Download Science Grade 06 Unit 08 Exemplar Lesson 02: Gravity page 1 of 9

Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 3 days
Science Grade 06 Unit 08 Exemplar Lesson 02: Gravity
This lesson is one approach to teaching the State Standards associated with this unit. Districts are encouraged to customize this lesson by
supplementing with district-approved resources, materials, and activities to best meet the needs of learners. The duration for this lesson is only a
recommendation, and districts may modify the time frame to meet students’ needs. To better understand how your district may be implementing
CSCOPE lessons, please contact your child’s teacher. (For your convenience, please find linked the TEA Commissioner’s List of State Board of
Education Approved Instructional Resources and Midcycle State Adopted Instructional Materials.)
Lesson Synopsis
Through investigations, students will discern how gravity governs the motion of our solar system.
TEKS
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) listed below are the standards adopted by the State Board of Education, which are required by
Texas law. Any standard that has a strike-through (e.g. sample phrase) indicates that portion of the standard is taught in a previous or subsequent
unit. The TEKS are available on the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148.
6.11
Earth and space. The student understands the organization of our solar system and the relationships among the
various bodies that comprise it. The student is expected to:
6.11B Understand that gravity is the force that governs the motion of our solar system.
Supporting Standard
Scientific Process TEKS
6.2
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during laboratory and field
investigations. The student is expected to:
6.2E Analyze data to formulate reasonable explanations, communicate valid conclusions supported by the data, and predict trends.
6.3
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and problem solving
to make informed decisions and knows the contributions of relevant scientists. The student is expected to:
6.3D Relate the impact of research on scientific thought and society, including the history of science and
contributions of scientists as related to the content.
6.4
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student knows how to use a variety of tools and safety equipment to
conduct science inquiry. The student is expected to:
6.4A Use appropriate tools to collect, record, and analyze information, including journals/notebooks, beakers, Petri dishes, meter sticks,
graduated cylinders, hot plates, test tubes, triple beam balances, microscopes, thermometers, calculators, computers, timing devices, and
other equipment as needed to teach the curriculum.
GETTING READY FOR INSTRUCTION
Performance Indicators
Grade 06 Science Unit 08 PI 02
Write interview questions for gravity: what it is and its effect on the attraction between the Sun and Moon, planets and their moon(s), and the Sun and other objects in the
solar system. Write the responses to these questions from gravity’s point of view.
Standard(s): 6.2E , 6.11B
ELPS ELPS.c.1E
Key Understandings
Gravity is the force that governs the motion of our solar system.
— What is gravity?
— How does gravity affect objects?
— How do objects in our solar system stay in their respective orbits?
Vocabulary of Instruction
gravity
force
mass
weight
air resistance
surface gravity
Last Updated 05/09/13
page 1 of 9 Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 3 days
Materials
calculator (2 per group)
feather (1 large and 1 small, for demonstration, 1 of each per teacher)
hammer (for demonstration, 1 per teacher)
index cards (4”x6”, 1 per student)
masking tape (1 roll per group)
meter stick (1 per group)
stack of newspapers or pillow (for demonstration, 1 per teacher)
tape or glue (per group)
Orbit Simulators (see Advance Preparation, 1 per group)
tennis ball (1 per group)
string (1 per group)
Attachments
All attachments associated with this lesson are referenced in the body of the lesson. Due to considerations for grading or student assessment,
attachments that are connected with Performance Indicators or serve as answer keys are available in the district site and are not accessible on
the public website.
Handout: Jump (1 per student and 1 for projection)
Teacher Resource: Orbit Simulator (see Adv Prep., half sheet per group and 1 for projection)
Teacher Resource: Orbit Simulator KEY
Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Gravity
Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator Instructions KEY (1 for projection)
Resources
None Identified
Advance Preparation
1. Prior to Day 1, perform a web search to locate a district approved video clip of the hammer/feather moon drop performed on Apollo 15.
2. Prior to Day 2:
Prepare Orbital Simulators (1 per group). Tie a string around a tennis ball so the string crosses the ball at least three times. Leave a long
enough tail of string so that the tennis ball can be swung around your head.
Print on cardstock, laminate, and cut apart Teacher Resource: Orbit Simulator (half sheet per group and 1 for projection).
3. Prepare attachment(s) as necessary.
Background Information
Understanding that gravity is the force that governs the motion of the solar system is the focus for this lesson. Students will apply the concept of gravity in multiple contexts
in future grades.
STAAR Notes:
This is an important foundational piece for the understanding of gravity and its effects on our solar system. 6.11B is marked as a Supporting Standard and will be tested on
STAAR Grade 8 under Reporting Category 3: Earth and Space. The information in this unit also builds content for standards 8.7A, B and C. Both Readiness Standards 8.7A
and 8.7B and Supporting Standard 8.7C will be tested on STAAR Grade 8 under Reporting Category 3: Earth and Space.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Instructional Procedures
ENGAGE – Which one?
