Elijah Shuford completed a student exploration on gravity and orbits using a simulation. They observed how changing a planet's mass and radius affected the trajectory of a pitched ball. Increasing a planet's mass strengthened its gravity, pulling the ball further, while increasing radius weakened gravity. The strongest gravity was from a custom planet with high mass and small radius. Escaping a planet required the highest velocity, with Mars having the lowest escape velocity.
Elijah Shuford completed a student exploration on gravity and orbits using a simulation. They observed how changing a planet's mass and radius affected the trajectory of a pitched ball. Increasing a planet's mass strengthened its gravity, pulling the ball further, while increasing radius weakened gravity. The strongest gravity was from a custom planet with high mass and small radius. Escaping a planet required the highest velocity, with Mars having the lowest escape velocity.
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Name: Elijah Shuford
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Student Exploration: Gravity Pitch Define Vocabulary: escape velocity: the speed an object must travel to escape the gravitational pull of a planet. ravity: the force of attraction between all objects in the universe. orbit: the path of a celestial body (such as a moon or a planet) around another body orbital velocity: the speed an object must travel to achieve a perfectly circular orbit trajectory: the path of an object through space velocity: an objects speed and direction of motion Prior !no"lede #uestions (Do these BF!" using the #i$mo.) !n their summer vacation% a family is standing at a scenic overloo& at the top of a tall cliff. 'oung (lice (age )) tosses a roc& over the edge and giggles as she watches it fall. Brother Darrell (age *) thin&s he can do better and hurls another roc& over the edge. +apa Billy chuc&les% pic&s up a nice round roc&% and flings it off the cliff as hard as he can. ,. -n the picture to the right% draw the trajectory% or path% that each roc& would ta&e. .abel the three trajectories /(lice0% /Darrell0 and /Billy0 (or just (% D and B). $lice % purple Darrell % red Papa &illy ' reen ). 1hat would happen if Billy could throw the roc& as fast as a roc&et2 ( miht o throuh the round and cause an explosion. (t "ould reach the round faster. Gi)mo *arm'up: *hich "ay does ravity pull+ ,. 3se the slider to set the Velocity to 4.4 &m5s (&ilometers per second). Velocity is basically the same thing as speed% but has direction as well. -n this case the pitcher is simply dropping the ball. 6lic& Play ( ). (. 1hat direction does the ball go2 ,he ball oes straiht do"n. B. 7&etch the pitcher and the trajectory of the ball on the diagram. ). 6lic& -eset ( ) and drag the pitcher to several new positions. 6lic& Play and watch him drop the ball each time. 7&etch the pitcher and the trajectory of each ball on the diagram. (. 1hat do you notice2 No matter "here ( move him the ball drops straiht do"n to his feet. B. 8he ball is pulled by a force called ravity. -n what direction does gravity always pull the ball2 Gravity al"ays pulls the ball to"ards the center of the Earth. $ctivity $: .o" far does it o+ #et the #i$mo ready: 6lic& -eset. Drag the pitcher bac& to the top. 7et the Velocity to ,.4 &m5s ()%)9) miles per hour). #uestion: *hy do objects o around/ or orbit/ other objects+ ,. !bserve : 6lic& Play and observe the trajectory of the ball. (8he pitcher is rather tall : about ,;44 &m% or <94 miles% tall=) ). +redict : >ow would the trajectory of the ball change as the pitcher throws it harder and harder2 ?plain below% and draw several predicted trajectories on the diagram. ,he ball may o out a little farther because there is more force behind the thro". 9. 6ollect data : 8hrow the ball at velocities of )% 9% @% ;% A% and B &m5s. 3se the 0ast for"ard button ( ) to speed things up and the /%0 $oom control to see a larger area. For each throw% s&etch and label the trajectory and record the Distance traveled in the table.
