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Created 6/11/17. Updates available online.

Gravity Force Lab

Gravity Force Lab Screenshot
  • Force
  • Gravity
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About

Topics

  • Force
  • Gravity

Description

Visualize the gravitational force that two objects exert on each other. Adjust properties of the objects to see how changing the properties affects the gravitational attraction.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Relate gravitational force to masses of objects and distance between objects.
  • Explain Newton's third law for gravitational forces.
  • Design experiments that allow you to derive an equation that relates mass, distance, and gravitational force.
  • Use measurements to determine the universal gravitational constant.
Version 1.03

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 HW
Demo
Lab
Gravity Lab- intro A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 HW
Gravity Force Lab : calculations A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 HW
Gravity Force Investigation (PreAP) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Elyse Zimmer HS Lab
Gravity Force Worksheet A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. David Kennedy MS Lab
Variables that Affect Gravity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Sarah Borenstein MS Lab
Modeling Universal Gravitation Activity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Justin Snook HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
Gravity Force Investigation (AP) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Elyse Zimmer HS Lab
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS		 Other
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other
h Bobby Fine HS Lab
The Laws of Attraction Dean Baird HS Lab
Modeling Gravity Matt Mulholland HS Lab
Universal Gravitation Lab Chris Bires HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
Updated HTML Gravity Sim Linda Fox HS
MS		 Lab
Gravity Force Simulation - Concept Questions Brian Miller MS HW
CQs
Lab
Inquiry to Gravity Brian Underwood HS Lab
Gravity Force Lab - HTML Version Linda Fox HS
MS		 Demo
Lab
CQs
Gravity Force Lab Kevin Fairchild HS Lab
Universal Gravity-building formula, quantitative with graphing Steve Banasiak-HF physics team HS Lab
Universal Gravitation Sarah Stanhope HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
Cavendish Lab Dan Burns HS Lab
Gravity Force Lab for Physical Science Linda Fox HS Lab
Calculer le poids d'un "grave" Bernard Lacour Other Other
Simulações no Ensino de Fisica Carla Tavares HS MC
Other
Discuss
Guided
HW
Lab
Demo

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Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Arabic All العربية Run now معمل قوة الجذب
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now معمل قوة الجذب
Basque All Basque Run now Grabitazio-indarraren Laborategia
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Лабараторыя гравітацыйнай сілы
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now GRAVITACIONA LABORATORIJA
Bulgarian All български Run now Лаборатория на гравитационните сили
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 万有引力实验
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now Gravity Force Lab 萬有引力實驗室
Czech All čeština Run now Gravitační laboratoř
Danish All Dansk Run now Tiltrækningslaboratorium
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Gravitatiekracht Laboratorium
Estonian All Eesti Run now Gravitatsioonilabor
French All français Run now Laboratoire sur la force de gravité
Galician All Gallegan Run now Gravidade Lab
Georgian All Georgian Run now იძულებითი გრავიტაციის ნიმუში
German All Deutsch Run now Schwerkraftlabor
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Εργαστήριο Βαρύτητας
Hebrew All עברית Run now מעבדת כוח כבידה
Hungarian All magyar Run now Tömegvonzás
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Lab Gaya Gravitasi
Italian All italiano Run now Forza di gravità
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 重力実験室
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಗುರುತ್ವ ಬಲ ಲ್ಯಾಬ್
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now гравитациялық күш
Khmer All Khmer Run now មន្ទី​ពិសោធន៍​កម្លាំង​ទំនាញ
Korean All 한국어 Run now 만유인력 실험
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Ezmûngeha Hêza Rakêşanê
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Gravitātes spēka laboratorija
Macedonian All македонски Run now Лабораторија за гравитациона сила
Marathi All मराठी Run now गुरुत्वीय बल प्रयोगशाळा
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Gravitasjonskraftlab
Persian All فارسی Run now آرمایشگاه نیروی گرانش
Polish All polski Run now Siły Grawitacyjne Lab
Portuguese All português Run now Laboratório de Força Gravítica
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Laboratório de Força Gravítica
Serbian All Српски Run now ГРАВИТАЦИОНА ЛАБОРАТОРИЈА
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Laboratórium gravitačnej sily
Spanish All español Run now Lab. Fuerza de Gravedad
Spanish (Colombia) All español (Colombia) Run now Laboratorio de fuerza gravitacional
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Laboratorio de Fuerza Gravitacional
Swedish All svenska Run now Gravitationskraftslabb
Thai All ไทย Run now แรงดึงดูดระหว่างมวล
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Çekim Kuvveti Laboratuvarı
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Agyrlyk güýjüniň laboratoriýasy
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Phòng thí nghiệm Lực hấp dẫn

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later
OS 10.5 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_19 or later
Sun Java 1.5.0_15 or later

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Sam Reid
  • Noah Podolefsky
  • Carl Wieman
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Piccolo2D
  • Scala
English
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