MEMPHIS JUNIOR SCIENCE ASSOCIATION
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Gravity

Materials 
  • A large bowl (anything with a large opening will work)
  • Stretchy fabric 
  • Large rubber bands or thread 
  • Marbles, small balls, or circular objects of different sizes and masses
Activity Directions 
  1. Watch the Crash Course video on gravity linked below.
  2. Test your understanding of gravity by playing the Quizizz game linked below. 
  3. Perform the Gravity Activity (Note: The experiment video linked below also walks you through the activity.)
    1. Take the large bowl and spread the fabric over the opening, using the rubber band or thread to fasten the fabric in place. You should end up with a smooth surface of fabric. 
      1. This fabric surface represents the fabric of space.
    2. Take a small marble and gently roll it across the surface of the fabric. Notice that the marble travels smoothly across in a straight path.
      1. This represents a planet’s movement when there are no other bodies near it.
    3. Next, take a heavier marble or ball and place it on the fabric. You should notice that the heavier object sinks into the fabric.
      1. This represents how objects with high masses, like the Sun, create a gravitational field in space. 
    4. Take the small marble you used before and try gently rolling it across the fabric without moving the heavy marble. What do you notice? You should see that the small marble, now, does not move in a straight path anymore. The small marble’s path is altered into a circular orbit of sorts due to the heavy marble.
      1. This represents how a smaller object in space is affected when it comes into the gravitational field of a larger object. For example, imagine that the big, heavy marble is the Sun and the small marble is the planet Mars. Mars’s path in space is affected due to the gravitational pull exerted by the Sun. 
    5. Using different marbles of different masses, try experimenting to see what results you get. You should see that the object with the smaller mass is always attracted to the object with the greater mass in the fabric of space. Also, notice that objects closer to the central mass move faster than objects farther away from the dip in the fabric.  
    6. Have fun experimenting!

​Quizizz Link: https://quizizz.com/join/quiz/5f10a92753c1fe001b7e8f99/start?studentShare=true ​
Suggested Videos: 
​Crash Course Astronomy Video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAbZxQHlVw&feature=youtu.be ​               
​
Experiment Video: https://youtu.be/OKXVRu6JL54
Published 7.18.2020

Author: Rupali Venkatesan

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  • Home
  • About Us
  • Memphis, TN
    • Science Storytime
    • Science After School
    • Y on the Fly
    • Senior Technology Education Program
    • K-5 Science Challenge
    • MS Science Challenge
    • Girls’ Science Discovery Day
    • Elementary Invitational
  • Museum Partnerships
    • Huntsville, AL
    • Jackson, MS >
      • Science Spectacular
      • Sensational Science
    • St. Louis, MO
    • Little Rock, AR
    • Lexington, KY
  • challenges
    • Little Rock Challenge
    • Huntsville Challenge
    • Memphis Elementary Challenge
    • Memphis Middle School Challenge
  • Calendar
  • Gallery
  • Science at Home
    • Science Projects >
      • Make Your Own Volcano!
      • Make Your Own Potato Clock!
      • Grow Your Own Sugar Crystal!!
      • Dye Your Own Flowers!
      • Dissolving Egg Shells!
      • Make a pH indicator!
      • Pepper and Soap Experiment!
      • Sundial!
      • Coke and Mentos!
      • Carbon Sugar Snake!
      • Extracting Iron from Cereal!​
      • Blowing up Balloons!
      • Leaf Transpiration!
      • Create a Density Column!
      • Make Your Own Compost!
      • Make Your Own Ice Cream!
      • Maka a Lava Lamp!
      • Skittles Science Experiment!
      • Walking Water!
      • Rolling a Can with Electricity!
      • Ice Tray Battery!
      • Imploding Can!
      • Steel Wool in Vinegar!
      • Invisible Ink!
      • Supercooling Water!
      • Picking Up Ice Cubes!
      • Polar Bear Blubber!
      • Fireworks in Water!
      • Cleaning Pennies!
      • Cleaning Pennies - Extended!
    • Astronomy >
      • Constellation Cups
      • Layers of the Earth!
      • Moon Phases Flipbook!
      • Layers of the Atmosphere!
      • Black Holes!
      • Gravity!
      • Eclipses!
      • Nebulae!
      • The Solar System
      • Clouds in a Jar!
      • Mars!
      • Telescopes!
      • Solar Oven!
      • Stars!
      • Comets!
      • Astronauts!
      • Polar Lights!
      • Venus!
    • Anatomy >
      • The Skeletal System
      • The Respiratory System
      • The Digestive System
      • The Circulatory System
      • The Endocrine System
      • The Nervous System
      • The Integumentary System
      • Lung Cancer
      • Lukemia
      • Lymphoma
      • Pancreatic Cancer
      • Renal Cancer
      • Bile Duct Cancer
      • Mitosis and The Cell Cycle