![]() The story goes that Galileo proved his theory by dropping different-sized balls from the leaning tower of Pisa. Note: An astronomer is someone who studies ‘celestial bodies’, such as moons, stars, planets, comets and galaxies.Īnother note: We refer to Galileo Galilei by his first name, for the very good reason that that was how he referred to himself, as was the custom in Italy at the time. Galileo’s experiments helped us to understand gravity. See this article to find out the difference). In fact, most people believed this until around 1638, when Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei proved that objects fall at the same speed – whatever their weight (or, strictly speaking, their mass. Even Aristotle (who lived from 384 to 322 BC) believed that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects, so you’re in good company! The answer (which I hope you got right) is that they would both fall at the same speed (or, more specifically, with the same acceleration), and both would hit the ground at the same time.ĭon’t worry if you got it wrong. If I had a 1kg weight in one hand, and a 100g weight in the other hand, and dropped them at exactly the same time, which would fall the fastest … and therefore land first? Gravity for kids – it’s what keeps your feet on the ground! The Discovery of Gravityīack to the question from the top of the page: But first we’re going to take a look at how we came to understand gravity. The Earth, having a very large mass, and being very close, exerts a strong pull on anything in its vicinity, including:Īnd something large and round flying above your head …īut why doesn’t the moon come crashing into the Earth? And why didn’t Neil Armstrong come falling towards the Earth when he took his ‘small step for a man’? The closer something is, the bigger the force of attraction. The more mass an object has, the bigger the force of attraction. The stone is ‘attracted’ to – pulled towards – the Earth. Gravity is, quite simply, a force of attraction between objects. The real answer is that a force – a force we call gravity – is acting on the stone, and pulling it towards the Earth. Why is this?Įveryone knows that the answer is ‘Gravity’!īut what is gravity? It’s more than just a word! Gravity is more than just a word – it’s what’s pulling these skydivers towards the Earth! If you drop a stone, it falls to the floor. You’ll find the answer lower down the page! If you dropped these weights at the same time, which of them would reach the ground first? Gravity For Kids: Introduction If I had a 1kg weight in one hand, and a 100g weight in the other hand, and dropped them at exactly the same time, which would fall the fastest and therefore land first? This article sets out to explain gravity for kids – and anyone else who has ever wondered why they fall down, rather than up.īefore we get started, here’s a question: ![]() ![]() It literally keeps our feet on the ground! We feel the effects of gravity every second of our lives (unless we’re astronauts), but most of us don’t give it a second thought. ![]() Gravity is the force that keeps us from floating off into space. ![]()
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