One of the most common questions fifth graders generated regarding the Sun's relationship with all the other planets was the reasoning behind why the planets orbit the Sun in the first place. Using Newton's First Law of Motion (which states that things will stay in motion unless something stops/accelerates them or changes their direction), students were wondering why the planets don't just fly in a straight path, like his law states. Using a ball/string model, students began seeing the connection between how the planets |
wanted to continue moving in a straight line but we somehow connected to the Sun with a force pulling them inwards. We'll be working on our models, explaining how these phenomena occur!