Read the statements and answer the questions that follow.
PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences
Problem
Read the statements and answer the questions that follow.
(i) Define the weight of a body.
(ii) Explain, with reference to the Earth-body system, why the weight of a body decreases as it is taken to increasing altitudes.
(iii) Identify the physical quantities on which the rate of decrease of weight with altitude depends, and state how each quantity influences the rate.
(iv) The Earth is imagined to expand to twice its present radius while its mass remains unchanged. Predict qualitatively how the weight of a given body at an altitude of 5km above the new surface would compare with its present-day value at the same altitude, and justify your answer.