Lab Investigation: Gravity Intro, Gravity

Gravity is the force that is exerted on all physical objects, which pulls it towards the center of the earth, or another large object with mass. According to the “Lab Investigation: Gravity Intro”, gravity is the weakest force that is found in nature. The other three forces are listed in descending order, strong force, electromagnetic force and weak force. Also, Isaac Newton wrote a book about gravity. It was called Theory of Universal Gravitation, and was first published in 1680. It said that gravity has characteristics that allow it to act on all matter in a predictable manner.

This was also found in the “Lab Investigation: Gravity Intro.” If Gravity is everywhere, then did it play a role in the making of our universe?

While trying to find the answer to this question, I went through many stages of investigation and research. The first source I used was “Lab Investigation: Gravity Intro,” which gave background info on gravity. The second source was a video, called Birth of our Worlds, which told of the formation of the entire solar system.

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It started with the sun, and then told how the remaining particles from the creation of the sun came to form the planets. The next source I used was an article, “Formation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Solar​ ​System:​ ​Birth​ ​of Worlds,” that explained and provided details about the way gravity contributed to the creation of the solar system.

We also did a lab called “Model of Solar Nebula Disk Theory Lab.” In this lab, we filled a bucket half-full with water, and then poured vermiculite into it.

Then we used a yard stick to swirl the water in a consistent circular motion. The vermiculite mostly moved with the water, and became a model of a solar nebula. We also did another lab called the spinning washer lab. It explored how the distance between a planet and the sun affected its orbit and velocity. The final lab we did was the “Exploring Orbits Lab.” We used a marble and ball to see what would happen if gravity were to be removed, and also to show Newton’s first law of motion.

According to my research and experiments, gravity did, in fact, play a large role in creating the solar system. In the beginning, when the sun was formed, 4.5 billion years ago, it was created under the force of gravity. There was a giant ball of gas, and at the center, the gases became very dense. As rocks hit the core, and as the sun grew hotter and hotter, the sun developed enough force to create nuclear fusion. When this happened, it pushed particles of rock, gas and water into the universe. These particle were used for the formation of the planets.

The inner planets were formed when rocks from the sun came together from the mutual gravity in the rocks. They collided and stuck together, until they formed hot planets, close to the sun. Water and gases were pushed farther out because they were lighter than the rocks. The water froze into ice due to the frigid temperatures. These gases and pieces of ice were attracted to each other as well, and they, too, came together, eventually forming the outer planets. However, there was a lot more material in the outer regions, so much larger planets, with more moons and gravity, formed in the regions further from the sun. These planets were cold, and primarily made of less dense gas and ice. Unlike the inner planets, these planets formed farther apart, also giving them a much longer orbit due to there distance from the sun. All of this information was found in the video, Birth of Our Worlds.