What is the force that attracts a body toward the Earth called?

What is the force that attracts a body toward the Earth called?

• A. Friction
• B. Mass
• C. Weight
• D. Energy

Answer: (C)

The force that attracts a body toward the Earth is called weight. Weight is a gravitational force that acts on an object due to the planet's mass. It can be defined mathematically as the product of an object's mass and the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.81 m/s² on the surface of the Earth). When an object is held above the ground and then released, it accelerates downwards because of this gravitational attraction. This force ensures that all objects, whether they are small or large, are pulled towards the center of the Earth, resulting in what we identify as weight. The other choices refer to different concepts: friction is a force that opposes the motion between two surfaces in contact, mass is the amount of matter in an object and doesn’t directly measure the force; and energy is a wider concept that refers to the capacity to do work. Each of these is distinct from the concept of weight, which is specifically linked to gravitational attraction.

The force that attracts a body toward the Earth is called weight. Weight is a gravitational force that acts on an object due to the planet's mass. It can be defined mathematically as the product of an object's mass and the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.81 m/s² on the surface of the Earth).

When an object is held above the ground and then released, it accelerates downwards because of this gravitational attraction. This force ensures that all objects, whether they are small or large, are pulled towards the center of the Earth, resulting in what we identify as weight.

The other choices refer to different concepts: friction is a force that opposes the motion between two surfaces in contact, mass is the amount of matter in an object and doesn’t directly measure the force; and energy is a wider concept that refers to the capacity to do work. Each of these is distinct from the concept of weight, which is specifically linked to gravitational attraction.