ocus:
gF
Teachin
rd Study
o
W
:
s
ic
Phon
rds float
o
w
e
h
t
Look at
How are
.
s
t
n
la
p
w
and
alike? Ho
s
d
r
o
w
the
?
different
are they
Level: N
Word Count: 331
100th Word: planets (page 8)
Tips on Reading This
Book with Children:
1. Read the title.
Predictions – after reading the title have children
make predictions about the book.
2. Take a book walk.
Talk about the pictures in the book. Use the content words from the book as you take the picture walk.
Have children find one or two words they know as they do a picture walk.
3. Have children find words they recognize in the text.
4. Have children read the remaining text aloud.
5. Strategy Talk – use to assist children while reading.
• Get your mouth ready
• Look at the picture
• Think…does it make sense
• Think…does it look right
• Think…does it sound right
• Chunk it – by looking for a part you know
6. Read it again.
7. Complete the activities at the end of the book.
Gravity!
Do You Feel It?
by Buffy Silverman
Science Content Editor:
Kristi Lew
www.rourkeclassroom.com
Science content editor: Kristi Lew
A former high school teacher with a background in biochemistry and more than 10 years of experience in cytogenetic
laboratories, Kristi Lew specializes in taking complex scientific information and making it fun and interesting for
scientists and non-scientists alike. She is the author of more than 20 science books for children and teachers.
© 2012 Rourke Publishing LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission
in writing from the publisher.
www.rourkeclassroom.com
Photo credits:
Cover © mountainpix, Cover logo frog © Eric Pohl, test tube © Sergey Lazarev; Table Of Contents & Page 4© Phase4Photography; Page 5 © Kadroff; Page 7 © greenland; Page 9 © Racheal Grazias; Page 10 © Steve Collender; Page
11 © Richard Susanto; Page 13 © Monkey Business Images; Page 14 © TRINACRIA PHOTO, jackhollingsworthcom,
LLC; Page 16 © Matamu; Page 15 © Peter Hansen; Page 17 © Orla; Page 19 © paul prescott; Page 21 © oorka
Editor: Kelli Hicks
Cover and page design by Nicola Stratford, bdpublishing.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Silverman, Buffy.
Gravity! do you feel it? / Buffy Silverman.
p. cm. -- (My science library)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61741-754-2 (Hard cover) (alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-61741-956-0 (Soft cover)
1. Gravity--Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Series.
QC178.S467 2012
531’.14--dc22
2011004841
Rourke Publishing
Printed in China,
Power Printing Company Ltd
Guangdong Province
042011
042011LP
www.rourkeclassroom.com - [email protected]
Post Office Box 643328 Vero Beach, Florida 32964
Table of Contents
What Is Gravity?
4
How Does Gravity Work?10
Orbiting in Space
16
Show What You Know 22
Glossary23
Index24
What Is Gravity?
Toss a ball into the sky. No
matter how hard you throw
it, the ball comes back to the
ground. What makes the ball
return to Earth? Gravity!
4
You
ca
But, nnot see
yo
g
pulls u can se ravity.
e
a bal
l bac that it
k to
Earth
.
5
Gravity is a force. A force is something
that pushes or pulls an object. The Earth’s
gravity pulls objects towards the center of
the Earth.
What would happen if there was no
gravity? Rocks, houses, plants, and animals
would float into space. People would
float, too.
d to
r
a
h
work
all
o
t
w
e
g
v
in
ha
limb ulling.
c
You
a
up
is p
b
y
t
m
i
i
v
l
c
gra
e
s
u
a
bec
6
7
The force of gravity pulls all objects
towards each other. Every object in the
universe pulls on every other object.
The Earth, Sun, Moon, and planets
pull on each other. Buildings, cars, and
trains pull on each other. You have
gravitational pull, too!
8
own
d
s
oom n it as
z
r
e
t
rcoas ty pulls o
e
l
l
o
Ar
ravi own.
G
.
k
c
a tra up and d
es
it go
9
How Does
Gravity Work?
Everything in the universe is
made of matter. People, air,
water, rocks, and planets are
made of matter. Scientists call
the amount of matter in an
object its mass.
The a
ir ins
i
is a t
ype o de these
b
f ma
anyth
tter. alloons
ing t
Matt
hat h
takes
er is
a
up sp
s ma
ss an
ace.
d
10
A tre
e
than has more
you!
mass
11
Objects with more mass have more
gravitational pull. The Earth has much more
mass than you do. That means that the
Earth pulls with more force.
rth’s h.
a
E
e
Eart
of th
n
e
o
c
r
u
o
The f keeps yo
ty
gravi
12
13
Your weight is a measure of the pull
of gravity between you and the Earth.
