Why does gravity make the Earth round? - Forces of Nature with Brian Cox: Episode 1 - BBC

Gravity makes the Earth round because it pulls everything toward the center, just like when you drop a ball, it always falls straight down.

Imagine you're playing with clay. If you squish it from all sides at once, it becomes round. That’s what happens to the Earth, gravity is like your hand pushing and pulling the clay from every direction.

What's gravity?

Gravity is a force that pulls things together. It's not magic, it's just something that happens when big objects, like the Earth or the Sun, are near each other. The bigger the object, the stronger its pull.

How does gravity shape the Earth?

The Earth was once made of hot, molten rock. When gravity pulled everything toward the center, the rock moved and settled into a round shape, just like when you roll out dough and press it evenly from all sides.

So, even though we're standing on something that feels flat, deep down, gravity has been working hard to make our planet as round as a ball! 🌍

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. Imagine marbles rolling toward the center of a bowl, gravity pulls everything to the middle, making it round.
  2. Like when you drop water into a bucket, it spreads out and forms a circle because of gravity.
  3. If Earth were made of clay and gravity pulled all the pieces together, it would become a sphere.

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity

Nothing here yet.