Unpacked Content
Scientific and Engineering Practices
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Crosscutting Concepts
Cause and Effect
Knowledge
Students know:
- The Earth's shape is spherical.
- That objects dropped appear to fall straight down.
- That people live all around the spherical Earth, and they all observe that objects appear to fall straight down.
Skills
Students are able to:
- Construct an explanation of observed relationships.
- Use evidence to illustrate the relationship between gravity and objects on Earth.
Understanding
Students understand that:
- If Earth is spherical, and all observers see objects near them falling directly "down" to the Earth's surface, then all observers would agree that objects fall toward the Earth's center.
- Since an object that is initially stationary when held moves downward when it is released, there must be a force (gravity) acting on the object that pulls the object toward the center of the Earth.
Vocabulary
- construct
- explanation
- gravitational force
- evidence
- illustrate
- spherical
