Lesson 5 of 12 · Space
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseGravity and Orbits
Gravity and Orbits.
🎯 Your mission
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
⚡ The twist
Gravity is invisible — but it shapes everything.
Mind = Blown
🌌 If you could drive a car straight up at highway speed, you'd reach space in under an hour.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you check: which is closer?
What You'll Learn
Gravity keeps planets in orbit around the sun and moons in orbit around planets. The strength of gravity depends on mass and distance between objects.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Steps
Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.
Calculate your weight on different planets by multiplying your Earth weight by each planet's gravity factor. Make a bar graph of the results.
Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.
Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What keeps planets in orbit around the sun?
Where you see this in real life
GPS, weather forecasts, and the seasons all rely on this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find a constellation in the sky. Look it up. Tell someone its story.
For the dinner table
“If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Ready?
Gravity and Orbits
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
Full screen — no distractions
Checkout complete lesson on Space for 5th Grade
Get the full Space track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.