NCEA Level 3 Physics Mechanics 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The term that refers to the force of attraction between two objects due to their mass is gravity. Gravity is a fundamental force in physics that acts between any two masses, pulling them toward each other. This force is proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers, as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation.

Gravity is responsible for various phenomena, such as the falling of objects toward the Earth, the orbits of planets around the sun, and even the tides due to the gravitational pull of the moon. This attractive force is crucial in understanding not only terrestrial mechanics but also astrophysics and cosmology.

Inertia, on the other hand, refers to the resistance of an object to any change in its state of motion and is not directly related to the force of attraction between masses. Weight is the force exerted by gravity on an object, which depends on the mass of the object and the acceleration due to gravity; it is not the force of attraction itself but rather a consequence of it. Friction is a force that opposes the relative motion of two surfaces in contact and has no relation to the attraction between masses.