Session 1: Experiments on gravity concept 1

Objective 1:  Discuss the mental representation that your students have about gravity

Explanation

Although we are subject to the earth’s attraction force all the time, this concept seems vague for children. Through several experiments, students will test several aspects of gravitation force: attraction force between the earth and the objects …

An example of a misconception is that we are pushed by the atmospheric pressure towards? The earth.

Material

• Ball
• Feather
• Sheet of paper
• Heavy weight
• Big object with a small weight
• Tennis ball
• Newspaper
• Bathroom Scales (if possible non electronic)

Maximum duration

30 minutes

Main question to be asked

What happens if you release an object?

Introduction/Starters

Ask your students to mime gravity …

Main activities

• Ask your students to perform several actions
• Choose an objet and release it. What happens?
• Take a sheet of paper and a small marble. Let them fall at the same time
• Describe, what happen?
• Throw something light in the air. What happens?
• Jump in the air, What happens?

Ask your students:

How they explain what they have experienced ?

To stimulate the discussion, if you made the experiments on force before, you can give them one or even two bathroom scales and ask them to weight themselves. What is this value they see on the scale ?

(NB: From 10 years old, children may be reluctant to weight themselves in front of other kids, in this case you take a heavy object)

Conclusion/Plenary

Earth is attracting us and all objects.

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