Unit: Mechanical Forces

The Story of Isaac Newton and Gravity



Name: Amanda Diego

Vocabulary Words: gravity, acceleration, force, mass, weight



Target audience: 7th grade, Natural Science class



Audio Script:


Slides 1 and 2:

Narrator: One day, Isaac was sitting underneath an apple tree, contemplating the meaning of life, when all of a sudden, an apple hit him on the head. It is said that from this event, he discovered gravity.



Slide 3

Voice: Look, Mary! I discovered gravy

Narrator: No, not gravy, gravity.

Voice: Ohh



Slide 4,5,6

He described gravity as a constant downward acceleration that keeps people and things from flying off into space. Gravity is unique from the earth to the moon, and as the size of the heavenly body increases, that gravity also increases.



Slide 7

However, Newton did not describe gravity in terms of acceleration alone. He also described it in terms of force.



Slide 8

Voice: Da da da da da da da da…

Narrator: No, not that kind of force

Voice: Ohh



Slide 9

Narrator: He equated Force to the mass of an object multiplied by the amount of acceleration.



Slide 10

In simple terms, he thought of it as a push or a pull.



Slide 11

In terms of the earth’s gravity, the earth is pulling our mass down, creating a gravitational force, or weight.



Slide 12

He identified this difference between mass and weight. Mass is an unchanging characteristic of an object, while weight changes from location to location.



Slide 13, 14, 15

As he thought about the apple and searched the night sky, he understood that an apple on earth would have a very different weight from the same apple on the moon, even though it is the same apple.



Slide 16

Newton went on to think up more theories on math and science, and he wrote about his many ideas.



Slide 17

Everyone was thrilled.

Voice: Woo hoo! Isaac! Isaac! Isaac!




Slide 18

Narrator: He was knighted.



Slide 19, 20

And he lived happily ever after. The End. And may the mass times the acceleration be with you.



Credits



Portrait of Isaac Newton: http://www.bbc.co.uk



Newton under Apple Tree: http://mitchlanaillustration.blogspot.com



Newton with Gravy: http://www.cardstock.com



Floating Girl: http://jperegrineart.typepad.com



Yoda: http://sexualityinart.wordpress.com



Apple on Scale: http://www.thehealthcaregroup.com.au



Cheering Crowd: http://www.fotosearch.com



Earth: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov



Moon: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov



F=ma: http://www.physics4kids.com



Elephant on Scale: http://www.clipartof.com



Newton under Tree at Night: http://liklihoodofconfusion.com



Newton’s Book: http://www.spaceflight.esa.int



Knight: http://www.designstitch.com



Newton Postage Stamp: http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/gif/stamps/stamp_newton.jpg



Luke and Darth: http://www.cardstock.com
Less