Gravity Pulls Everything the Same Way

Lab Brief #5

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Energy never disappears — it just hides somewhere else.

What you'll learn

Gravity pulls every object towards the centre of the Earth, which is why "down" points to a different direction in Australia than in Canada. It acts on everything with mass, whether the object is moving, still, or falling.

Key words

gravity
The force that pulls objects with mass towards each other.
centre of the Earth
The point that gravity pulls everything on the surface towards.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: which will move faster, and why?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

globe
small figures
notebook

⚠️ Safety first

Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "gravity" and "centre of the Earth" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Drop objects while standing on opposite sides of a globe model and mark the direction each falls. Explain why people on both sides feel that they are the right way up.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Gravity pulls objects towards the:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Someone standing in Australia feels down as:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🎢 You feel weightless on a roller coaster because you and the seat are falling at the same speed.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is why airplanes can fly and why rockets reach space.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): This week, find one thing in your house that turns one kind of energy into another.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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Gravity Pulls Everything the Same Way

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