🔬 Science & TechnologyUPSC 2003Space & Space Technology

Assertion (A): The weight of a body decreases with the increase of altitude on earth. Reason (R): The earth is not a perfect sphere.Codes:

aBoth A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A ​
bBoth A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A
cA is true but R is false
dA is false but R is true.
✓ Correct answer: b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A
ExplanationAssertion (A) is true: Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object, and gravity weakens as the distance from the Earth›s center increases.Since altitude represents a greater distance from the Earth›s center, the force of gravity and thus the weight of the body diminish.Reason (R) is true: The Earth is not a perfect sphere, being slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator, this fact does not primarily explain the decrease in weight with altitude.The primary reason lies in the inverse square law of gravity, which states that the force of gravity between two objects decreases proportionally to the square of the distance between them.Hence, Reason (R) does not correctly explain the Assertion (A).221

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