Gravity as a Universal Force

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Up there, the rules of down here stop working.

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

inverse square law
A relationship in which a quantity falls with the square of distance.
universal gravitation
The attraction between every pair of masses in the universe.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what would happen on the moon vs. on Earth?

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

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "inverse square law" and "universal gravitation" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

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.

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

If the distance between two masses doubles, the gravitational force becomes:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Gravitational attraction acts between:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🪐 A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Orbits Are Continuous Free Fall All lessons

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: GPS, weather forecasts, and the seasons all rely on this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it 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?”

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