Verified Solution • 2025–26 Session moderate

Q7.2: NCERT Physics - Part 1 GRAVITATION 7.2 Solution: Choose the correct alternative: (a) Acceleration due to gravity …

Choose the correct alternative: (a) Acceleration due to gravity increases/decreases with increasing altitude. (b) Acceleration due to gravity increases/decreases with increasing depth (assume the earth to be a sphere of uniform density). (c) Acceleration due to gravity is independent of mass of the earth/mass of the body. (d) The formula

-GMm(1/r_2 - 1/r_1)

is more/less accurate than the formula

mg(r_2 - r_1)

for the difference of potential energy between two points

r_2

and

r_1

distance away from the centre of the earth.

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** (a) Decreases (b) Decreases (c) Mass of the body (d) More **Step-by-Step Explanation:** (a) Acceleration due to gravity at height

h

is

g_h = g(1 - 2h/R_e)

. It is clear that

g

decreases with increasing altitude [citation:1]. (b) Acceleration due to gravity at depth

d

is

g_d = g(1 - d/R_e)

. It is clear that

g

decreases with increasing depth [citation:1]. (c) Acceleration due to gravity

g = GM/R^2

is independent of the mass of the body. It depends only on the mass of the Earth and its radius [citation:1]. (d) The formula

-GMm(1/r_2 - 1/r_1)

is more accurate than

mg(r_2 - r_1)

because the latter is valid only for small heights where

g

can be considered constant [citation:1].

All Questions in this Chapter

Q7.1 Q7.2 Q7.3 Q7.4 Q7.5 Q7.6 Q7.7 Q7.8 Q7.9 Q7.10 Q7.11 Q7.12 Q7.13 Q7.14 Q7.15 Q7.16 Q7.17 Q7.18 Q7.19 Q7.20 Q7.21

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