Question

Shoudl the gravitational field strength (g) be smaller when you are at a higher altitude?

If I am at a higher altitude would g be smalelr or larger?

Answer 1

Yes

Explanation:

Gravitational field strength goes as `1/r^2`, so as `r` increases, the gravitational field strength decreases.

Answer 2

Yes, but the change can be negligible in certain cases.

Explanation:

The formula for the gravitational field is `g=(G*m)/r^2`
where`G` is the gravitational constant (`6.67*10^-11`), `m` is the mass of the object projecting the gravitational field (Earth in our case), and r is the radius from the center of mass of the object projecting the gravitational field to the object being acted upon (center of the earth to the object).

The difference in altitudes changes the `r` value in the formula. However, since the radius of Earth to just the surface on Earth itself is roughly 6,371 km (or 6,371,000 meters since the formula uses standard units), the addition of 50 meters in altitude will not significantly change the strength of the gravitational field.