Mass & Gravity - SC.6.P.13.2

Objects exert gravitational force on each other. Astronauts experienced less gravity on the moon than on Earth. What is the reason for this difference in gravity?

• The moon has less mass than Earth.
• The moon is far away from Earth.
• The moon orbits the Earth, while the Earth orbits the Sun.
• The moon passes through different phases

The ocean tides on Earth are caused by the gravitational attraction between Earth, the moon and to a much lesser extent, the sun. Look closely at the illustration below, which shows the moon orbiting the Earth to consider only the moon’s effect on Earth’s tides. What will happen when the moon is nearest the Earth?

• The tides will be higher.
• The ocean waves will be smaller.
• The tides will be lower.
• The sea level will remain constant

The moon orbits the Earth once every 27.3 days. Which law explains why the moon stays in orbit around Earth?

• law of conservation of mass
• law of superposition
• law of gravity
• law of conservation of energy

Hilga suspended her sneaker from a spring scale as shown in the drawing below. What property of the sneaker was Hilga measuring?

• volume
• weight
• density
• mass

All matter has mass, and gravity is a result of mass. Which statement about mass is correct?

• Mass depends on the gravitational force acting on it.
• Mass is expressed in a unit known as the Newton (N).
• Mass remains constant regardless of its location.
• Mass is a measure of the gravitational force exerted on an object.

The sun has about 300,000 times more mass than Earth. What can you infer from this fact?

• The sun’s gravitational force is much stronger than Earth’s gravitational force.
• The sun’s gravitational force is much weaker than Earth’s gravitational force.
• The temperature on the sun is much hotter than on Earth.
• The sun emits electromagnetic radiation that travels to Earth.

The illustration below shows the gravitational forces between a person and Earth. What property of gravity does the arrow pointing from Earth toward the girl demonstrate?

• that the mass of the girl attracts Earth
• that the mass of the girl is increasing
• that the mass of the girl is pushing upward
• that the mass of the girl is small when compared to Earth’s mass

The width of the arrows in the illustration below represents the strength of the gravitational attraction between two objects. Using the law of universal gravitation, select the answer that best explains why the arrows are thicker in the top figure?

• The masses of the objects are different from those in the bottom figure.
• The smaller object is in free fall.
• The gravitational force is weaker than those in the bottom figure.
• The distance between the objects is shorter than those in the bottom figure.

The illustration below shows Earth and the moon. The arrows represent the gravitational attraction between the two. When is the gravitational attraction between Earth and the moon the strongest?

• when North America faces the moon
• when Earth and the moon are the closest to one another
• when Earth and the moon are the farthest apart from each other
• when the moon is full

Look closely at the illustration below of a ball rolling down the first hill and up a second hill. At which points along the path does Earth’s gravity act on the ball?

• only at point 1
• at points 2 and 3
• at points 1, 2, and 3
• at points 1 and 3