Which force is responsible for pulling objects towards the Earth?

Which force is responsible for pulling objects towards the Earth?

• A. Electromagnetic force
• B. Normal force
• C. Gravitational force
• D. Applied force

Answer: (C)

The gravitational force is the fundamental interaction that attracts two bodies with mass towards one another. In the context of Earth, this force acts on all objects, pulling them towards the center of the planet. It's proportional to the masses of the objects involved and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation. For objects near the Earth's surface, the gravitational force can be approximated as the weight of the object, which is the product of its mass and the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s²). This is predominantly why everything from a dropped ball to a falling apple moves towards the ground—because of gravity acting on them. In contrast, the electromagnetic force, while significant in many aspects of atomic and molecular interactions, does not play a role in the gravitational attraction between a mass and the Earth. The normal force is a contact force that acts perpendicular to the surface of contact, often balancing gravity rather than causing objects to move towards the Earth. The applied force refers to any external push or pull on an object, which can cause it to move, but it does not inherently have a direction towards the Earth without the influence of gravity. Therefore, the correct force associated with

The gravitational force is the fundamental interaction that attracts two bodies with mass towards one another. In the context of Earth, this force acts on all objects, pulling them towards the center of the planet. It's proportional to the masses of the objects involved and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation.

For objects near the Earth's surface, the gravitational force can be approximated as the weight of the object, which is the product of its mass and the acceleration due to gravity (approximately 9.8 m/s²). This is predominantly why everything from a dropped ball to a falling apple moves towards the ground—because of gravity acting on them.

In contrast, the electromagnetic force, while significant in many aspects of atomic and molecular interactions, does not play a role in the gravitational attraction between a mass and the Earth. The normal force is a contact force that acts perpendicular to the surface of contact, often balancing gravity rather than causing objects to move towards the Earth. The applied force refers to any external push or pull on an object, which can cause it to move, but it does not inherently have a direction towards the Earth without the influence of gravity. Therefore, the correct force associated with