Gravitational Field Strength

The Gravitational Field Strength Concept Builder uses the topic of gravitational fields to provide the learner an exercise in proportional reasoning. The Concept Builder focuses on the relationship of the gravitational field strength at a given location to the mass of the planet creating the field and to the distance of that location from the center of the planet. There are three activities included in the Concept Builder. In the first activity - Ranking Tasks - learners compare three locations (with given M and d values)  and rank the locations in terms of the strength of the gravitational field. In the second activity - Case Study: A Versus B - learners are presented with two gravitational environments (with given M and d values) and must determine which has the greatest gravitational field strength and how many times greater it is than the other case. In the third activity - Value of g - learners are given two locations - X and Y - about the same planet. The value of the gravitational field strength at location X is given and they must determine the value at location Y based on distance information.

The 52 questions in this Concept Builder are organized into 18 Question Groups and spread across the three activities. Question-specific help is provided for each of the 18 situations. Use of this Concept Builder with our Task Tracker system allows teachers to track student progress. 
 

Launch Concept Builder

Users are encouraged to open the Concept Builder and explore. There is no need for an activity sheet for this Concept Builder. However, the 18 different groups of questions can be printed. View Questions (Teachers Only).

Learners and Instructors may also be interested in viewing the accompanying Notes page. Technical information, teaching suggestions, and related resources that complement this Concept Builder are provided on the Notes page. View Notes.