Notes for Teacher
NOTE: 1 Day = 50 minutes
Suggested Day 1
1. Hold up a hammer and feather for the class.
Ask:
Materials:
If I were to release these objects at the same time, which would hit the
ground first? Most students will say the hammer will hit first.
2. Release the items at the same time. The hammer should hit the floor first. Place
padding on the floor to reduce damage by the hammer, such as a thick stack of
Last Updated 05/09/13
hammer (for demonstration, 1 per teacher)
feather (1 large and 1 small, for demonstration, 1
of each per teacher)
stack of newspapers or pillow (for demonstration, 1
per teacher)
page 2 of 9 Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 3 days
newspaper, small pillow, or chair pad.
3. Hold up two different sized feathers to the class.
Ask:
Instructional Notes:
If I were to release these objects at the same time, which would hit the
ground first? Answers may vary.
Most video clips are grainy, so instruct students to watch the
surface of the Moon when the objects are dropped. This clip is
available from multiple sources. You may wish to perform a
search and decide which one has the best quality for your system.
4. Release the items at the same time. (The feathers should hit at about the same
time.)
5. Play a teacher selected video clip of the hammer and feather drop taken on the
Moon during the Apollo 15 mission (see Advance Preparation).
6. Allow students to discuss the results with a partner.
Ask/Say:
What caused the differences in the three investigations:
— Hammer and feather on Earth?
— Hammer and feather on the Moon?
— Two different feathers on Earth? Answers will vary. Acknowledge all
responses, but do not give the correct answer at this time.
We will explore the answer to this question later in the lesson.
EXPLORE – How high can you jump?
Suggested Day 1 (continued)
1. Distribute the Handout: Jump to each student.
Materials:
2. Project the Handout: Jump, and discuss expectations with students. Answer any
questions they may have.
Say:
In this activity, assume that you could stand on the surfaces of the gas
giant planets and the Sun.
3. Review safety issues with students. Caution students not to over jump beyond their
capabilities and fall. Also, caution them to jump vertically rather than horizontally to
avoid landing on other students.
4. Divide the class into groups of 3–4, and instruct them to complete the investigation.
meter stick (1 per group)
masking tape (1 roll per group)
calculator (2 per group)
tape or glue (per group)
Attachments:
Handout: Jump (1 per student and 1 for
projection)
5. Monitor and facilitate by asking guiding questions.
Safety Notes:
6. Write or project these questions on the board:
Why do you think you would be able to jump higher on Mercury than on
Neptune? (Neptune is larger and has more surface gravity than Mercury.)
What relationship do you notice between your jump height and the
factor comparing surface gravity? (The higher the factor number was, the
shorter the jump was. If the factor was a low number, the jump was higher.)
Students will take turns jumping vertically close to students on the
floor. Caution students not to over jump beyond their capabilities
and fall. Also, caution them to jump vertically rather than
horizontally to avoid landing on other students.
STAAR Notes:
7. When students have completed the investigation, instruct them to copy the
questions from the board and to answer them in their science notebooks.
8. Instruct students to affix their Jump handout to their notebooks.
This is an important foundational piece for the understanding of
gravity and its effects on our solar system. 6.11B is marked as a
Supporting Standard and will be tested on STAAR Grade 8 under
Reporting Category 3: Earth and Space. The information in this
unit also builds content for standards 8.7A, B and C. Both
Readiness Standards 8.7A and 8.7B and Supporting Standard
8.7C will be tested on STAAR Grade 8 under Reporting Category
3: Earth and Space.
Science Notebooks:
Students answer the questions in their notebooks and affix their
Jump handout.
EXPLAIN
Suggested Day 2
1. Note: Students have previously studied force, mass, and weight. Review the terms
with students. Project the following questions, and facilitate a discussion in which
students reflect on the questions. Instruct students to record the answers in
complete sentences in their notebooks (see Instructional Notes).
Attachments:
Last Updated 05/09/13
Handout: Jump (from previous activity)
page 3 of 9 Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 3 days
Ask/Say:
Who can tell me what force is? (Force is a push or pull.)
Why is gravity considered a force? (Gravity pulls objects toward the center
of a mass.)
Agree or Disagree with the following statement:
— All objects have gravity. Justify your answer. (Anything with mass has
gravity. The mass may not be large enough to exert a force on other objects
compared to nearby objects. Larger masses have more gravity.) A ball will not
exert a gravitational force on smaller objects because its mass is so small
compared to Earth.
