Physics made simple – gravity
In this recorded professional learning session, Greta Dromgool and Ted Cizadlo will build your confidence to teach the Physical World. The New Zealand Curriculum achievement objectives for this area are incredibly broad, and gravity is a lot weirder than we think! Using simple examples, we will take you step by step through how you can teach this concept and unpack students’ alternative conceptions.
LOVED the webinar on gravity – just awesome – thanks so much especially the practical easy experiments for us to do in class .
Teacher
Physics made simple – gravity
This is the edited recording of the Physics made simple – gravity webinar.
Physics made simple – gravity – slideshow
This slideshow from the webinar Physics made simple – gravity provides additional support for the video tutorial.
You can download the video and slideshow presentation or add them to a collection.
Index
Topic
Slideshow number(s)
Video timecode
Introducing the Science Learning Hub and presenters
1–2
00:00
Index
3
00:43
Purpose
4
01:12
NZ Curriculum
5–7
02:31
Gravity is an everyday force
8–9
03:58
Gravity is weird and weak
10–11
06:20
Alternative conceptions and concept cartoons
12–13
10:03
Mass vs weight
14
11:28
How gravity works
15
15:41
Other resources
16
41:40
SLH links, keep in touch and thanks
17
41:50
Got so much out of this! Can’t wait to put it into practice.
Teacher
The article The gravity well – a physics analogy explains how to construct and use the gravity well demonstrated in the webinar. It includes an interactive with conceptual simulations that can be demonstrated on a gravity well and links to related Hub content.
Nature of science
In science, a model is a representation of an idea, an object or even a process or a system that is used to describe and explain phenomena that cannot be experienced directly. Models are central to what scientists do, both in their research as well as when communicating their explanations. Learn more about models in science in the article Scientific modelling.
Related content
The Science Learning Hub’s gravity concept has a range of articles and activities focusing on the Physical World, and our teacher PLD Physical World – forces provides an outline of our resources linked to topics such as flight and rockets.
The Science Learning Hub team has curated a collection of resources with a on physics. Log in to make this collection part of your private collection. Click on the copy , and then you can then add additional content, notes, share and collaborate with others, and more. Registering an account on the Science Learning Hub is easy and free – sign up with your email address or Google account. Look for the Sign in button at the top of each page.
Useful links
Watch this video as Brian Cox and the team at NASA’s Space Facility drop a bowling ball and feathers in a near perfect vacuum.
Visit the Exploratorium website to find your weight on different worlds – and to learn about the relationship between mass, gravity and distance.
