Gravity and Weight

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

The opposite of what you expect is often what happens.

What you'll learn

Gravity is the force that pulls objects toward each other. On Earth, gravity pulls everything toward the center of the planet, giving objects their weight.

Key words

gravity
A force that pulls things down toward the Earth.
force
A push or pull that can make an object move or stop.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what happens if you double the force?

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

Get ready

🧰 What you need

weights
spring scale

⚠️ Safety first

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

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Test friction: pull a weighted box across 4 surfaces (carpet, tile, sandpaper, foil). Use a spring scale to measure the force needed for each.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Watch carefully for any changes and note the time.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Create a data table to organize your measurements.

Question 1 of 3

What is gravity?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

What causes an object to accelerate?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What does friction do?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔥 A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: The Six Simple Machines All lessons

🎯

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✨ 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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