Who can tell me what mass is. (Mass is the amount of matter in an object.
The SI unit it is measured in is kg.)
Who can tell me what weight is? (Weight is the force of gravity on the mass
of an object. The SI unit it is measured in is N)
What effect does gravity have on mass? (Mass is not affected by gravity.)
What effect does gravity have on weight? (Weight will change if the force of
gravity changes.) There is less gravity on the Moon, so you would weigh less on
the Moon.
These terms are important to understanding the concept of gravity. The
force of gravity on Earth is 9.8N/kg (9.8 m/s2). Students are not accountable
for this information.
Check For Understanding
Review terms from previous grades to spiral into new learning.
Instructional Notes:
The information in this section is to clarify the ENGAGE and
EXPLORE sections.
Use a cooperative strategy to allow students to discuss the
questions/answers to maximize engagement and accountability.
Use a strategy for calling on students to share answers.
Misconception:
Students may think that there is no gravity in
space.
Science Notebooks:
2. Refer students back to the Engage activity where objects were dropped at the same
time.
Students record answers to questions in complete sentences in
Say:
their notebooks.
Galileo is reported to have dropped a ten-pound weight and one-pound
weight off the Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove that both objects would
fall at the same speed.
According to Galileo’s experiment, the hammer and feather should hit
the ground at the same time if dropped on Earth. However, the hammer
will hit first. Both objects are still being accelerated by gravity at the
same rate, but the feather has a small mass and a large surface area due
to its shape.
Air resistance against the feather is able to slow the feather’s drop. On
Earth, if two hammers were dropped, they would hit the ground at the
same time.
On the Moon, the pull of gravity is 1/6 that of Earth. There is no air on
the Moon so there is no air resistance to act on the feather. These
factors allow the hammer and feather to fall at the same speed.
3. Refer students back to the Explore activity “Jump”.
Say:
In this activity, we used a scale factor of surface gravity in the
calculations. Project the Handout: Jump, and point out the factor column on
the table.
There is a mathematical formula that is used to get the surface gravity of
a planet or star.
Where we divided our average jump height by this scale factor to
determine our jump height on other planets, we can multiply our weight
by this scale factor to calculate how much the pull of gravity will cause
us to weigh on other planets.
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – Effect of Gravity on Orbits
Suggested Days 2 (continued) and 3
1. Divide the class into groups of 3–4, and distribute Handout: Orbit Simulator (see
Advance Preparation) to each student. Remind students of safety precautions, and
instruct them not to release the ball in the path of other students.
2. Take the students outside to complete the activity.
3. Monitor and assist as necessary.
4. Upon returning to the classroom, project the Handout: Orbit Simulator and
facilitate a short discussion.
Materials:
Orbit Simulators (see Advance Preparation, 1 per
group)
tennis ball (1 per group)
string (1 per group)
Attachments:
5. Project the Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Gravity.
Last Updated 05/09/13
page 4 of 9 Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 3 days
6. Facilitate a discussion by asking guiding questions as you progress through the
slides.
7. Instruct students to answer the reflection questions in their notebooks. Remind
students to use scientific terms such as mass, weight, force, and gravity in their
answers.
Teacher Resource: Orbit Simulator (see
Advance Preparation, half sheet per group and 1
for projection)
Teacher Resource: Orbit Simulator KEY
Teacher Resource: PowerPoint: Gravity
Safety Note:
Remind students not to release the ball in the direction of other
students.
Misconception:
Students may think that alignments of planets are
dangerous and can affect the Earth.
Science Notebooks:
Students answer the reflection questions from the PowerPoint in
their notebooks.
ELABORATE/EVALUATE – Performance Indicator
Suggested Day 3 (continued)
Grade 06 Science Unit 08 PI 02
Materials:
Write interview questions for gravity: what it is and its effect on the attraction between the Sun and
Moon, planets and their moon(s), and the Sun and other objects in the solar system. Write the
responses to these questions from gravity’s point of view.
Standard(s): 6.2E , 6.11B
ELPS ELPS.c.1E
index cards (4”x6”, 1 per student)
Attachments:
1. Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator Instructions KEY for information on
administering the assessment.
Last Updated 05/09/13
Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator
Instructions KEY (1 for projection)
page 5 of 9 Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Jump
Materials:
meter stick
masking tape
calculator
Procedure:
1. Tape the meter stick to the wall or along the side of a desk so it is vertical. The zero end of the
meter stick should be on the floor.
2. One student will kneel on the floor beside the meter stick. This student will watch the heels of the
jumping student and place their finger on the meter stick at the height the heel reached.
3. Safety Note: Do not fall or land on students on the floor. One student will stand in front of the
meter stick and jump vertically. The student on the floor will record the height of the jump in
centimeters in Data Table 1: Jump Average.