The Moon is smaller than Earth and has
less mass. That means that its gravity has
less pull. A 70-pound (32 kilograms) child
weighs only 12 pounds (5 kilograms) on
the Moon.
“On Earth
I weigh
70 pounds or
32 kilograms.”
14
“On the Moon
I weigh
12 pounds or
5 kilograms.”
nt to
e
w
s
naut eighed
o
r
t
s
w
na
Whe on, they .
o
th
the M an on Ear
h
less t
15
Orbiting in Space
Objects in space pull each
other together. The Sun has
much more mass than the
Earth. Its gravity is stronger.
The Sun has a greater pull
than Earth. It holds the Earth
in place as the Earth moves in
an orbit around the Sun.
16
The S
u
the m n makes
up 9
a
9.8
It pu ss of the
lls on
solar 6% of
sy
al
The p
lanet l the plan stem.
s orb
it the ets.
Sun.
The S
u
the p n’s gravit
la
y
solar nets in th holds
syste
e
m.
Earth
Sun
17
The Earth has more mass than the Moon.
Its gravity is stronger. The Earth’s gravity
pulls more than the Moon’s gravity. The
Moon orbits the Earth. It cannot escape
Earth’s gravity.
rth
he Ea
lls t
u
p
y
it
Grav together.
n
Moo
18
and
19
The force of gravity also depends on the
distance between two objects. Planets that
are far apart have less pull on each other.
Imagine traveling far from any moons,
planets, or stars. There would be almost
no gravity pulling on you. Then you could
float away!
20
Mars
Moon
Earth
arth
E
m
fro
ess
l
r
s
e
i
h
t
e
is far on. Ther een
s
r
a
M
Mo
e
betw
h
l
l
t
u
n
p
tha
nal
o
i
t
a
t
.
gravi nd Earth
a
Mars
21
1. What would happen if the Earth had
no gravity?
2. Why is there less gravity on the
Moon than on Earth?
3. How would your weight change if
22
you visited a planet with more
mass than Earth?
Glossary
force (FORS): something that pulls or pushes something else
gravitational pull (GRAV-uh-TA-shun-ul PULL): the force that
pulls objects together
gravity (GRAV-uh-tee): a force that pulls matter together
mass (MASS): the amount of matter that an object contains
matter (MAT-ur): anything that has mass and takes up space
orbit (OR-bit): the path of an object as it revolves around a
planet or sun
planets (PLAN-its): large bodies, such as Earth, that revolve
around a star
universe (YOO-nih-vurss): the Earth, planets, stars, and all
things that exist in space
weight (WATE): a measure of the pull of gravity between an
object and Earth or another planet
23
Index
Earth(s) 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21
force 6, 8, 12, 20
gravity 4, 6, 8, 14, 16, 18, 20
matter 4, 10
mass 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18
Moon(s) 8, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21
orbit(s) 16, 18
planet(s) 8, 10, 16, 17, 20
Sun(s) 8, 16, 17
weight 14
Websites
www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/index.html
www.historyforkids.org/scienceforkids/physics/space/gravity.htm
www.primarygames.com/arcade/gravity/start.htm
www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/gravity.html
About the Author
Buffy Silverman tries to beat gravity
when she hikes and bicycles. When
she’s not exploring the great
outdoors, she writes about science
and nature.
24
Comprehension & Extension:
Sight Words I Used:
•Summarize:
other
that
towards
what
would
What is gravity? How does gravity affect people
and the Earth?
•
Text to Self Connection:
Would you like to travel to space?
What do you think it would feel like to be in
no gravity?
•Extension: Write a Narrative
Use the factual information from the book to help
you write a fiction story about traveling in space.
Vocabulary Check:
Use glossary words in a
sentence.
Have you ever wondered about
the science all around us? Plants
grow and change, the Sun rises to warm the
Earth, and matter changes from one form to another.
Investigate Life, Physical, Earth, and Technology science topics with
Rourke’s My Science Library. This library explores NSTA science
standards with engaging text and colorful images to support readers
from kindergarten to third grade. Are you ready to investigate?
Books in My Science Library:
Earth is Tilting!
Gravity! Do You Feel It?
Let’s Classify Animals!
Melting Matter
Natural or Man-Made?
Plants Make Their Own Food
Printed in China
Seeds, Bees, and Pollen
Studying Weather and Climates
What Do Critters Do in the Winter?
What’s on the Food Chain Menu?
Where Did the Water Go?
Zap! It’s Electricity!
www.rourkeclassroom.com