Which of the following confirms that gravitational mass and inertial mass are equal? I posted this about three hours ago and no one answered it so I'm hoping someone can look at my answer and direct me
1.Free-fall accleration is the same throughout the universe
2.Free fall acceleration is the same at all points where the gravitational field stength is the same
3.Newton's second llaw is valid throughout the universe
4.An objects's weight can change with location but the object's mass remains constant.
Thank you for any help-I'm really confused on this question. I'm thinking its number 4 because I don't think the two freefall answers it
1. is not true
3. has nothing to do wth gravity
4. is true but says nothing about equality of inertial and graviational mass
That leaves 2.
What was your answer?
I said number 4 so I was wrong-
Thank you for explaining it and not thinking I'm a complete dope-
You made a good attempt. It was not a well-posed question. The equality of gravitational and inertial mass was a problem that bothered Einstein and led him to the Principle of Equivalence and the General Theory of Relativity.
He formulated it as follows:
The laws of physics are the same in a zero-gravity field as in an accelerating free-falling coordinate system WITH gravity.
To determine which option confirms that gravitational mass and inertial mass are equal, let's analyze each choice:
1. Free-fall acceleration is the same throughout the universe.
This statement refers to the consistency of free-fall acceleration, but it does not directly address the equality of gravitational and inertial mass.
2. Free-fall acceleration is the same at all points where the gravitational field strength is the same.
Similar to the previous option, this statement discusses the relationship between free-fall acceleration and gravitational field strength, but it does not explicitly address the equality of gravitational and inertial mass.
3. Newton's second law is valid throughout the universe.
Newton's second law (F = ma) is a fundamental principle that relates force, mass, and acceleration. It does not specifically confirm the equality of gravitational and inertial mass.
4. An object's weight can change with location, but the object's mass remains constant.
This statement directly addresses the equality of gravitational and inertial mass. If an object's weight (force due to gravity) changes according to location, but its mass (inertial property) remains constant, it implies that gravitational mass and inertial mass are equal.
Therefore, your intuition about option 4 is correct. It confirms that gravitational mass and inertial mass are equal.