The force that pulls objects toward the Earth is gravity. More precisely, Earth’s gravity is the attraction between Earth’s mass and other masses, directed generally toward Earth’s center. It gives objects weight and causes unsupported objects to accelerate downward.
Near Earth’s surface, gravitational acceleration is about 9.8 meters per second squared. Ignoring air resistance, a falling object’s downward speed increases by roughly 9.8 meters per second every second. Gravity affects every object, although heavier objects experience a greater force; their greater inertia balances that difference, so objects in free fall accelerate at nearly the same rate.
Isaac Newton described gravity as a universal attractive force and used it to explain both falling objects and planetary orbits. Albert Einstein later described gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy. A common mix-up is confusing gravity with weight: gravity is the interaction, while weight is the force gravity exerts on a particular object. Earth’s rotation also slightly changes the effective gravity measured at different locations.