Gravitational Force: Understanding Attraction Between Objects for Class 8

Gravitational Force is one of the important forces that we experience in our daily lives. It is responsible for keeping us grounded and plays an important role in the motion of celestial bodies like planets and moons. The gravitational force acts even without physical contact and influences everything around us. 

In this article, we will understand what is gravitational force and also study real life gravitational force examples.

Table of Contents

• What is Gravitational Force?
• Real-Life Gravitational Force Examples

What is Gravitational Force?

Gravitational Force is a type of non-contact force. Forces acting between two bodies when they are not in physical contact with each other are called non-contact forces.

The concept of gravitational force was discovered by Isaac Newton.

He explained that every object attracts another object due to gravity. This force acts on all objects and pulls them towards each other.

Real-Life Gravitational Force Examples

Gravitational force can be observed in many everyday situations around us as well as in space. These examples help us understand how this force works continuously in our surroundings. 

• A pen dropped from a hand or an apple falling from a tree moves towards the Earth's center due to this force.
• Gravity keeps human feet firmly on the ground and prevents us from floating away.
• When a ball is thrown into the air, it comes back down to the ground due to gravitational force.
• Ocean tides occur due to the pull of the Moon and the Sun on the Earth.
• A ball or a car rolls down a hill due to gravity.
• The weight of a person is caused by the pull of the Earth on their body.
• Planets revolve around the Sun in their orbits due to this force.
• The Moon revolves around the Earth due to its pull.
• Artificial satellites revolve around the Earth because of its gravitational pull.

So far, we have seen what the gravitational force is, and also studied different gravitational force examples from daily life and nature. Gravitational force plays an important role in keeping objects on Earth and maintaining the motion of planets and other celestial bodies.