Gravity is a fundamental force of nature that attracts two bodies with mass towards each other. It is what gives weight to objects and causes them to fall towards the Earth when dropped.
Gravity works by the attraction between masses. According to Newton's law of universal gravitation, every mass exerts a force of attraction on every other mass. The strength of this force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass because the acceleration due to gravity is constant near the Earth's surface, approximately 9.8 m/s². This means that, in the absence of air resistance, all objects will accelerate towards the Earth at the same rate.
Mass is the amount of matter in an object and is measured in kilograms. Weight is the force exerted by gravity on that mass and is measured in newtons. Weight can change depending on the gravitational field strength, but mass remains constant.
Gravity affects time through a phenomenon known as gravitational time dilation, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. Strong gravitational fields, such as those near a massive object like a planet or star, cause time to pass more slowly compared to weaker gravitational fields. This effect has been confirmed through experiments and observations.
