Visualize the gravitational force that two objects exert on each other. Change properties of the objects in order to see how it changes the gravity force.
Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!
This activity was developed for6th grade classrooms studying the Solar System, though can probably be used in a variety of settings. Students will be able to: • Draw motion of planets, Moons and satellites. • Draw diagrams to show how gravity is the force that controls the motion of our solar system. • Identify the variables that affect the strength of the gravity. • Predict how motion would change if gravity was stronger or weaker. The Student Activity includes pre- and post-labs, but these can be excluded.
Standard 6.1.2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity and inertia in orbital motions of objects in our solar system.
This video segment, adapted from NOVA, traces the evolving history of theories about gravity and a force that may oppose it, along with our understanding of the impact of both of these forces on our expanding universe.
In this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about the effects of gravity as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson falls through a virtual hole through Earth's center.
This video lesson highlights how science can be learned from daily life experiences. It emphasizes the ways in which simple laws of physics can be understood from personal observations and experiences, and in fact it demonstrates that we use these laws as if they were built into our instincts. The video also introduces Newton's laws of motion. The title, Gravity at Work, comes from a fascinating example of two laborers working at a construction site in Pakistan. In this lesson, Newtonian equations of motion are used to determine the velocities and height achieved by the projectile in a very simple and basic manner.
In this fast-paced NASA Brain Bites_íěÖ video, an astronaut demonstrates the impact of microgravity on the use of tools in space.
This animation from KET's distance learning physics course demonstrates the mathematical formula for a scientific law as it applies to light.
Students use media resources and an in-class investigation to explore the types of energy within different types of systems. They also use the formulas for kinetic and potential energy to examine the path of a projectile.
Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your fuel runs out, as Neil Armstrong did in 1969? Our version of this classic video game accurately simulates the real motion of the lunar lander with the correct mass, thrust, fuel consumption rate, and lunar gravity. The real lunar lander is very hard to control.
Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your fuel runs out, as Neil Armstrong did in 1969? Our version of this classic video game accurately simulates the real motion of the lunar lander with the correct mass, thrust, fuel consumption rate, and lunar gravity. The real lunar lander is very hard to control.
Guess who's selected to give an exhibition of a slam-dunk during half time of the big basketball game? Phoebe! The problem is Phoebe can't jump high enough. "If only gravity didn't pull on me!" she moans. Never one to be tied down, Ms. Frizzle sends the class into space and turns the Bus into a planet - with adjustable gravity! Basketball's a snap with low gravity and a riot with no gravity at all, but when there's way too much gravity, things get really heavy! With Paul Winfield as school principal, Mr. Ruhle.
A realistic mass and spring laboratory. Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. You can even slow time. Transport the lab to different planets. A chart shows the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy for each spring.
A realistic mass and spring laboratory. Hang masses from springs and adjust the spring stiffness and damping. You can even slow time. Transport the lab to different planets. A chart shows the kinetic, potential, and thermal energy for each spring.
Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) describe mass and weight and the differences between the two in this video from NASA’s Teaching From Space initiative.
In this video from DragonflyTV, Tiana and Sammy measure, record, and analyze the results of a drop box test to find out how everyday items behave in microgravity.
Many children may have heard of black holes and already have the understanding that they are ‘bottomless wells’. If something falls into a black hole, it is impossible for it to escape—even light cannot escape and is swallowed. The lack of light is how black holes get their name. These objects are mysterious and interesting, but they are not easy to explain. This activity will allow children to visualize, and therefore help them decompose, the concepts of space-time and gravity, which are integral to understanding these appealing objects.
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.
In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, an early astronaut's experiences teach students that Newton's third law of motion—for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—applies both on Earth and in outer space.