Future light international School

Stage 7

Science unit 3

Questions and Answers:

3.1 Gravity, Weight and Mass

1. What pulls objects down when you drop them?

° Gravity pulls objects down towards Earth.

2. Why do large objects, like Earth, have strong gravity?

° Large objects have a lot of mass, which creates a strong force of gravity.

3. Why don’t we feel the gravity from small objects, like pencils?

° Small objects have weak gravity, so we don’t feel their pull.

4. In what direction does gravity act on objects?

° Gravity pulls objects towards the center of the Earth.

5. What happens to gravity if you move further away from Earth?

° Gravity gets weaker as you move further from Earth.

6.Why does gravity pull objects towards the center of the Earth?

° Gravity acts towards the center because that’s where Earth’s mass is concentrated.

7. How can we imagine Earth to help understand gravity?

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° Imagine Earth as a giant ball in space, pulling everything towards its center.

8.If an astronaut travels far away from Earth, what happens to the pull of Earth’s gravity
on them?

° The pull of Earth’s gravity on them gets weaker the further away they go.

9. Why don’t objects around us, like tables or chairs, pull us towards them?

° These objects have very small masses and create very weak gravity, so we don’t feel their
pull.

10.Does every object create gravity, even small ones?

° Yes, every object creates gravity, but smaller objects have weaker gravity.

WEIGHT:

11.What is the force of gravity on an object called?

It is called weight.

12. Why is it hard to lift a heavy object?

° Because gravity is pulling it towards the center of the Earth, and lifting it means pulling
against gravity.

13.How is weight measured?

° Weight is measured in newton (N).

14.What is the approximate weight of an apple?

° The weight of an apple is about 1 N.

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15. How much force is needed to hold an apple?

° You need to apply a force of 1 N to hold the apple.

16. How much weight is the weightlifter in the picture holding?

The weightlifter is holding about 1000 N.

CONTACT FORCE :

17. Why doesn’t a book fall through a desk even though gravity pulls it down?

The desk pushes back on the book with an equal force, which stops it from moving down.

18.What is the force from the desk called?

This force is called the contact force.

19. In what direction does the contact force act?

The contact force acts upwards to support the object.

20.When is the contact force equal to the weight of an object?

The contact force is equal to the object’s weight when the object is not moving.

21. What happens if an object’s weight is more than the surface’s contact force?

° The object will sink or break through the surface.

MASS AND WEIGHT:

22. What is mass?

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° Mass is the amount of matter in an object.

23. What unit is mass measured in?

° Mass is measured in kilograms (kg).

24. Does mass change based on location?

° No, mass does not change regardless of location.

25. What is weight?

° Weight is the force exerted on an object due to gravity.

26. What unit is weight measured in?

° Weight is measured in newton(N).

27. Does weight change based on location?

° Yes, weight can change depending on the gravitational field strength.

28. Q: What is the formula for weight?

° The formula is W=M×10

29. Q: How do you measure mass?

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° Mass is measured using a balance scale.

30. Q: How do you measure weight?

° Weight is measured using a spring scale.

3.2 Formation of the solar system

Where did the solar system come from?

31. What is the force of gravity on Earth?

The force of gravity on Earth is 10 N/kg.

32. How much does 10 N act on 1 kg?

It acts as 10 newton per kilogram, or 10 N/kg.

33. How would you calculate the weight of an object on Earth?

Multiply the mass (in kg) by 10. For example, a 45 kg person would weigh 450 N (45 x 10).

34. If a computer game console has a weight of 28 N, what is its mass?

The mass would be 2.8 kg (since 28 ÷ 10 = 2.8 kg).

35. Does the strength of gravity change across the Solar System?

Yes, it is not 10 N/kg everywhere. The strength of gravity varies on each planet and moon.

36. What happens to an object’s weight when the strength of gravity changes?

The weight changes because weight depends on gravity.

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 37. Does an object’s mass change in different places in the Solar System?

No, the mass of an object does not change regardless of location.

38. How do scientists try to understand how the Solar System formed?

They observe evidence from observations or experiments and create testable theories,
called hypotheses, to explain what happened.

39. Why couldn’t people observe the Solar System forming?

There were no people to watch it happen.

40. Do all planets in the Solar System follow a specific path around the Sun?

Yes, all planets follow a path or orbit around the Sun in the same direction.

41. Which planets do not spin on their axes like the others?

Venus and Uranus spin differently from the other planets.

