Dear Elementary School Teacher,
If I tell you that you are literally pulled by the moon, the planets, the stars, you might agree with me if you are into woo-woo and astrology.
If you pride yourself on logic and rationality, you will likely dismiss me as someone into woo-woo and astrology.
But I’m not. (Well, not astrology, anyway.)
Look at the above. m stands for mass. Now I am not clear on just whatever mass means, but I’m pretty sure I’m made of it (m1). I’m also pretty (but not as) sure Jupiter has mass (m2) as well. And if both hold, I am pulling on Jupiter.
Right now.
The same holds true for your students. Let them know this is what the scientists think. Every time a student of yours jumps, the force between them changes for an instant. ‘The universe has been perturbed.
Given that we’re on a spinning planet orbiting the same star that Jupiter swings around I guess the jumping part is unnecessary, but why not give the kids a reason to jump for science.
(No need to introduce the formula yet. Save them something for high school.)