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Gravity and falling

  1. A big apple tree full of red apples Real photo

    Let go, and it falls

    Hold an apple, then let go. It falls down every time. Something is pulling it. That pull is called gravity. You cannot see it, but it is always there.

    1. 1
      Goes up
    2. 2
      Slows down
    3. 3
      Comes back down

    Gravity pulls toward the ground

    Gravity pulls everything down toward the ground. It pulls rain from the clouds. It pulls you back after you jump. Throw a ball up, and down it comes.

  3. Gravity pulls down

    Why a feather falls slowly

    Gravity pulls on a feather too. But air pushes up on its wide, light shape. So it drifts down slowly. Drop both below and watch the race.

  4. An astronaut jumping high on the Moon next to the moon lander Real photo

    A weaker pull on the Moon

    The Moon is much smaller than Earth. Its pull is weaker. Astronauts there could jump high. The Moon has no air. So a feather and a hammer landed together!

  5. Flat paper
    drifts slowly
    Paper ball
    lands first

    Try it: a paper race

    Hold a flat sheet of paper and a crumpled paper ball. Drop them at the same time. The ball lands first. Gravity pulls both. Air slows the flat sheet more.

For parents

Goal: Your child learns that gravity is a pull that brings everything down toward the ground, and that air can slow light, wide things.

  • Each time something falls, ask: what pulled it down?
  • Ask: is gravity a push or a pull?
  • Ask your child to guess which will land first before you drop two things.

Away from the screen: Stand by a table and drop a sock, a spoon and a sheet of paper. Then crumple the paper into a ball and drop it again. Talk about why the flat paper was slower.

Science · Pushes, pulls and falling
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