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Why do astronauts in an orbiting space station experience weightlessness?
AThey are in free fall around the Earth with the station
BThere is absolutely no gravity at that altitude
CTheir mass becomes zero in orbit
DThe Earth exerts no force on them
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. They are in free fall around the Earth with the station
1. The astronaut and the station have the same large orbital velocity and acceleration.
2. Both are falling freely around the Earth, so the floor exerts no reaction force, giving R = 0.
3. This free-fall condition produces weightlessness, not an absence of gravity.
4. Rule out option B: gravity is present and is exactly what keeps them in orbit.
_Source: Samacheer Kalvi (TN SCERT) Class 10 Science, Unit 1 "Laws of Motion", p.18_
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