AP Physics 1: Algebra-Based Flashcards: Gravitational Force
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 19 cards to help you master important concepts.
What property of an object's motion is determined by its inertial mass?
Inertial mass determines how much an object's motion resists changes during an interaction.
Card 1 of 19
All Flashcards (19)
What property of an object's motion is determined by its inertial mass?
Inertial mass determines how much an object's motion resists changes during an interaction.
When performing calculations for an object falling a few meters near Earth's surface, why can the gravitational force often be considered constant?
Because the change in the gravitational force is negligible as the object's position changes over that small distance.
What fundamental property must two objects possess to have a gravitational interaction?
Both objects or systems must have mass for a gravitational interaction to occur.
How was the equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass established?
The equivalence of inertial mass and gravitational mass has been established through experimental verification.
What is the experimentally verified relationship between inertial mass and gravitational mass?
Inertial mass and gravitational mass have been experimentally verified to be equivalent.
What principle states that an object's resistance to a change in motion is equivalent to its property that causes gravitational attraction?
The principle of equivalence states that inertial mass and gravitational mass are experimentally verified to be equivalent.
What is inertial mass?
Inertial mass, or inertia, is a property of an object that determines how much its motion resists changes when interacting with another object.
What determines the magnitude of a system's apparent weight?
The magnitude of the apparent weight of a system is the magnitude of the normal force exerted on the system.
If the distance between the centers of mass of two objects is doubled, how does the gravitational force between them change?
The gravitational force becomes one-fourth of its original value, as it is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.
What does Newton's law of universal gravitation describe?
It describes the gravitational force between two objects as directly proportional to their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers of mass.
Under what general condition does a system's apparent weight differ from the gravitational force on it?
Apparent weight (the normal force) differs from the gravitational force when the system is accelerating, changing the magnitude of the normal force.
What is the purpose of using a field model in physics?
A field models the effects of a noncontact force, such as gravity, on an object at different positions in space.
Under what condition can the gravitational force between two systems be considered constant?
The force can be considered constant if its magnitude has a negligible change as the relative position of the two systems changes.
If the mass of one of two interacting objects is doubled while the distance remains constant, how does the gravitational force change?
The gravitational force also doubles, as it is directly proportional to each mass.
According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, what is the relationship between gravitational force and the masses of two objects?
The gravitational force is directly proportional to each of the objects' masses.
What is the term for the gravitational force exerted on a small object near an astronomical body?
This specific gravitational force is called weight.
What is a field in the context of physics?
A field is a model for the effects of a noncontact force exerted on an object at various positions in space.
What is weight?
Weight is the gravitational force exerted by an astronomical body on a relatively small nearby object.
According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, what is the relationship between gravitational force and the distance between two objects?
The gravitational force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the systems' centers of mass.