This 3-page 5th grade science sheet starts with a drop test from 2 meters. A table gives the time to hit the floor for crumpled paper (0.7 seconds), flat paper (2.5), a book (0.65) and a feather (4.0), and notes that the two sheets of paper have the same mass. Part 2 is a short reading about David Scott dropping a hammer and a feather on the Moon during Apollo 15 in 1971. Four questions in all ask about air resistance and gravity, and page 3 is the answer key.
“Explain how air resistance changes how fast objects with the same mass fall.”
Part 1, question 1 compares flat and crumpled paper of equal mass.
“Explain that gravity pulls heavy and light objects at the same rate when there is no air.”
Part 2 asks why the hammer and the feather landed together on the Moon.
A results table with a notes column and two questions. Students explain why the flat sheet fell slower than the crumpled one, and name the force that pulled all four objects down.
A boxed reading titled Hammer and Feather on the Moon, with a photo of an astronaut holding both objects, then two questions on why they landed together and what that shows about gravity.
Short model answers for all four questions, including the idea that air resistance acts on the flat sheet more than on the crumpled one.
Drop it first
Drop a flat sheet and a crumpled sheet side by side before students see the table. Ask them to predict the winner, then read the numbers together.
Rank the times
Ask students to rank the four objects from fastest to slowest. The book at 0.65 seconds edges out the crumpled paper at 0.7, which surprises some.
After the reading
Show the real Apollo 15 film clip once students have answered. They can check their own explanation against what they see.
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