Students use water balloons and a length of string to understand how the force of gravity between two objects and the velocity of a spacecraft can balance to form an orbit. They see that when the velocity becomes too great for gravity to hold the spacecraft in orbit, the object escapes the orbit and travels further away from the planet.

Simply put, is the force of the earth that pulls objects towards its core, preventing them from floating off into space. For many adults, explaining the concept of gravity to a child can seem daunting.

However, through the use of the following gravity experiments for kids, children will gain a better grasp of gravity’s role in our everyday lives while also having some fun!Paperclip Gravity ExperimentMost gravity experiments don’t require many materials. For this experiment you’ll use:. Armored warfare download free pc. A stick.

Paper clips. StringFirst, tie one end of a piece of string to a paperclip and tie the other end around the stick. Repeat twice more so that the stick has three paper clips attached.

Hold the stick up in the air, allowing the paperclips hang freely. Tilt the stick back and forth.As is demonstrated, Earth’s gravity is continuously pulling our bodies and the objects around us to its core. Even when the stick is tilted, Earth’s gravitational pull exerts its force on the paper clips pulling them straight down toward the Earth.Gravity Water DropThis next experiment requires just three items:. A paper cup. Water. A pencilOn the outside of the cup near the bottom, poke a hole using a pencil. Placing a finger over the hole, fill the cup with water.

Remove your finger from the hole. You should find that the water flows out of the cup in an even, steady stream (if the water is not quite flowing smoothly, try poking a new hole and refill the cup with water). Next, holding your finger over the hole, fill the cup once again with water. Drop the cup, removing your finger from the hole at the same time. You’ll find that as the cup falls, no water flows out of the hole.When you first held the cup in the air and removed your finger, gravity pulled the water down towards the ground and water pressure forced it out of the hole.

However, when the cup and water fell at the same speed, there is no water pressure. Without this force, the water remains inside the cup as gravity pulls both to the ground.Galileo’s ExperimentThis next requires the following:. A sturdy chair. Stopwatch. Balloon.

Various household itemsGather items of differing weights and sizes, such as a ball, action figure or doll, and a balloon. Have your child stand on top of the chair while holding the items. One at a time, have your child drop each item from the same height. Keep track of how long it takes each item to reach the ground.Though many believe that larger, heavier items will hit the ground first, this is not true. The rate of Earth’s gravitational pull on all objects is the same regardless of weight. Given the absence of air resistance, each object should reach the floor at the same time. Do your finding support this?Testing the laws of gravity (or!) can be done in a variety of hands-on, entertaining ways around the house and at school.

Experiments for kids like those above are a great way to get kids learning and asking important questions about the world around them.

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Your group will watch various objects (pens, pennies, erasers, etc.) fall from the same height to see if they reach the ground at the same time. They also will roll marbles down an inclined plane to see if they reach the bottom at the same time.

Background

Earth’s gravity pulls on all objects. Near the surface of the earth, the acceleration of all objects due to gravity is the same. Drop a penny and a pen from the same height and they will hit the ground at the same time. When objects travel down an inclined plane, gravity is pulling them downward, but the plane is exerting a force on the object, which makes it fall along the plane rather than straight down. Two marbles, regardless of size, will accelerate at the same rate. The two marbles should reach the bottom of the plane at the same time.

Activity Instructions

Set-Up

There are two parts to this activity. The first is just to get kids thinking about gravity. Hold up a penny and a pen and ask your kids: “Do you think these two things when dropped would hit the ground at the same time?” Record student responses on a blackboard or big sheet of paper.

Drop the penny and the pen and ask your kids: “What happened?” Results may vary, but you should tell your group that all things, when dropped near the surface of earth, accelerate at the same rate due to earth’s gravity.

Have kids pair off and make predictions about what will happen when they drop various objects: pencils, erasers, or any items that are safe to drop. They can write their predictions in a science notebook or they can make a data chart with two columns: predictions and results. Then ask students to drop these items. One kid in each pair should do the dropping and the other should observe. Then they can switch.

Activity

The second part of this activity is the marble race down the plane. Give each pair of kids a Falling for Gravity activity sheet, a couple of marbles, a ruler, and a binder or books to create an inclined plane and point them toward the student web page. If supplies are short, have groups of four do the activity.

Discuss the results.

Related Activities

Have kids watch a Newton’s Apple film clip on Gravity. The clip reiterates the concept in this lesson and extends the examples of gravitational pull.