Module 4 Lesson 1

Module 4—Gravitational Force

Lesson 1—Acceleration Due to Gravity

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An illustration shows a meteor coming to Earth from the viewpoint of space.

Every year, an estimated 500 meteorites reach the surface of Earth. At impact, they generally range in size from a marble to a basketball, but they can be much larger. Nearly all of the meteorites that land on Earth are called chondrites, which are thought to have originated in the solar system’s asteroid belt (a vast collection of material that did not form larger objects such as planets or moons). They are believed to be about 4.55 billion years old! Other meteorites resemble the lunar rocks retrieved during the Apollo missions to the Moon, suggesting some material reaching Earth could originate from other planets or moons.

Why are these objects falling to Earth? Why can you look up into the night sky and see shooting stars streaking across the sky and a satellite cruising by, but only one of them is falling? Is there a contradiction here? The answers to these questions will be found by examining the nature of Earth’s gravitational field.

In this lesson and related simulation you will explore the following essential questions:

How does gravity vary relative to distance between objects?
How are weight and mass different?
How are weight and the force of gravity related?
How does gravity affect planets, moons, and other objects in the solar system?

Module 4: Lesson 1 Assignments

Your teacher-marked Module 4: Lesson 1 Assignment requires you to submit a response to the following:

Try This—TR 1, TR 2, TR 3, and TR 4

The other questions in this lesson are not marked by the teacher; however, you should still answer these questions. The Self-Check and Try This questions are placed in this lesson to help you review important information and build key concepts that may be applied in future lessons.

After a discussion with your teacher, you must decide what to do with the questions that are not part of your assignment. For example, you may decide to submit to your teacher the responses to Try This questions that are not marked. You should record the answers to all the questions in this lesson and place those answers in your course folder.