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Science Launch G5 / Week 05 / Monday
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Week 05 · Gravity Pulls Down

Monday

Which way is down?
// Earth pulls everything toward its center
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Which way is down?

Rocket spins a globe on his desk and stops it with one finger. "Here we are," he says. Then he flips it. "And here are kids on the other side."

"They are upside down," he says. "Why don't they fall off into space?"

Raven tilts her head to look at the bottom of the globe. "What do you notice about where their feet point?" she asks.

Nova draws glowing arrows from tiny people all over the globe. Every arrow points inward. "I found a pattern," she says.

Rocket follows the arrows with his eyes. "They all aim at the middle," he says.

Gravity pulls toward the center

Gravity is the force by which a planet draws objects toward its center.

Earth's gravity pulls on you, your pencil and every object near Earth's surface. It pulls them toward the middle of the planet.

Earth's gravity is what keeps you on the ground and what makes things fall.

"Down" depends on where you stand

Earth is shaped like a ball. So "down" means toward Earth's center, wherever you are.

A kid on the other side of the world feels pulled toward the center too. To them, they are right side up.

Nobody falls off. Gravity pulls everyone toward the same middle.

FOLLOW THE ARROWS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where does Earth's gravity pull objects?
A kid on the other side of Earth drops a ball. Which way does it fall?
StatementTrue or false?
Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward Earth's center.?
People on the bottom of the globe must hold on so they do not fall off.?
"Down" points toward Earth's center everywhere on Earth.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEGravity pulls toward the center. So down means the same thing everywhere, even though the arrows point different ways.
Draw it
First, draw a circle for Earth.
Add four stick people around the edge, feet on the ground.
Draw an arrow from each one pointing to the center.

Picture the pull

Picture arrows on a globe, one for each person.

Every arrow points toward the center of Earth.

That is why "down" is a different direction in different places, but always toward the middle.

GRAVITY THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What does Earth's gravity pull objects toward?
A kid in Australia drops a ball. Which way does it fall?
Why does a dropped pencil fall to the floor?
StatementTrue or false?
Earth is shaped like a ball.?
People on the other side of Earth fall off.?
Gravity keeps you on the ground.?
Down means toward Earth's center.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEGravity pulls toward Earth's center, so nobody falls off.
The force that pulls objects toward a planet's center is ____.
Earth is shaped like a ____.
Draw Earth as a circle. Draw four people standing on different sides. Add an arrow from each person pointing toward the center.

Great work imagining the whole planet. Tomorrow we will learn how gravity changes on the Moon.