wunder beta🍎 Gravity and Falling Objects
What goes up must come down — but why? Discover gravity, the invisible pull that drops apples, and the surprising truth about how things fall.
What you’ll learn
- The Pull of GravityExplain that gravity is a non-contact force pulling objects toward Earth's centre, and that weight measures that pull.Gravity is a non-contact force that pulls objects toward each other. Earth's huge gravity pulls everything down toward its centre, which is why things always fall. Your weight is the strength of gravity's pull on you, so it changes where gravity is stronger or weaker.
- Everything Falls the SameExplain that gravity accelerates all objects equally when air resistance is ignored, and why a feather falls slowly on Earth.Galileo showed that, ignoring air resistance, gravity makes all objects fall at the same speeding-up rate, whatever their weight. On Earth a feather falls slowly only because air resistance pushes up on it. Remove the air, as on the Moon, and a feather and a hammer fall together.
- Gravity Beyond EarthDescribe how gravity's strength changes weight, and how gravity shapes space.The Moon's gravity is about one sixth of Earth's, so the same person weighs far less and can leap high there. Your body does not change — only the pull of gravity does. Gravity also reaches across space, holding the Moon in orbit around Earth and Earth around the Sun.
Questions this course answers
What kind of force is gravity?
Gravity pulls objects toward each other without any touching, which makes it a non-contact force.
What does your weight measure?
Weight is the pull of gravity on you, which is why weaker gravity means less weight.
With no air in the way, a heavy ball and a light ball dropped together will...
Gravity speeds up all objects at the same rate, so without air they land together whatever their weight.
On Earth, why does a feather fall more slowly than a stone?
The wide, light feather meets lots of air, so air resistance slows its fall — not gravity.
Why could astronauts leap so high on the Moon?
The Moon's gravity is about one sixth of Earth's, so the same push sends astronauts much higher.
Besides making things fall, what else does gravity do?
Gravity reaches across space to hold the Moon in orbit around Earth and Earth around the Sun.
Grounded in trusted sources
- BBC Bitesize
- Britannica Kids
- The Physics Classroom
- NASA
Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.
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