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A Science Project on How Mass Affects Gravity

The force of gravity affects everything around us, since we and objects occupy a location on the surface of the Earth. Everything gets pulled toward the center of the Earth from an outward position. The more mass an object has, the more weight it has affected by gravity. The larger mass of the Earth, for instance, has much more gravitational pull toward its center than a large rock or asteroid. The mass of an object and how it affects gravity can be demonstrated in a science project.

Experiment Preparation
- Use a paper punch to punch two holes in the top of a plastic cup just under the rim lip. The holes should be placed opposite each other. Do the same with a second cup. The cups must be clean and of the same size.
Experiment Props
- Cut two equal lengths of yarn about 8 inches long. Tie a single knot in one of the yarn pieces and run the free end through the outside hole of one cup. Run the free end of the yarn through the the other hole, from the inside to the outside of the cup. Pull the yarn slightly taut and tie a single knot in the end, then clip the excess yarn away. You should have a piece of yarn stretched across the inside of the cup. Repeat the same process for the other cup.
Prop Assembly
- Slip the end hooks of a plastic clothes hanger underneath each yarn piece inside both cups. You now have a balance device or fulcrum. Hang the clothes hanger from a bathroom curtain rod or overhanging object, like a ceiling fan. Both cups should be balanced equally, occupying the same horizontal plane. This is because the cups and yarn have equal mass or weight, with gravity pulling equally down on them.
Experiment with Mass and Gravity
- Add a quarter to one cup and notice the results. The cup with the quarter tilts down because it has more mass than the empty cup. Place a penny in the empty cup and watch the empty cup move downward to a new position. Yet the penny cup still does not have enough mass to overcome the weight of the quarter cup. Add a dime to the penny cup and watch both cups reach equilibrium, or balance. The more mass the object has translates to more weight, or the strength of gravity upon it.
Experiment with Falling Objects
- Hold two pieces of plain typing paper in the palms of each hand at waist level. Pull your palms away and notice how both pieces of paper roughly land on the floor at the same time. They have equal mass and shape. Crumple one piece of paper into a ball and drop both at the same time. Notice how the paper ball reached the floor first. It did so because its wind resistance was strong enough to partially overcome gravity, even though it had the same mass and weight.

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