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Forces – week 2
GRAVITY AND WEIGHT

Objects are pulled towards the earth’s surface by a force called

gravity. Objects have weight because of the force of gravity.

Experiment 1

Aim: To see whether heavier objects hit the ground with a greater force than
lighter ones.

Apparatus: Tray, playdough or plasticene, objects of different weights.

Method: Roll out a layer of plasticene or playdough to cover the tray. Drop
various objects on to it, one at a time. Measure the dents that are
made in the plasticene or playdough.

Results: __________________________________________________________________

Galileo was an Italian scientist who did
experiments on gravity. He dropped
objects of different weights from the
Leaning Tower of Pisa. He wanted to
see if they landed at the same time.

GALILEO

Experiment 2

Aim: To test Galileo’s idea that all objects of roughly the same size fall to the
ground at the same speed, whatever the weight.

Apparatus: Objects of roughly the same size but of different weights, metal tray.

Method: Stand on a chair and drop two objects on to the tray at the same time.
Listen and watch to see which one lands first.

Results: __________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

I agree / I disagree with Galileo’s idea. (Cross out the wrong one.)

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