Physics Project - Script
Stella:
Good morning, everyone and today we’re sharing about how gravity impacts our life. I’m Stella
and these are my team members: Zeng Yan, Xin Qi and May Qi.
Zeng Yan:
Firstly, allow me to define gravity. Gravity is force that pulls objects towards each other. It is
what makes things fall down to the ground and keeps the planets in our solar system in their
orbits around the sun.
Now, let me share about how gravity is discovered. Isaac Newton is a mathematician, physicist,
astronomer, alchemist, theologian and author. As the legend goes, a young Isaac Newton was
sitting beneath an apple tree when suddenly an apple hit him on the head at which point he
realised that the same force causing the apple to fall kept the moon falling towards the Earth
and the Earth falling towards the sun. So this is how Isaac Newton discovered gravity.
Stella:
Gravity keeps us on the ground. Without gravity, we can’t walk, run, jump, sit, stand or play
any sport. Gravity is very important to us.
Gravity causes precipitation to fall from clouds and water to flow downward on the land.
Gravity causes water to flow downwards as we turn on the tap to wash hands. Our atmosphere is
a mixture of gases that surround Earth. It is kept in place by the pull of Earth's gravity. It holds
down our atmosphere and the air we need to breathe. Without gravity, the air in the
atmosphere would immediately leap into space. Also, the ocean will be empty from water.
Without atmosphere living things would die immediately and anything liquid would boil away
into space.
May Qi:
Microgravity is a condition in space in which only minuscule forces are experienced. Astronauts
are in a state of continuous free fall while orbiting earth and they are not pressed against any
surface by the force of gravity. Muscles don't have to work as hard in microgravity as they do
on earth. They’re exposed to low doses of radiation from cosmic and solar sources which could
weaken bones and lead to mission critical fractures. Microgravity has huge effects on our body.
We will develop muscle atrophy, the weakening or shrinking of muscles due to a lack of use, if
we’re in space for a long time. Astronauts suffer from bone loss too because of their exposure to
low doses of radiation which weaken bones. Fluid redistribution will happen too. The bodily
fluids are pulled by gravity into the lower body on Earth, but in space, gravity weakens and the
fluids are no longer pulled down, resulting in fluids accumulating in the upper body and
astronauts’ faces swells in space.
Next, we’ll talk about how gravity affects planets. The Sun's mass exerts a very strong
gravitational pull on all the planets in the solar system. Inertia is the tendency of an object in
motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force. Without any
force acting on the planets, they would move in a straight line away from the sun. The
combination of these two forces: gravity pulling the planets toward the sun and inertia pushing
them away — creates an orbit. Inertia tries to carry the planet in a straight line away from the
sun, but the sun’s gravity constantly pulls it inward, causing the planet to follow a curved path
around the sun.
Also, I’ll talk about how buildings are designed to withstand gravity. We choose the materials carefully.
Concrete is used because of its strength, durability, and versatility. Wood is used too because of its
strength, lightweight, and ease of use. Steel is used because of its strength, endurance, beauty and
malleability. Beams & columns are used to withstand gravity too. Beams support loads and transfer them
to columns, which then transfer the loads to the foundation, creating a framework that distributes
weight evenly. We create deep foundations, which are piles or caissons that extend deep into the soil to
reach stable ground. We also use shallow foundations to spread footings that distribute loads over a
larger area near the surface. Footings are also important, they're structural elements at the base of a
building or other structure that transfer and distribute the weight of the structure to the soil or rock
beneath.
Zeng Yan:
So, how do planes and rockets fly if there’s gravity? A plane must be built so that lift and thrust (point)
are stronger than the pull (point) of gravity and drag (point) by just the right amount. Lift from the
wings is used to overcome the force of gravity. And when a rocket pushes out exhaust, it creates an
upward force called thrust. To launch, the rocket needs enough propellants so that the thrust pushing
the rocket up is greater than the force of gravity pulling the rocket down.
Xin Qi:
Now, before we end our sharing, let’s do a quiz about all we’ve shared today.
Zeng Yan:
If you can answer our questions correctly, we will give you a candy.
After the quiz…
This is the end of our presentation and thank you for listening.
