Masses and How They Affect Gravity Vocabulary

Front

What does gravitational field refer to?

Back

A field around a mass object that influences other objects with mass, causing them to experience a force known as gravity.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

Front

What is magnitude in the context of physics or astronomy?

Back

A measure of the brightness or size of an object.

Front

What is orbital distance?

Back

The average distance between a celestial body and the object it is orbiting, typically measured in astronomical units (AU) in the context of our solar system.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Front

What is gravity?

Back

The force by which a planet or other body draws objects toward its center.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS2-4

Front

What is a galaxy?

Back

A vast system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity.

Front

What is mass?

Back

The amount of matter in an object, typically measured in kilograms.

Front

What is weight?

Back

The force exerted by gravity on an object, calculated as mass times the acceleration due to gravity.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

Front

What is the law of universal gravitation?

Back

A law stating that every point mass attracts every other point mass in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS2-5

Front

What is an astronomical unit (AU)?

Back

A standard unit of measurement used in astronomy, defined as the average distance from the Earth to the Sun, approximately 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Front

What is a black hole?

Back

A region of space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS2-4