PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity

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published by the WGBH Educational Foundation
content provider: the Kentucky Educational Television

This 6-minute video stars a young boy who is concerned about spinning through space until he is introduced to a Foucault pendulum. He learns all about how French scientist Leon Foucault experimented with the pendulum in the 19th century to demonstrate Earth's rotation and its steady, measurable motion. The pendulum in the video isn't deviating from its fixed endpoint.....the rotating Earth just makes it look that way. The video is appropriate for elementary school.

This video features the Foucault's Pendulum located at the Lexington, KY, public library.

Please note that this resource requires Flash.

https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/t...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Astronomy - Fundamentals = Gravity Classical Mechanics - Gravity = Universal Gravitation - Motion in Two Dimensions = Central Forces - Rotational Dynamics = Conservation of Angular Momentum General Physics - History Oscillations & Waves - Oscillations = Pendula = Simple Harmonic Motion	- Elementary School - Informal Education	- Instructional Material = Activity - Audio/Visual = Movie/Animation

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Learners - General Publics	- application/flash - text/html	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: © 2009 Kentucky Educational Television, 2009
Keywords:: Earth's rotation, Foucault, elementary school , gravitation, pendulum video, periodic motion
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created October 19, 2011 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 19, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: September 30, 2010
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions (5-PS2)

Students who demonstrate understanding can: (5)

Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down. (5-PS2-1)

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Forces and Motion (PS2.A)

Each force acts on one particular object and has both strength and a direction. An object at rest typically has multiple forces acting on it, but they add to give zero net force on the object. Forces that do not sum to zero can cause changes in the object's speed or direction of motion. (Boundary: Qualitative and conceptual, but not quantitative addition of forces are used at this level.) (3)
The patterns of an object's motion in various situations can be observed and measured; when that past motion exhibits a regular pattern, future motion can be predicted from it. (Boundary: Technical terms, such as magnitude, velocity, momentum, and vector quantity, are not introduced at this level, but the concept that some quantities need both size and direction to be described is developed.) (3)

Types of Interactions (PS2.B)

The gravitational force of Earth acting on an object near Earth's surface pulls that object toward the planet's center. (5)

Earth and the Solar System (ESS1.B)

The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. (5)

Crosscutting Concepts (K-12)

Patterns (K-12)

Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation. (4)

Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems (1-12)

Science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems. (3-5)

NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (K-12)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (K-12)

Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. (3-5)
- Use evidence (e.g., observations, patterns) to construct an explanation. (3)
- Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. (4)

NGSS Nature of Science Standards (K-12)

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (K-12)

Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3–5 builds on K–2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. (3-5)

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4B. The Earth

3-5: 4B/E1. Things on or near the earth are pulled toward it by the earth's gravity.
3-5: 4B/E2bc. The rotation of the earth on its axis every 24 hours produces the night-and-day cycle. To people on earth, this turning of the planet makes it seem as though the sun, moon, planets, and stars are orbiting the earth once a day.
6-8: 4B/M3. Everything on or anywhere near the earth is pulled toward the earth's center by gravitational force.

4G. Forces of Nature

3-5: 4G/E1. The earth's gravity pulls any object on or near the earth toward it without touching it.

11. Common Themes

11C. Constancy and Change

3-5: 11C/E4. Some things in nature have a repeating pattern, such as the day-night cycle, the phases of the moon, and seasons.

12. Habits of Mind

12E. Critical-Response Skills

3-5: 12E/E3. Seek reasons for believing something rather than just claiming "Everybody knows that…" or "I just know" and discount such claims when made by others.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11520">Kentucky Educational Television. PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, September 30, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

(WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, 2009), WWW Document, (https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/).

AJP/PRST-PER

PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity (WGBH Educational Foundation, Boston, 2009), <https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/>.

APA Format

PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity. (2010, September 30). Retrieved May 1, 2025, from WGBH Educational Foundation: https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/

Chicago Format

Kentucky Educational Television. PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, September 30, 2010. https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/ (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity. Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 2009. 30 Sep. 2010. Kentucky Educational Television. 1 May 2025 <https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity}, Publisher = {WGBH Educational Foundation}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {September 30, 2010}, Year = {2009} }

Refer Export Format

%T PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity %D September 30, 2010 %I WGBH Educational Foundation %C Boston %U https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/ %O application/flash

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D September 30, 2010 %T PBS Learning Media: Thank Goodness for Gravity %I WGBH Educational Foundation %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 September 30, 2010 %9 application/flash %U https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ket09.sci.ess.gravity/thank-goodness-for-gravity/

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

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