96

The Effects of Gravity

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T he force of gravity holds us on Earth and helps objects in space stay
in orbit. The planets in the Solar System could not continue to orbit
the Sun without the force of gravity. Astronauts need to know a lot about
gravity when they travel in space because they often orbit Earth. Those
controlling the flight of any spacecraft must consider the effects of gravity
from Earth and other planets on the spacecraft’s course and safety.

CHALLENGE How does gravity affect space travel?

The pull of gravity between this

astronaut and Earth keeps him
in orbit.

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 Activity 96  •  The Effects of Gravity

MATERIALS
For each student
1 Student Sheet 96.1, “Anticipation Guide: The Effects
of Gravity”

READING
Complete Student Sheet 96.1, “Anticipation Guide: Gravity” to help prepare for
the following reading.

Direction of Gravity
Gravity is a force that pulls any two
objects toward each other. You are
familiar with gravity as the force that
pulls things down toward Earth. But when
considering Earth as a planet, which
direction is “down”? Look at the diagram
at right , which shows people standing
on the surface of the Earth. “Down” is a
different direction at different locations
on the surface, but “down” is always the
direction toward the center of Earth. Gravity always pulls the center of two
objects toward each other.
2562 LabAids SEPUP Issues Earth Sci SB
Figure: EaSB G 96.02
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STOPPING TO THINK 1
Argentina and Japan are on exactly opposite sides of the globe.
Is “down” in Japan the same direction as “down” in Argentina?
Explain.

Sun

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 The Effects of Gravity  •  Activity 96

Strength of Gravity—Mass and Distance

The strength of the force of gravity between two objects depends on the
mass of the two objects and the distance between them.

All things with mass exert a gravitational pull on other objects with mass.
The more mass an object has, the stronger it pulls. Earth is the most massive
object near us, and so it has a strong attractive force. This is why things fall
down toward Earth, specifically the center of Earth.

But, strange as it may sound, while Earth pulls on an object near it, the
object also pulls Earth. When an object falls to the ground, even a paper
clip, for example, Earth is pulled toward the falling object. This is because
the falling object has mass, and any object with mass exerts a gravitational
force on any other object. In the case of an object falling to Earth, however,
the Earth moves much less than the object does, because Earth has so much
more mass than the falling object.

The force of gravity near other planets is different than it is near Earth
because each planet has a different mass. An object’s weight on Earth is
the pull of gravity between it and Earth. If the object is on another planet
or moon, its weight is the force of gravity between it and the planet or
moon. For example, Jupiter’s gravitational pull is stronger than Earth’s
because Jupiter has more mass than Earth. A 10-kg rock on Earth would
still have 10 kg of mass near Jupiter, but the rock’s weight would be greater
near Jupiter.

STOPPING TO THINK 2
hy do astronauts have the same mass on the Moon as they do on
W
Earth, but weigh less on the Moon?

The reduced weight of this

astronaut made him bounce
when he walked on the Moon.
In this television picture from
a Moon landing, the astronaut
jumped high as he saluted
the flag.

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 Activity 96  •  The Effects of Gravity

Across a very long distance,

gravity pulled these two
galaxies toward each other.

When an object near Earth drops, it falls toward Earth instead of toward
a more massive object, such as Jupiter or the Sun. This means the force of
gravity must be determined by something more than mass. As you saw in
the last activity, the farther away an object is from a planet, the weaker
the gravitational force between them. The opposite is also true—the closer
two objects are, the stronger the gravitational force between them. You
may not have realized it, but you weigh slightly less when you are in an
airplane flying high above Earth because you are farther from the center of
Earth. A 150-pound person weighs about one-half pound less while flying
in an airplane. Similarly, since the Sun is so far away, its gravitational pull
on objects near Earth is not as strong as Earth’s, even though it has much
more mass than Earth.

Although the pull of an object’s gravity decreases as you move farther

away from it, gravity never entirely disappears. There is always a gravi-
tational attraction between the centers of two objects, no matter how far
apart they are. The long reach of gravity is an important consideration for
space travel. When a spacecraft is launched, it only needs to use fuel until
it gets so far away from Earth that Earth’s gravity has very little effect on it.
Beyond that point, it travels without using any fuel at all (except when it
needs to slow down or turn). If it gets close enough to another planet, the
Moon, or the Sun, the gravitational force between the two will increase and
the spacecraft will be pulled toward that object.

