Law of Gravity and Gravitational Potential Energy

Does gravity act upon all objects equally, or do the properties (like mass, shape) of the objects come into play?

Concept: Gravity is an attractive force and depends upon the mass of objects. The acceleration due to gravity is constant for all falling objects. Mass affects size/amount of gravity but all objects accelerate at the same rate due to gravity.

Guiding Question: How does gravity pull on all masses and what affects does it have on the masses?

Although gravity accelerates all objects at the same rate near the Earth’s surface (9.8m/s2), the force due to gravity does not pull on all objects equally. The mass of the objects and the distance between objects determine the force. The factors of air resistance and surface area will also affect the rate an object falls toward Earth when not in a vacuum.

How does the position of an object affect its potential energy?

Concept: Gravitational Potential Energy is related to the height/position of the object.

Guiding Question: Where do falling objects get their energy?

All objects contain potential energy based on their vertical position. The greater the distance an object is away from Earth, the greater its gravitational potential energy.