4. Repeat jumping two more times, and record jump heights. Calculate an average jump height.
Students will take turns jumping and measuring.
Data Table 1: Jump Average
Student Name
Jump Height #1
(cm)
Jump Height #2
(cm)
Jump Height #3
(cm)
Average
Height (cm)
5. Write the value for the average height in meters in Table 2: Solar System Jumps. Calculate how
high you could jump on the Sun and eight planets in the Solar System.
Solar System
Object
Sun
Factor
Comparing
Surface Gravity
to Earth’s
27.9
Mercury
Earth
0.38
1.00
Venus
0.91
Mars
Jupiter
0.38
Saturn
0.92
Uranus
Neptune
0.89
Dwarf Planet Pluto
0.06
©2012, TESCCC
Height jumped in meters = average height ÷ surface
gravity factor
*Record problem set-up and answer.
2.36
1.12
11/04/12
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Grade 06
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Orbit Simulator
1. Hold the length of string in the middle. Swing the ball over your head.
 The ball represents a planet. The string represents the force of gravity that pulls
to the center of the sphere. The path the ball is traveling represents an orbit. Can
you feel the pull of the ball against the string? This is similar to the pull of the
force of gravity on objects.



What is the general shape of the orbit?
What would happen if you let go of the string?
What keeps planets and moons from leaving their orbits?
2. While the ball is orbiting your head, release it when it is in line with the front of your body.
Make sure no one is in front of you.
 Which direction did the ball travel?
 What is the role of gravity in respect to orbits?
1. Hold the length of string in the middle. Swing the ball over your head.
 The ball represents a planet. The string represents the force of gravity that pulls
to the center of the sphere. The path the ball is traveling represents an orbit. Can
you feel the pull of the ball against the string? This is similar to the pull of the
force of gravity on objects.



What is the general shape of the orbit?
What would happen if you let go of the string?
What keeps planets and moons from leaving their orbits?
2. While the ball is orbiting your head, release it when it is in line with the front of your body.
Make sure no one is in front of you.
 Which direction did the ball travel?
 What is the role of gravity in respect to orbits?
©2012, TESCCC
05/09/13
page 1 of 1
Grade 06
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Orbit Simulator KEY
1. Hold the length of string in the middle. Swing the ball over your head.
The ball represents a planet. The string represents the force of gravity that pulls to
the center of the sphere. The path the ball is traveling represents an orbit. Can you
feel the pull of the ball against the string? This is the similar to the pull of the force
of gravity on objects.
What is the general shape of the orbit? Students may say round. Inform them that
the orbits of planets tend to be elliptical.
What would happen if I let go of the string? Students might say the ball will not stay
in orbit.
What keeps planets and moons from leaving their orbits? Gravity
2. While the ball is orbiting your head, release it when it is in line with the front of your body.
Which direction did the ball travel? Students may say away from themselves. Inform
students that the ball will travel in a straight line in the direction that it was released.
If you had released it any other direction, the ball would travel in that direction.
What is the role of gravity in respect to orbits? Gravity keeps the planets in orbit
around the Sun because the Sun is more massive than the planets. Planets keep
moons in orbit because they are more massive than the moons are. Gravity keeps
the planets in orbit around the stars and moons orbiting around the planets. On each
planet that is large enough, gravity keeps an atmosphere around the planet.
©2012, TESCCC
11/04/12
page 1 of 1
Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Performance Indicator Instructions KEY
Performance Indicator

Write interview questions for gravity: what it is and its effect on the attraction between the Sun
and moon, planets and their moon(s), and the Sun and other objects in the solar system. Write
the responses to these questions from gravity’s point of view.
(6.2E; 6.11B)
1E
Materials:

index cards (4”x6”, 1 per student)
Instructional Procedures:
1. Project the Performance Indicator on the board.
2. Instruct students to imagine that they could interview gravity (as if it were a person). They are to
generate three to five questions they would like to ask gravity. Students are to write the responses
to their questions from the point of view of gravity. Inform students that their questions may not
have “yes/no” answers.
3. Explain to students that their questions and answers should demonstrate the following concept:

Gravity is the force that governs the motion of our solar system.
4. Instruct students not to write abbreviated responses, but to write in complete sentences to show
their understanding of gravity and its effects.
5. Distribute one index card to each student, and instruct them to record their interview questions
and answers on the index card.
6. Monitor students and preview the questions to ensure they are open-ended and have depth and
are not just “yes” or “no” questions.
Instructional Notes:
Students may use information in their science notebooks to help them with this activity.
©2012, TESCCC
05/09/13
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