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GRAVITY

LESSON 6:  WHAT IS GRAVITY AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

HOW DO WE CALCULATE GRAVITY?

FOR YOUR NOTEBOOK:

Lesson 6:  How do we figure out gravity?

Gravity - an attraction that exists between all objects in the universe. 

  • What does gravity depend on?

    • Mass - The amount of matter in the objects you are observing

      • The more mass you have, the more gravity you have.​

      • The less mass you have, the less gravity you have.

    • Radius - The distance between the centers of the objects you are observing

    • Gravitational Constant - 6.67x10 to the -11 

  • Law of Universal Gravity - The Equation that represents the gravitational pull from any object.  (It's how we know our weight on other planets)

  • Weight - Your downward force on a planetary body.  This comes from Newton's 2nd Law F=ma.....

    • Weight = Your (mass) x (gravitational acceleration of the planet you're on.)

CRASH COURSE

CALCULATING GRAVITY

In your notebook, write the equation for calculating gravity.  Use this video to teach you who came up with this equation and then copy their sample problem with Mars.  

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The goal here is to get you to see where we gained our understanding of gravity.

CHECK YOUR WEIGHT ON OTHER PLANETS

REMEMBER IT'S YOUR MASS X THE GRAVITY ON THOSE PLANETS!

Planet and Moon
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