Which of the following describes gravitational field strength?

Gravitational field strength is defined as the force of gravity acting on an object per unit mass. It is essentially the amount of force that gravity exerts on a unit mass at a specific point in space. When we refer to gravitational field strength, we are considering how strong the gravitational pull is at a given location, which directly influences how much force a mass experiences due to gravity.

The concept is typically expressed in units of Newtons per kilogram (N/kg), which indicates that for every kilogram of mass, the strength of the gravitational pull can be quantified as a certain number of Newtons. This relationship highlights why gravitational field strength is fundamentally connected to the force of gravity and the mass experiencing it.

The other choices relate to different physics concepts but do not accurately capture the definition of gravitational field strength. For example, the amount of mass an object has relates to its inertial properties rather than the gravity it experiences. The speed of an object in free fall relates to the motion of an object under the influence of gravity but does not define gravitational field strength itself. Lastly, the total weight of an object is a product of its mass and the gravitational field strength it is within, so while connected, it does not define gravitational field strength directly.