Gravity and falling objects

In a nutshell

The force of gravity pulls objects towards the centre of the Earth, it is the reason why objects fall to the ground.

Gravity

Gravity affects nearly everything in the universe. The more massive something is, the more gravity affects it.

Curiosity: Even people have their own gravity but it is far too small compared to the Earth's gravity as the Earth is much more massive. The Sun has the strongest gravity in the Solar System. This is why the planets orbit the Sun.

Falling objects

An object does not have to be touching the surface of the Earth to experience gravity, it affects any object close to the Earth. Gravity is the reason why objects, including human beings, do not fall off the surface of the planet.

If an object is dropped above the ground, it will fall to the ground unless there is an equal or greater force that pushes the object upwards.

Example

When a skydiver jumps from a plane, they will fall towards the Earth. This is due to the Earth's gravity pulling them toward's the centre of it.

Only when a skydiver opens their parachute do they begin to slow down. This is because there is air resistance acting on the parachute, which is working in the opposite direction to the pull of gravity.