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Gravity on Earth, Jupiter and Pluto

Description

If a person with a mass of 55kg was to travel to Jupiter or Pluto, the effects of gravity would be very different from those on Earth. Gravity is the pull that a planet exerts towards its centre. Gravity depends on mass. Jupiter has more mass than Earth, so its gravity is two and a half times greater. Pluto is much smaller than Earth and so the force of gravity on Pluto is weaker than it is on Earth.

Classroom Ideas

This clip could be used when learning about the constant force of gravity and how it differs from one planet to another. It could lead to investigations into calculations of what objects would weigh on other planets. Students could weigh a selection of objects in kg and then covert this to newtons. This calculation could be completed using an online convertor or on a calculator, the number of kg should be multiplied by 9.806. Alternatively, this could be rounded to ten for approximate calculations. Students could then research the relative sizes of the other planets to Earth and use this to work out what each of the objects would weigh on these planets.

Students could also mime walking on each of these other planets, exploring which one they would feel light and bouncy on and which one they would feel heavy on.