The gravity of Earth, denoted by , is the net acceleration that is imparted to objects due to the combined effect of gravitation (from mass distribution within Earth) and the centrifugal force (from the Earth's rotation). It is a vector quantity, whose direction coincides with a plumb bob and strength or magnitude is given by the norm .
In SI units this acceleration is expressed in metres per second squared (in symbols, m/s2 or m·s−2) or equivalently in newtons per kilogram (N/kg or N·kg−1). Near Earth's surface, the acceleration due to gravity, accurate to 2 significant figures, is . This means that, ignoring the effects of air resistance, the speed of an object falling freely will increase by about per second every second. This quantity is sometimes referred to informally as little (in contrast, the gravitational constant is referred to as big ).
The precise strength of Earth's gravity varies with location. The agreed upon value for is by definition. This quantity is denoted variously as , (though this sometimes means the normal gravity at the equator, ), , or simply (which is also used for the variable local value).
The weight of an object on Earth's surface is the downwards force on that object, given by Newton's second law of motion, or (). Gravitational acceleration contributes to the total gravity acceleration, but other factors, such as the rotation of Earth, also contribute, and, therefore, affect the weight of the object. Gravity does not normally include the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun, which are accounted for in terms of tidal effects.
Variation in magnitude
A non-rotating perfect sphere of uniform mass density, or whose density varies solely with distance from the centre (spherical symmetry), would produce a gravitational field of uniform magnitude at all points on its surface. The Earth is rotating and is also not spherically symmetric; rather, it is slightly flatter at the poles while bulging at the Equator: an oblate spheroid. There are consequently slight deviations in the magnitude of gravity across its surface.
Gravity on the Earth's surface varies by around 0.7%, from 9.7639 m/s2 on the Nevado Huascarán mountain in Peru to 9.8337 m/s2 at the surface of the Arctic Ocean. In large cities, it ranges from 9.7806 m/s2 in Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, and Singapore to 9.825 m/s2 in Oslo and Helsinki.
Conventional value
In 1901 the third General Conference on Weights and Measures defined a standard gravitational acceleration for the surface of the Earth: gn = 9.80665 m/s2. It was based on measurements done at the Pavillon de Breteuil near Paris in 1888, with a theoretical correction applied in order to convert to a latitude of 45° at sea level. This definition is thus not a value of any particular place or carefully worked out average, but an agreement for a value to use if a better actual local value is not known or not important. It is also used to define the units kilogram force and pound force.
Calculating the gravity at Earth's surface using the average radius of Earth (), the experimentally determined value of the gravitational constant, and the Earth mass of 5.9722 kg gives an acceleration of 9.8203 m/s2, slightly greater than the standard gravity of 9.80665 m/s2. The value of standard gravity corresponds to the gravity on Earth at a radius of .
Latitude
The surface of the Earth is rotating, so it is not an inertial frame of reference. At latitudes nearer the Equator, the outward centrifugal force produced by Earth's rotation is larger than at polar latitudes. This counteracts the Earth's gravity to a small degree – up to a maximum of 0.3% at the Equator – and reduces the apparent downward acceleration of falling objects.
The second major reason for the difference in gravity at different latitudes is that the Earth's equatorial bulge (itself also caused by centrifugal force from rotation) causes objects at the Equator to be further from the planet's center than objects at the poles. Because the force due to gravitational attraction between two bodies (the Earth and the object being weighed) varies inversely with the square of the distance between them, an object at the Equator experiences a weaker gravitational pull than an object on one of the poles.
In combination, the equatorial bulge and the effects of the surface centrifugal force due to rotation mean that sea-level gravity increases from about 9.780 m/s2 at the Equator to about 9.832 m/s2 at the poles, so an object will weigh approximately 0.5% more at the poles than at the Equator.