Learning Map
ScienceSpace Explorationusually ages 9–11

Gravity Pulls Things Down

Understand gravity as a force that pulls objects towards the centre of the Earth, that 'down' means towards Earth’s centre regardless of where you stand on the sphere, and that gravity keeps the Moon orbiting Earth and planets orbiting the Sun

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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Try this together

Can your child explain why things fall 'down' and that gravity is the same force keeping the Moon going around the Earth?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Earth's Spin & Orbitages 7–9Must understand Earth's orbit and rotation before understanding gravity as the force maintaining them
The solar systemages 9–10Curriculum spherical bodies/orbits topic underpins exploratory gravity understanding
Gravity Pulls Things Downthis skill · ages 9–11
Unlocks
Orbital Mechanicsages 12–13Applying Newton's laws to orbital motion depends on understanding gravity as a force

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 ACARA · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9S6U02low confidenceYear 6 · Science understanding

describe the movement of Earth and other planets relative to the sun and model how Earth’s tilt, rotation on its axis and revolution around the sun relate to cyclic observable phenomena, including variable day and night length

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2S6U07medium confidenceScience · Levels 5 and 6 · Science Understanding strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

All Space Exploration skills →