Gravity — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. A satellite circling the Earth is really doing what?
A) Falling toward Earth while moving sideways fast enough to keep missing it
B) Floating because Earth's gravity does not reach that high in space
C) Being pushed by hot rocket engines that never stop firing
D) Resting on a thick layer of air far above the clouds
Grade 5 science explains a satellite as constantly falling toward Earth while moving sideways.
2. Why do astronauts inside the orbiting space station feel weightless?
A) Earth has no gravity at the height of the station
B) They and the station are falling together in free fall
C) Their bodies have lost all of their mass in space
D) The Moon's gravity cancels Earth's gravity exactly
Grade 5 students learn that free fall, not missing gravity, makes astronauts feel weightless.
3. Which event happens because of the Moon's gravity acting on Earth?
A) Strong winds blow across the deserts each afternoon
B) Volcanoes erupt deep inside the ocean trenches
C) High and low tides shift along ocean coastlines
D) Earth spins one full turn each day on its axis
Grade 5 science teaches that the Moon's gravity tugs on ocean water, producing tides.
4. Two students drop a baseball and a tennis ball at the same time from a window. Without much air, how do they fall?
A) The baseball falls about twice as fast because it is heavier
B) The tennis ball falls faster because it is lighter and quicker
C) Both balls fall at about the same rate and land together
D) Only the baseball falls; the tennis ball stays floating
Grade 5 students apply the rule that, with little air, all objects fall at the same rate.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. An object that travels around a larger body in space is called a satellite.
Grade 5 science calls anything orbiting another body a satellite.
2. Falling with only gravity acting on you is called free fall.
Grade 5 students label motion under gravity alone as free fall.
3. Two ocean high tides happen each day because of the gravity of the Moon.
Grade 5 science teaches that Moon gravity creates two high tides daily.
4. Without air, a hammer and a feather hit the ground at the same time.
Grade 5 learners know that without air, gravity drops all objects together.
5. Gravity is a force of attraction between any two objects that have mass.
Grade 5 science defines gravity as a mutual pulling force between masses.