Velocity Distance traveled ) &m5s 1234 5m 9 &m5s 6327 5m @ &m5s 8283 5m ; &m5s 4991 5m A &m5s 2612 5m B &m5s 7:673 5m @. (naly$e : 1hat happens2 (ncreasin the velocity increase the distance that the ball travels. ,he ball oes farther before it hits the Earth. *hen ( put it on 3 5m;s the ball "ent all the "ay around the Earth and hit the pitcher "hich "as funny lol. ;. Draw conclusions : 1hat force causes objects to stay in orbit2 Gravity
A. "un #i$mo : 8est * &m5s% < &m5s% and ,4 &m5s. 3se the /:0 $oom control. 1hat happens2 $t 2 5m;s the ball "ent out further and made a "ider circular shape but still came bac5 and hit the pitcher. $t < 5m;s the ball travelled a very/ very/ very lon distance =19</7<8 5m> and then came bac5 and hit the pitcher aain. $t 19 5m;s the ball "ent out even further and travelled an extremely lon distance. ( "aited a lon time but did not see the ball come bac5. ( "onder if it escaped our ravity. *here is it+ $ctivity &: ?omparin planets #et the #i$mo ready: 6lic& -eset. !n the Planet menu% choose Venus. 7et the Velocity to , &m5s. #uestion: .o" "ould the ravity of other planets affect a pitched ball+ ,. !bserve : .oo& at the Planet mass and Planet radius of Cenus. 8he mass of a planet is how much matter it contains. 8he radius of a planet is the distance from the center to the surface. 6ompared to arth% what are the mass and radius of Cenus2 Cenus mass: D9.21D E arths mass Cenus radius: 9.<4D E arths radius ). +redict : 1ill the pitcher have to throw the ball faster or not as fast to send a ball into orbit around Cenus2 0aster 1hy2 &ecause of the mass difference 9. "un #i$mo : @rbital velocity is the velocity needed to ma&e a circular orbit. 3se the #i$mo to find the orbital velocity of the ball on Cenus. Fa&e the orbit as circular as you can. (. 1hat is the orbital velocity on Cenus2 :.: 5m;s B. Do the same on arth. 1hat is the orbital velocity on arth2 3.1 5m;s 6. Based on this% which planet do you thin& has stronger gravity% Cenus or arth2 ?plain. Earth has the stroner ravity because it reAuired a reater velocity for the ball to orbit the Earth. @. +redict : 7elect Bars. stimate what the orbital velocity will be on Fars: <.9 5m;s 1hy did you choose that value2 ( just uessed ;. "un #i$mo : (djust the Velocity until you create a circular orbit on Fars. (. 1hat is the orbital velocity on Fars2 8.9 5m;s B. >ow does gravity on Fars compare to arth and Cenus2 Earth and Venus have a stroner ravity than Bars. ,he ravity is very "ea5 on Bars. A. ?tend your thin&ing : 8he escape velocity is the smallest velocity needed for the baseball to escape from the planets gravity and fly off into space% never to return. (. 1hich planet do you thin& has the lowest escape velocity2 Bars B. 3se the #i$mo to test your prediction. 1ere you correct2 Ces/ it "as correct. ( believe it escaped ravity because the distance travelled stopped calculatin. $ctivity ?: Desin a planet #et the #i$mo ready: 6lic& -eset. !n the Planet menu% select ?ustom. 7et the Velocity to B.4 &m5s. #uestion: .o" does a planetDs mass and radius affect a pitched ball+ ,. !bserve : 3sing the sliders% try a variety of values for Planet mass and Planet radius for your custom planet. !bserve the trajectory of the ball each time. ). Form hypotheses : Fill in the blan&s below: As its mass increases, the strength of a planets gravity increases As its radius increases, the strength of a planets gravity decreases 9. "un #i$mo : 7et Planet mass to 4.4 of arth (no mass)% Planet radius to ,.4 of arth (eGual to arth). +ress Play and record results. "epeat for masses of ,.4 (eGual to arth) and ).4. Planet mass Planet radius Velocity *hat happened+ 4.4 ,.4 B.4 &m5s ,he ball "ent in a straiht line and did not come bac5 ,.4 ,.4 B.4 &m5s ,he ball "hen in a circular orbit about the planet and hit the pitcher ).4 ,.4 B.4 &m5s ,he ball "ent a short distance in front of the pitcher and hit the planet. @. (naly$e : >ow does increasing the mass affect the gravity of the planet2 >ow do you &now2 (ncreasin the mass of the planet increases the strenth of ravity. *hen ( increased the planets mass/ the ravity pulled on the ball more. ;. ?periment : Do the same &ind of e?periment% but now &eep the Planet mass at ,.4 and change the Planet radius. "ecord results in a noteboo& or on a separate sheet of paper. (. 