Glossary term: Gravity
Description: Gravity is the mutual attraction of objects with mass. In classical mechanics, any object with a mass always exerts a force of attraction on another object with a mass. This attractive force is what we know as gravity. Einstein's theory of general relativity recasts gravity as a curvature of spacetime rather than a force. However the classical approximation of gravity is still accurate in most scenarios. The more massive an object is, the stronger its gravitational force/distortion of spacetime and hence the stronger the pull on other objects.
Related Terms:
See this term in other languages
Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
If you notice a factual error in this glossary definition then please get in touch.
Related Activities
Model of a Black Hole
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Understand the mystery of black holes through a hands-on activity.
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Hands-on
, Model
, Interactive
, Space-time
, Black holes
Age Ranges:
8-10
, 10-12
Education Level:
Primary
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Modelling
, Social Research
Costs:
Medium Cost
Duration:
1 hour
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Asking questions
, Developing and using models
Levitating Astronaut
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Levitate an astronaut with the power of magnetism.
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Hands-on
, Levitation
, Magnets
, Magnetism
, Force
, Charge
Age Ranges:
8-10
, 10-12
Education Level:
Middle School
, Primary
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Modelling
Costs:
Low Cost
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Asking questions
, Constructing explanations
, Developing and using models
, Planning and carrying out investigations
Impact Craters
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: A literal Earth-Shattering experiment
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
History
, Impact
, Experiment
Age Ranges:
10-12
, 12-14
, 14-16
Education Level:
Middle School
, Primary
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Guided-discovery learning
, Modelling
, Traditional Science Experiment
Costs:
Low Cost
Duration:
1 hour
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Analysing and interpreting data
, Asking questions
, Constructing explanations
, Engaging in argument from evidence
, Using mathematics and computational thinking
Big Telescopes: Gravity
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Observing what gravity is doing to the Universe
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Experiment
Age Ranges:
12-14
, 14-16
Education Level:
Middle School
, Secondary
Areas of Learning:
Guided-discovery learning
, Interactive Lecture
, Modelling
Costs:
High Cost
Duration:
1 hour 30 mins
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Analysing and interpreting data
, Asking questions
, Developing and using models
, Planning and carrying out investigations
Dark matter & dark energy (Part 2) – Understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy
astroEDU educational activity (links to astroEDU website) Description: Let's investigate the nature of dark matter and energy with gravitational lensing!
License: CC-BY-4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons
Tags:
Experiment
, Invisible
Age Ranges:
12-14
, 14-16
, 16-19
, 19+
Education Level:
Informal
, Middle School
Areas of Learning:
Guided-discovery learning
, Interactive Lecture
, Modelling
, Problem-solving
Costs:
Medium Cost
Duration:
45 mins
Group Size:
Group
Skills:
Constructing explanations
, Developing and using models
, Engaging in argument from evidence
