Gravity: Hands-On Activities

Gravity

People are lining up to buy the new Anti-Gravity Weight Loss Potion. Seems too good to be true.	Sam Bookman, who owns a local fitness center, is caught doing something to the potion.	The potion's inventor, Clara Swindell, claims that Sam sabotaged the potion. She sues Sam for a million dollars for ruining her potion.
In court, Clara's attorney, Doug Savage, demonstrates that where there's less gravity, like on the Moon, we weigh less.	Expert witness Julie Bean tries to show that if something has more mass (you know, "stuff"), it has more gravity.	OK, so Earth has gravity. And the Moon has even less gravity. But does everthing -- even a tiny pencil -- have gravity? And can you take gravity away from an object to make it weigh less?

Science Court challenge question:

If you went to Mars, would you weigh more, less, or the same as you do here on Earth?

Before you answer... try these simple experiments.

Weigh In

What do you weigh on other planets?

You'll Need

pencil and paper

What to Do

Use a pencil and paper to create a chart like the one below.

Record your mass in each space in the "mass" column. Your mass is equal to your weight on Earth.

Next, write down the gravity for each location in the proper column. Earth is 1, and outer space, where there is no gravity, is 0. Fill in the rest of the numbers.

Finally, multiply your mass times the gravity in each row to figure out your weight at each location.

Ask
Professor
Parsons

Click Professor Parsons for an explanation of gravity, weight, and mass.

My Weight Chart

Location
Mass Gravity Weight

Earth

blank
1
blank

Outer space

blank
0
blank

Earth's moon

blank
0.17
blank

Venus

blank
0.90
blank

Mars

blank
0.38
blank

Mercury

blank
0.38
blank

Jupiter

blank
2.36
blank

Saturn

blank
0.92
blank

Uranus

blank
0.89
blank

Neptune

blank
1.13
blank

Pluto

blank
.07
blank

To calulate your weight: mass x gravity = weight

So, what do you think?
If you went to Mars, would you weigh more,
less, or the same as you do here on Earth?

More Less The same

Location	Mass	Gravity	Weight
Earth	blank	1	blank
Outer space	blank	0	blank
Earth's moon	blank	0.17	blank
Venus	blank	0.90	blank
Mars	blank	0.38	blank
Mercury	blank	0.38	blank
Jupiter	blank	2.36	blank
Saturn	blank	0.92	blank
Uranus	blank	0.89	blank
Neptune	blank	1.13	blank
Pluto	blank	.07	blank