BFSU Enrichment
LESSON D-1

Gravity I: The Earth's Gravity

Everything falls toward the center of the Earth — "down" is not a direction in space, it's wherever the middle of our planet is.

Free enrichment to teach alongside Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, Volume 1 by Dr. Bernard J. Nebel. It reproduces none of his text — you'll want the book to teach from it. Get the book on Amazon →
Developed by Jesse Genet · @jessegenet
Download the kit
Posters
Down Means Toward the Middle
Down Means Toward the Middle
download
The activities — hands-on experiment cards
The Oil Drop Under Water
Card 1 · Kids hands-on

The Oil Drop Under Water

Gravity never turns off — yet the oil drop RISES. The truth is a seesaw: the heavier water sinks past and shoves the lighter oil up — the honest explanation for every helium balloon.

⬇ This card
The Drop Race
Card 2 · Kids hands-on

The Drop Race

A heavy ball and a light ball, same size, same height — and they land at the same instant. Gravity pulls all matter alike. Galileo argued this; today the floor settles it.

⬇ This card
One more idea — a bonus for the review
The Moon pulling with one-sixth of Earth's gravity
🎁 Reveal at the review

Every World Pulls

Earth is not the only thing with gravity — the Moon pulls too, just about one-sixth as hard. The same jump that clears a step here would sail you over a kitchen table there.

A peek ahead → how hard things fall and what weight really is — a lesson coming soon (Lesson D-7).
⬇ Bonus card
The song
🎵
Down Means Toward the Middle
D-1's sing-along — press play
⬇ Lyric sheet
In the student binder
Everything that's included