What is Gravity?What is Gravity?

Force of GravityForce of Gravity

One force acting on you right now is gravity. It is pulling you toward Earth’s surface. Gravity pulls two objects together. The force of gravity between objects depends on two things. One is how much matter is in the objects. The other is how close together the objects are.

Earth’s GravityEarth’s Gravity

When things go up, the force of gravity pulls them down. Jump up, and you will fall back to Earth because of gravity. Earth has a huge amount of matter. The pull between it and other objects is very strong.

WeightWeight

You are probably familiar with the word weight. What is weight? Weight is a measure of force. It tells the amount of gravity acting on an object. When you weigh yourself at home, you measure the force of gravity between you and Earth.

Gravity on the MoonGravity on the Moon

More massive objects exert a greater force of gravity than less massive objects do. The Moon is less massive than the Earth. It has less gravity. If you weighed yourself on the Moon, you would weigh one-sixth your Earth weight.

gravitygravity

• Gravity is a pulling force between two objects.

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