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Home » Earth-Moon System

Earth-Moon System

By Janice VanCleave

The Earth and the Moon act as if they are playing a game of “Tug-of-War.”

The Moon’s gravity is tugging at the Earth and the Earth’s gravity is tugging at the Moon.

The Earth is much larger and much more massive than the Moon.  Since the force of gravity decreases with distance, there is just enough tugging to keep the Moon from moving away from the Earth.

The Moon continue to circle around the Earth. While there is no real connection between the Earth and the Moon, they continue to stay together.

How to Model the Earth-Moon System.

Earth–Teacher
Moon–
child
gravity between bodies–
rope

Use the model, discover the answer for the following :

1. What would happen if Earth’s  gravity suddenly increased? (teacher pulls harder and child moves closer)

2. What would happen if Earth’s gravity suddenly decreased? (teacher pulls less and the child pulls the teacher closer)

Teaching the Fun of Science to Young Learners

The book is designed to help young students catch the “science bug” 

Teaching the Fun of Science to Young Learners

The book’s 75 lessons and reproducible activities touch on all areas of science and provide the key to a world of science magic and mystery. While kids will have fun doing the activities and learning to love science, they are also being encouraged to develop other skills, including reading, writing, math, and art.

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Filed Under: General Science Tagged With: gravity

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The spoon hanging from the string vibrates when struck and these vibrations are transmitted through the string and the sound is amplified by the plastic cups. ABOUT ME: Hi, I am Janice VanCleave, author of 50 best-selling science experiment books for children ages 4 through high school. I taught science for 27 years. MORE.....

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