ES-PS2.B-3

Gravity Launcher

Experience Awakening - Our open-world educational game

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Game Info for Teachers

COMBINED RATING

4.0 Stars

TEACHERS (76)

4.1

STUDENTS (18520)

3.9

LENGTH

19 Minutes

GRADES

CAPABILITIES

iPad Support

Spanish Language Support

Text-to-Speech Support

Description

You control a powerful ball cannon placed on a planet! You'll be challenged to hit the targets while learning about gravity and forces in a very intuitive way.

Vocabulary Words

gravity

attract

mass

force

applied forces

contact force

non-contact force

distance

motion

strength

direction

push

pull

collide

collision

impulse

gravitational force

magnetic force

friction

position

orbit

Instructions

Play through this interactive game to learn about Gravitational Force. Suitable for Grade 3, Grade 4, Grade 5.

Main Concepts

A force is a push or pull on an object.(ES)

A force has both a strength and a direction.

Motion is the change in position of an object.

Gravity is a force that pulls all objects on Earth down towards Earth’s surface.

A contact force is a force that occurs when objects are in direct contact with each other.

A non-contact force is a force that can act on an object over a distance.

Examples of non-contact forces are gravity, the electric force, and the magnetic force.

Gravity is a non-contact force between any two masses.

The larger a mass is, the stronger its gravitational force.

The farther the distance between two masses, the weaker the gravitational force between them.

While gravity appears to pulls objects downwards, it actually pulls them towards the center of the Earth.

Earth is spherical in shape.

Discussion Questions

Before the Game

What is a force? How can forces affect motion? How is the strength of a force increased? If the strength of a force is increased, what might happen to the motion of an object? What effect does gravity have when you throw a ball? Does the weight of an object affect how fast it falls?

After the Game

How did the strength of the cannon affect the ball? How did the direction affect the ball? If you were shooting it straight up (180 degrees), how is this different from shooting it at 45 degrees or 0 degrees? What force curved the ball back to the earth? What do we call this force? Is this a contact force or non-contact force? How did the bowling ball and smaller white ball shoot differently? Why did they shoot differently? What kind of force is being applied when the bowling ball crashes into the crates? How and why did the moon affect the path of the ball?