Gravity Pitch

Imagine a gigantic pitcher standing on Earth, ready to hurl a huge baseball. What will happen as the ball is thrown harder and harder? Find out with the Gravity Pitch Gizmo. Observe the path of the ball when it is thrown at different velocities. Throw the ball on different planets to see how each planet's gravity affects the ball.

Launch Gizmo

Learning Objectives

Observe that gravity causes objects to fall toward the center of Earth.
Observe that when a ball is thrown, its path is bent by gravity toward Earth.
Notice that when the ball is thrown with a high enough velocity, it will go into orbit around Earth. If it is thrown even harder, it will fly off into space.
Find the orbital velocity and escape velocity of objects on Earth and other planets.
Use controlled experiments to discover that gravity becomes stronger as a planet's mass increases and weaker as a planet's radius increases.

Vocabulary

escape velocity, gravity, orbit, orbital velocity, trajectory, velocity

Lesson Materials

Student Exploration Sheet

MS Word PDF Google Doc

Exploration Sheet Answer Key

Subscribers Only

Assessment Questions

Subscribers Only

Teacher Guide

Instructors Only

Vocabulary Sheet

MS Word PDF

Spanish/French version included with a subscription.

Cell Energy Cycle

Explore the processes of photosynthesis and respiration that occur within plant and animal cells. The cyclical nature of the two processes can be constructed visually, and the simplified photosynthesis and respiration formulae can be balanced.

Flower Pollination

Observe the steps of pollination and fertilization in flowering plants. Help with many parts of the process by dragging pollen grains to the stigma, dragging sperm to the ovules, and removing petals as the fruit begins to grow. Quiz yourself when you are done by dragging vocabulary words to the correct plant structure.

Growing Plants

Investigate the growth of three common garden plants: tomatoes, beans, and turnips. You can change the amount of light each plant gets, the amount of water added each day, and the type of soil the seed is planted in. Observe the effect of each variable on plant height, plant mass, leaf color and leaf size. Determine what conditions produce the tallest and healthiest plants. Height and mass data are displayed on tables and graphs.

Plants and Snails

Study the production and use of gases by plants and animals. Measure the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a test tube containing snails and elodea (a type of plant) in both light and dark conditions. Learn about the interdependence of plants and animals.