Lesson 1 of 6 · Spacetime
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseGravity as a Universal Force
Spacetime.
🎯 Your mission
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
⚡ The twist
Up there, the rules of down here stop working.
Mind = Blown
🪐 A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?
What You'll Learn
Every mass attracts every other mass. The force grows with the product of the masses and falls with the square of the distance between them. This one law explains a falling apple, the Moon's orbit and the shape of galaxies alike.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Calculate how the gravitational force between two objects changes when the separation doubles, triples and halves. Then plot force against distance for a fixed pair and describe the curve's shape.
Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.
Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 2If the distance between two masses doubles, the gravitational force becomes:
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.
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Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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Gravity as a Universal Force
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
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