42. How do most moons move in relation to their planets?

Most moons orbit their planets in the same direction as the planets rotate.

43. Do all planets orbit on the same plane around the Sun?

Yes, all planets orbit the Sun in the same plane, making the Solar System look flat.

44. What does it mean to observe something?

To observe means to watch or see something happening.

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 45. How do scientists support their theories about the Solar System’s formation?

They look for evidence from observations or experiments.

46. What is a hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a testable theory that scientists use to explain observations and predict
outcomes.

47. Do the Sun and planets spin in the same direction?

Yes, the Sun and most planets spin in the same direction, except for Venus and Uranus.

48. How does the layout of planets in the Solar System compare to objects on a flat
surface?

The planets orbit in the same plane, similar to objects placed on a flat surface like a desk.

49. How do scientists use the facts about the Solar System?

Scientists use these facts as evidence to understand how the Solar System formed.

Watching the birth of Stars

50. How can scientists observe the birth of stars?

° Scientists observe distant stars forming in space from clouds of dust and gas.

51. What is a nebula?

° A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas in space where stars are formed.

52. What can be seen in a nebula?

° Young stars can often be seen in these clouds of dust and gas.

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 53. What sometimes surrounds young stars?

° Some young stars are surrounded by a flat disc of dust around them.

Using models

54. How do scientists believe our Solar System was formed?

° Scientists think the Solar System formed from a nebula in this way.

55. Why can’t scientists observe stars or the Solar System forming through
experiments?

° It’s difficult to observe them directly, so scientists can’t do it through experiments.

56. What do scientists use to study the formation of stars and the Solar System?

° They use computers to create models.

57. What is a model in science?

° A model is a way to represent something that’s hard to observe directly.

58. How do scientists create models of star and planet formation?

° They put known laws of physics into a computer program to predict what will happen.

59. What prediction does the computer model make about stars and planets?

° The model predicts that stars will form with planets surrounding them.

How do stars and planets form out of dust and gas?

60. Do particles of dust and gas have their own gravity?

° Yes, each particle has its own weak gravity.

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 61. How do particles of dust and gas attract each other?

° They pull on each other with weak forces due to gravity.

62. What happens as particles stick together?

° Their total mass increases, and so does the strength of their gravity.

63. Why does gravity get stronger as mass increases?

° More mass means stronger gravity, which attracts more dust and gas.

64. What forms when dust and gas particles keep attracting each other?

° A small ball starts to form.

65. What happens if the ball of dust and gas reaches a certain size?

° It gets hot enough to become a star; if not, it becomes a planet.

66. How long does it take to form a star or planet?

° It takes millions of years.

67. Do all facts about the Solar System support this hypothesis?

° Most facts support it, but some, like Venus’s spin, seem to contradict it.

68. What does “contradict” mean in science?

° To contradict means to go against or oppose something.

69. What do scientists think about Jupiter’s size?

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° They think Jupiter almost reached the size needed to become a star.

3.3 Movement in space

The sun

70. Which object has the largest mass in the Solar System?

° The Sun has the largest mass in the Solar System.

71. How much greater is the Sun’s mass compared to Earth’s?

° The Sun’s mass is 330,000 times greater than Earth’s mass.

72. Is the Sun’s mass greater than the combined mass of all the planets?

° Yes, the Sun’s mass is more than the mass of all the planets combined.

73. What is the strength of gravity on Earth?

° The strength of gravity on Earth is 10 N/kg.

74. What is the strength of gravity on the Sun?

° The strength of gravity on the Sun is 270 N/kg.

The sun’s gravity 🌞

75. How much stronger is the Sun’s gravity compared to Earth’s gravity?

° The Sun’s gravity is 27 times stronger than Earth’s gravity.

76. What does the Sun’s gravity do to the planets?

° It holds all the planets in their orbits.

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 77. How does the Sun’s gravity change with distance?

° The Sun’s gravity gets weaker as the distance from the Sun increases.

78. How far is Neptune from the Sun compared to Earth?

° Neptune is 30 times farther from the Sun than Earth is.

79. How does Neptune’s mass compare to Earth’s mass?

° Neptune’s mass is about 17 times the mass of Earth.

80. Is the Sun’s gravity strong enough to hold Neptune in orbit?

° Yes, even though it gets weaker, the Sun’s gravity is strong enough to keep Neptune in
orbit.

Orbits of planets

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