Gravity & Inertia

​Gravity, Inertia, & Proximity

By Tia Ward

Multiple Choice

Why might a star that is very bright appear dim when viewed from Earth?

• it is smaller than other stars

• it is blocked by the SUn

• it is very far away from Earth

• is is not made of glowing gases

Multiple Choice

Why does the Sun appear brighter than some much bigger and brighter stars?

• it gives off more light than any other star

• it is the only star that shines during the day

• it is the closest star to Earth

• it moves closer to Earth at certain times of the year

Open Ended

What would happen to a planet if gravity was the only force acting on it?

Open Ended

Why is it so crucial (important) for both of these forces (gravity & inertia) to be acting on Earth?

Open Ended

What does the weight of an object have to do with the pull of gravity?

Multiple Choice

What force will change depending on the gravitational pull acting on an object?

• mass

• kilograms

• weight

• distance

Penny Drop

Open Ended

What happened to the coin when the playing card/index card was flicked? Why?

COIN DROP - Background Info

• In the coin drop the penny is at rest sitting on top of the card. Watch it as long as you like, but on its own the penny will not move from that spot

• When you flick the card out from under the penny, you allow gravity to at on it - dropping it into the glass

• The coin also experiences inertia - meaning it really wants to stay in one place. If you move the card slowly, it isn't fast enough to overcome that force.

Open Ended

How does the coin you use make a difference in the experiment? Or does it?

Open Ended

Why doesn't the coin fly off to the side with the index card once the card has been flicked?

Open Ended

If you were to try the experiment with more than one coin, how would this change the experiment? Or would the experiment change?