Gravity on Different Planets

Gravity on Different Planets is a one-page scaffolded science sheet built around a question students genuinely want answered — how much would I weigh on the Moon, on Mars, on Jupiter? A complete answer key is included.

The sheet opens by establishing the rule that actually governs the answer: gravity depends on a planet's mass, not its size. This matters, because the common shortcut "bigger planets have stronger gravity" is false and leaves students unable to explain the outer planets.

The centerpiece is a data table. A student weighing 90 lb on Earth is tracked across four worlds, each listed with its gravity compared to Earth's: the Moon at one sixth, Mars at 0.4, Earth at 1, and Jupiter at 2.5 times. The Moon and Earth rows are filled in; students calculate the Mars and Jupiter weights themselves. The numbers were chosen so every result is a whole number, and a supporting illustration shows the same student on the same bathroom scale on all three worlds — nothing about the student changes, only the world does.

A final question closes the trap that catches most students: after watching the weight nearly triple on Jupiter, they must state that the mass has not changed at all.

What's included: 1 student page (PDF) plus 1 answer key with a sample response.