Question

Many people accept that the acceleration due to gravity near the surface of the earth is constant. Even if we ignore air resistance, objects at different locations on earth may experience different accelerations. Give an example and explain why the acceleration may be more or less than the textbook value.

Answer 1

the radius of earth at the poles is shorter than the earth's radius at the equator, so the acceleration due to gravity at poles will be less compared to the acceleration at equator

Answer 2

also the people on the equator are zipping along at a pretty good clip tangential to the earth, while people on the poles are just spinning in place and getting dizzy

people who are out & about during the day are closer to the sun than people who are in the night, so the sun's gravitational pull varies. it also matters how close you are to the moon (hence the tides).

Answer 3

students in the front row of the physics classroom are more affected by the gravitational pull of their physics teacher than students in the back row.

(Caution: fat jokes do not go over well with physics teachers... ymmv)

Answer 4

So explain why acceleration may be more or less than the textbook value? (9.8m/s/s)