How does the altitude affect the value of g (acceleration due to gravity)?
g = GM/R^2 Since acceleration is inversely proportional to the square of the distance the object is from the centre of the earth and altitude, changes the value of r, g approximates to 9.78 m/s2 at sea level at the equator and 9.83 m/s2 at sea level at the poles (as the earth is a slightly flattened sphere as a result of its spin). The traditional value of g is a mean of these values. To model the effects of altitude, add the height in metres to the value of R given below and find a calculator that copes with big numbers! Note that: G = gravitational constant = 6.67300 × 10^-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 M = mass of Earth = 5.9742 × 10^24 kilograms R = radius of Earth = 6 378.1 kilometers Enjoy!
