases, the acceleration of the object decreases
How does a change in mass affect the motion of a projectile?
The greater the weight of an object, the greater the effect of gravity on it
Gravitational force acts on the object to stop its upward motion and pull it back to earth, limiting the vertical component of the projectile
Table of Contents1 How does location affect weight?2 Why does weight change from place to place?3 Your weight will change when you go to the moon Why?4 Does weight change on the moon?5 Would you weigh more if the Earth stopped spinning ?
How does location affect weight?
Thus, more massive objects naturally weigh more in the same place; the further an object is from Earth, the less its weight
The weight of an object at the South Pole of the Earth is slightly greater than its weight at the equator because the polar radius of the Earth is slightly smaller than the equatorial radius
The mass of a body is constant because it is a property of the body, but the weight is the product of the acceleration due to gravity and the mass, which can vary from place to place because the acceleration due to gravity is different for different places
Why does your weight change depending on where you are in space?
Your weight is a measure of the force of gravity between you and the body (planet) you are standing on
Every object in the universe with mass attracts every other object with mass
Your weight depends on the planet’s gravitational pull
Does your weight vary by location?
The amount of matter in our body is our mass – this never changes with location
Weight = mass x gravity
The weight varies with the amount of gravity at the location, which varies slightly with how far it is from the center of the planet
Since the Moon is smaller than the Earth, it has less gravitational force
In fact, the Moon has only 1/6 the gravity of Earth
This means that you weigh six times less on the Moon than on Earth!
But if you measure your weight on Earth and on the Moon, your weight on the Moon will be much less because of the weaker gravitational force,” Baldridge said
Remember that mass and weight are not the same; the mass of an object will remain the same, but the weight will change if the force of gravity changes
No matter where you are in space, your mass is always the same: mass is a measure of the amount of matter that makes up an object
As you travel away from the Earth’s surface, your mass remains the same, but your weight decreases as the gravitational force decreases
Would you weigh more if the Earth stopped spinning?
If the earth did not rotate, we would be heavier because we would feel the full force of gravity
Because there is more centrifugal force at the equator that cancels out gravity, your total weight is even less at the equator compared to the poles