1hat do you notice2 *hen the radius increases the ball travels a farther distance. B. >ow does changing the radius affect the strength of a planets gravity2 *hen the radius increase the ravity becomes "ea5er. A. (pply : 3sing what you have learned% create a planet with the strongest possible gravity. 1hat are the mass and radius of this planet2 Since a reater mass means a reater ravity/ ( set the mass at 6.9. ,hen ( played around "ith it to et the radius and came up "ith 9.8. ( couldnDt o any hiher or lo"er "ith the controls. Assessment Results Gravity Pitch Print Page Close Window Individual Report: Elijah Shuford Student 1 2 3 4 5 Total Shuford, Elijah D A B B B (4/5) ! "he #it$her shown %elow dro#s a %all! Whi$h arrow shows the dire$tion the %all will tra&el' o A! Arrow A o B! Arrow B o C! Arrow C o D! Arrow D Corre$t Answer( D ) Arrow D E*#lanation( Earth+s gra&it, #ulls all o%je$ts toward the $enter of the Earth! -o .atter where on Earth ,ou stand, a dro##ed %all will land at ,our feet! /ou answered this 0uestion $orre$tl,1 Ba$2 to "o# 3! A giganti$ #it$her on a distant #lanet throws a %all as shown %elow! What would the traje$tor, of a slower #it$h loo2 li2e' o A! 4.age A o B! 4.age B o C! 4.age C o D! 4.age D Corre$t Answer( A ) 4.age A E*#lanation( 4f the %all is thrown with less &elo$it, it won+t tra&el as far %efore it hits the ground! "he traje$tor, in i.age A is the onl, one shorter than the original! /ou answered this 0uestion $orre$tl,1 Ba$2 to "o# 5! What is the %est e*#lanation of the i.age shown %elow' o A! "he %all was #it$hed at or%ital &elo$it,! o B! "he %all was #it$hed at .ore than or%ital &elo$it, %ut less than es$a#e &elo$it,! o C! "he %all was #it$hed at es$a#e &elo$it,! o D! "he %all was #it$hed at .ore than es$a#e &elo$it,! Corre$t Answer( A ) "he %all was #it$hed at or%ital &elo$it,! E*#lanation( 4f a %all were #it$hed at or%ital &elo$it,, it would go around in a $ir$ular or%it li2e the one shown! /ou answered this 0uestion in$orre$tl,6 ,our answer was B! Ba$2 to "o# 4! What is the %est e*#lanation of the i.age shown %elow' o A! "he %all was #it$hed at or%ital &elo$it,! o B! "he %all was #it$hed at .ore than or%ital &elo$it, %ut less than es$a#e &elo$it,! o C! "he %all was #it$hed at es$a#e &elo$it,! o D! "he %all was #it$hed at .ore than es$a#e &elo$it,! Corre$t Answer( B ) "he %all was #it$hed at .ore than or%ital &elo$it, %ut less than es$a#e &elo$it,! E*#lanation( 4f a %all were #it$hed at or%ital &elo$it,, it would go around in a $ir$ular or%it! 4f the %all were #it$hed at es$a#e &elo$it,, it would lea&e the #lanet and not return! An o&al7sha#ed or%it ($alled an elliptical or%it) results fro. a #it$h that was faster than or%ital &elo$it, %ut slower than es$a#e &elo$it,! /ou answered this 0uestion $orre$tl,1 Ba$2 to "o# 5! -e#tune has a slightl, s.aller radius and a slightl, greater .ass than 8ranus! 4f ,ou threw a %all with the sa.e &elo$it, on %oth #lanets, what would %e true' (Assu.e %oth %alls land %a$2 on the #lanet!) o A! "he %all would tra&el farther on -e#tune! o B! "he %all would tra&el farther on 8ranus! o C! "he %all would tra&el the sa.e distan$e on ea$h #lanet! o D! -ot enough infor.ation! Corre$t Answer( B ) "he %all would tra&el farther on 8ranus! E*#lanation( 9ra&it, %e$o.es stronger as the .ass of a #lanet in$reases! 9ra&it, also %e$o.es stronger as the radius of a #lanet decreases! Be$ause it has a greater .ass and a s.aller radius, the gra&it, at -e#tune+s surfa$e is stronger than on the surfa$e of 8ranus! "he stronger gra&it, on -e#tune would #ull a %all to its surfa$e .ore 0ui$2l,, so the %all won+t tra&el as far on -e#tune as on 8ranus! /ou answered this 0uestion $orre$tl,1