Gravity & Falling Objects · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Gravity pulls things down

Science · Forces & Motion · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A raindrop falls through the air with nothing touching it. How can gravity still pull it down?

    • Gravity has to grab hold of the drop first
    • The cloud keeps pushing the drop the whole way down
    • Gravity is a non-contact force, so it pulls without touching

  2. Zoe packs her bag for a trip to the beach and zips it shut. Which things in the bag is gravity pulling on right now?

    • Everything in the bag, even the light socks
    • Only the heaviest thing in the bag
    • Nothing, because the bag is zipped shut

  3. A bag's weight and its mass are two different things.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A mug sits still on a shelf. Gravity pulls the mug down with a force of 3 newtons. How many newtons does the shelf push up with?

    Answer: ______________

  5. Which of these is an example of gravity at work?

    • A ball rolling after being kicked
    • Water trickling down a hill
    • A magnet pulling a paperclip across a table

  6. Rain falls from a cloud, a river runs downhill, and a dropped key lands on the floor. What do all three have in common?

    • One force, gravity, is pulling every one of them down
    • The wind is pushing every one of them the same way
    • All three are heavy things

  7. Maya drops her pencil above the floor. What pulls the pencil down?

    • Magnetism
    • Gravity
    • Wind

  8. A book resting on a table has no gravity pulling on it, because it is not falling.

    Circle one:   True   False

  9. A leaf lets go from a high branch. Why does it end up on the ground instead of floating up into the sky?

    • Nothing holds it up, so gravity pulls it down
    • The branch pushes the leaf down as it lets go
    • Wind always blows leaves downward

  10. At the same moment, a bird flies over a park, a boy sits on a bench, and a ball rolls across the grass. Which of them is gravity pulling on?

    • Only the ball, because it is the one moving fastest
    • Only the boy, because he is touching the ground
    • All three of them, moving or still
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Gravity pulls things down W1-mt_AvrQauS_zX-s1

  1. Gravity is a non-contact force, so it pulls without touching · Gravity is a non-contact force. Earth pulls the raindrop from far away, with nothing touching it.
  2. Everything in the bag, even the light socks · Gravity pulls on every object all the time, zipped bag or not, so everything inside is being pulled.
  3. True · Weight is the pull of gravity on the bag, which is a force. Mass is the amount of stuff in the bag.
  4. 3 · The mug is not moving, so the shelf pushes up exactly as hard as gravity pulls down. That is 3 newtons.
  5. Water trickling down a hill · Water flowing downhill is pulled by gravity. The kicked ball and the magnet are moved by other forces.
  6. One force, gravity, is pulling every one of them down · Rain, rivers, and dropped objects all head the same way because the same pull acts on all of them.
  7. Gravity · The pencil has nothing supporting it, so gravity pulls it to the floor.
  8. False · Gravity still pulls on the book. The table pushes back just as hard, so the book stays still instead of falling.
  9. Nothing holds it up, so gravity pulls it down · As soon as the branch stops holding it, gravity takes over and pulls the leaf towards the Earth.
  10. All three of them, moving or still · Earth pulls on the bird, the boy, and the ball at once. Gravity does not check whether something is moving or whether it touches the ground.
Worksheet · LightMySky