Imagine you just won the lottery! You’d probably jump up and down with excitement, right? But have you ever wondered why you land back on the ground instead of floating away into space? The answer is gravity!
Gravity is a force that pulls everything towards the ground. It’s like an invisible superglue that keeps everything on Earth in place, from air and water to animals and people. Without gravity, nothing would stay on Earth, and life as we know it wouldn’t exist.
Over 300 years ago, an English scientist named Isaac Newton was the first to study gravity seriously. There’s a famous story about him sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell and hit him on the head. This made him wonder why the apple fell down instead of going up or sideways. He realized that a special force, which we now call gravity, was pulling the apple towards the ground.
Newton discovered that gravity affects all objects, no matter how heavy they are. Whether it’s an apple, a bowling ball, or a feather, if you let go of it, it will fall to the ground. This led to the saying, “What goes up must come down.”
Let’s see gravity in action with a simple experiment. Grab a tennis ball or any small, round object. Hold it in your hand and toss it in the air. Watch it fall back to the ground. Now, hold it over your head and let go. It falls again. Try throwing it to the left or right. No matter where you throw it, the ball will always end up on the ground.
Near the Earth’s surface, gravity is the reason why all unsupported objects fall down. Even if you throw something in a different direction, gravity will eventually pull it back to the ground. Gravity has a hold on everything around us!
So, next time you jump or throw a ball, remember that gravity is the invisible force making sure you come back down to Earth.
Gravity Hunt: Go on a gravity hunt around your home or classroom! Find different objects like a pencil, a toy, or a book. Hold each object up and let it go. Watch how gravity pulls each one to the ground. Talk about what you see with a friend or family member. Do all the objects fall in the same way? Why do you think that happens?
Gravity Art: Create a piece of art that shows how gravity works. Use crayons, markers, or paint to draw a picture of something falling to the ground, like an apple from a tree or a ball being thrown. Share your artwork with the class and explain how gravity is working in your picture.
Question Time: Think about these questions and discuss them with a friend or family member: What would happen if there was no gravity on Earth? How would our lives be different? Can you think of any places where gravity might be different, like on the Moon or in space?
