Gravity and Balance
Newton’s Toy Box
Activity 2
Vocabulary
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Gravity
Gravity support force
Newton (N)
Pound (lb)
Weight
What forces are acting on you right
now?
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Gravity (pulling us downward to Earth)
Magnetism (Earth’s magnetic field)
Are you actually falling at this
moment because of gravity force?
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No, there is a force that opposes gravity.
This force is called the gravity support
force. This is an upward force.
Gravity support force is equal in strength
to gravity’s downward pull. These forces
are balanced.
What is the source of gravity
support force (sitting in your chair)?
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The chair and/or the floor
Is the force of gravity on you equal
to the support force of the chair on
you? How do you know?
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Each of us is not moving; so, the two
forces acting on each of us are balanced.
What happens if a chair leg is weak
and the chair cannot produce a
support force equal to your weight?
Why?
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The chair would break, and we would fall
to the ground. The two forces, gravity
and the gravity support force, would be
unbalanced.
Activity Sheet 2
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We will be using a spring scale, wooden
ball, and a bag.
We will be working in groups of 4.
Read the activity sheet and begin the
activity.
Remember to read the scale on the
Newton side instead of grams.
Newton (N); Pound (lb)
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Newton is a metric unit of weight.
Pound is a standard or customary unit of
weight in the English system.
Weight
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Weight is the strength of the gravity force
pulling down on an object.
Exit Slip or Homework
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Architects and engineers must keep
gravity in mind when they design building.
For example, the gravity support force of
the walls must be strong enough to hold
up the roof.
Find examples in your neighborhoods
where the gravity support force was not
strong enough (hint: any object that has
collapsed)