What makes the pull of gravity stronger or weaker
Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Ari wonders which objects pull on each other with gravity. Which answer is right?
- Every pair of objects with mass, even two balls
- Only very big objects pull, like planets and stars
- Only Earth pulls on things
- Objects pull only when they touch
An apple falls from a tree toward Earth. Does the apple pull on Earth too, by Bo's notes?
Pull-arrow diagram: a falling apple and Earth, with an arrow on each pointing toward the other. Pull-arrow diagram: a falling apple and Earth, with an arrow on each pointing toward the other. apple Earth - No; just Earth does the pulling
- Yes, and the apple pulls harder on Earth than Earth pulls
- Yes, with an equal pull; Earth just barely moves
- No; apples have no mass
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Pull-arrow diagram: Pair A, two foam balls 1 m apart; Pair B, two bowling balls 1 m apart; arrows not drawn.
Pair A is two small foam balls 1 meter apart. Pair B is two heavy bowling balls 1 meter apart. Which pair pulls on each other more strongly, says Jun?
Pull-arrow diagram: Pair A, two foam balls 1 m apart; Pair B, two bowling balls 1 m apart; arrows not drawn. Pull-arrow diagram: Pair A, two foam balls 1 m apart; Pair B, two bowling balls 1 m apart; arrows not drawn. Pair A foam ball foam ball 1 m apart Pair B bowling ball bowling ball 1 m apart - Neither pair pulls on the other
- They pull the same, since the distance is the same
- Pair A, with less mass
- Pair B, with more mass
Pull-arrow diagram: the same two balls 1 m apart (Pair C) and 3 m apart (Pair D); arrows not drawn. Pair C is two equal balls 1 meter apart. Pair D is the same two balls 3 meters apart. Which pair pulls more strongly, by Luz's thinking?
Pull-arrow diagram: the same two balls 1 m apart (Pair C) and 3 m apart (Pair D); arrows not drawn. Pull-arrow diagram: the same two balls 1 m apart (Pair C) and 3 m apart (Pair D); arrows not drawn. Pair C 1 m apart Pair D 3 m apart - Pair D, farther apart
- The same, since the masses match
- Neither, since they sit on Earth
- Pair C, closer together
Which pulls harder on Milo: Earth, from below, or a big boulder right beside Milo?
Drawing of a hiker-sized outline next to a boulder, standing on the ground, with arrows not drawn. Drawing of a hiker-sized outline next to a boulder, standing on the ground, with arrows not drawn. - Neither pulls on people
- They pull the same
- The boulder, because it is closer
- Earth, because it has far more mass
Table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), with columns World and Gravity, m/s², surface gravity in m/s²
Earth 9.8; Moon 1.6; Mars 3.7; Jupiter 23.1.
Using the NASA gravity table, where would Noah's backpack weigh the least?
- The same everywhere
- On Mars
- On Jupiter
- On the Moon
Using the same table, where would Pia's backpack weigh the most?
- On Earth, its home planet
- On Jupiter
- On the Moon
- The same everywhere, since mass stays the same
Ren imagines taking a 3 kg ball to the Moon. What happens to the ball's mass there?
Drawing of the same ball on Earth and on the Moon, each labeled "mass: ?". Drawing of the same ball on Earth and on the Moon, each labeled "mass: ?". Earth Moon mass: ? mass: ? - It drops to about 0.5 kg
- It grows a little
- It becomes zero
- It stays 3 kg
In Zee's diagram, a big ball and a small ball have pull arrows of equal length pointing at each other. Why are the arrows equal?
Pull-arrow diagram: a big ball and a small ball with equal-length arrows pointing toward each other. Pull-arrow diagram: a big ball and a small ball with equal-length arrows pointing toward each other. - They pull on each other with equal force
- The diagram is wrong; the big ball pulls harder
- The arrows show distance, not pull
- The small ball pulls harder
Esme doubles the mass of one ball and keeps the distance the same. What happens to the pull arrows?
Pull-arrow diagram: two balls with arrows toward each other; one ball is labeled "mass doubled". Pull-arrow diagram: two balls with arrows toward each other; one ball is labeled "mass doubled". mass doubled - They both get shorter
- Just that ball's arrow grows
- Nothing changes
- Both arrows get longer, since the pull is stronger