STOPPING TO THINK 3
a. Would you expect to weigh more on an ocean beach or on top
of a mountain? Explain.

b. Outside the Solar System is there any gravitational pull from

the Sun?

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 The Effects of Gravity  •  Activity 96

Gravity and Orbiting Objects

Since Earth’s gravity pulls everything down toward its center, why don’t satel-
lites and even the Moon come crashing down to Earth? Strange as it may
seem, gravity helps satellites and the Moon stay in orbit around Earth.

Imagine throwing a ball as fast as you can. It might go 30 meters before

it hits the ground. The ball curves as it falls because the force of gravity is
pulling it down as it travels. Next, imagine that you have a cannon on the
top of a tall tower as in the diagram below. Your cannonball might go quite
a distance before it hits the ground (Path A). Now, imagine that you have
a cannon that can fire a cannonball faster. It would travel much farther
before falling to the ground (Path B). If you could keep firing cannonballs
at higher and higher speeds, eventually one would go fast enough that
it would “fall”all the way around Earth, but never hit the ground (Path
C). An orbiting object is being pulled down by gravity, but it is going fast
enough that it never actually hits the ground. If a satellite, or even the
Moon, were not moving fast enough, it would begin to spiral back to Earth.

A & B: Speed too slow:

Satellite falls back to Earth
A because “orbit” is too small.
C: Speed just right:
Satellite stays in orbit
B around Earth.
D: Speed too fast:
Satellite goes beyond orbit
C and does not return.
D

When a spacecraft is launched, launch speed is very important. If the speed

is too low, it will fall back to Earth like the cannonball in Path A. If the
speed is just right,
2562 LabAids SEPUPit Issues
will go intoSci
Earth orbit.
SB If the speed is greater than what is
Figure: EaSB
needed G 96.04
for the spacecraft to get into orbit, it can break away from Earth’s
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gravity. This is how10/11.5
spacecraft are sent to the Moon, Mars, or farther.

STOPPING TO THINK 4
What is likely to happen to a rocket that takes off at a slow speed?

Sun

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 Activity 96  •  The Effects of Gravity

A shuttle is launched from the

Kennedy Space Center, Cape
Canaveral, Florida.

Weightlessness
Outside the Solar System, far away from the Sun and any planets, the pull of
gravity is so small that a 150-pound person would not have any measurable
weight at all. So far, no human has ever gone that far. Astronauts orbiting
around Earth are too close to Earth to experience near-zero gravity. A 150-lb
person weighs about 136 lbs while orbiting Earth. However, an astronaut
may still feel “weightless” in an orbiting spacecraft. The reason astronauts
“float” in space is not because they there is no force of gravity. Instead, they
“float” because they are moving in an orbit. As they move along the path of
the orbit, the spacecraft and the astronauts on board are constantly falling
towards Earth due to the pull of gravity. This free falling makes astronauts
appear to be floating.

The astronauts’ weightlessness is the same as you feel for a moment when
you’re on a rollercoaster and your car plunges down a steep slope. Both
your body and the rollercoaster car are free-falling together, just like the
astronaut in a spacecraft. You can experience “weightlessness” yourself if
a gravitational force pulls on you but you are not held up by a surface, as
shown at right.

STOPPING TO THINK 5
How is going over the top of a rollercoaster like experiencing ­“weight-
lessness” in space?

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 The Effects of Gravity  •  Activity 96

Earth
Pull of gravity No push from
on spacecraft the Earth or
Pull of gravity Push of Earth and astronaut atmosphere
on spacecraft holds up
and astronaut spacecraft and
astronaut

On Earth’s surface, the Earth pushes the In orbit, the Earth and its atmos­phere are not
spacecraft and astronaut up just as much as pushing up. The spacecraft and astronaut fall
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the gravitational force pulls them down. freely and experience “weightlessness.”
Figure: EaSB G 96.05a Figure: EaSB G 96.05a
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ANALYSIS
1. Choose one of the objects listed in the Object Mass*
table to the right. Describe
Push of Earthhow astro- Mercury 0.055
nauts’ weights might change if they
visited the object. Venus 0.86

Earth 1.00
2. Your friend tells you that there is no
gravity in the space shuttle, which orbits Mars 0.11
at 400 km (250 miles) above Earth. Do Jupiter 318
you agree or disagree? Explain. Saturn 95
3. What do you think would happen to a Uranus 14.5
satellite in orbit if it suddenly stopped? Neptune 17.2
Explain.
Sun 330,000

Moon 0.01

*relative to Earth

Path of
orbit Pull of gravity

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