6.  Is the force of gravity that holds you to the surface of earth actually "down"? Explain your answer.

The force of gravity that holds you to the surface of the Earth is often perceived as "down" due to our perspective. However, gravity is actually a force that pulls everything towards the center of the Earth.

Here are the steps to understand this:

1. Gravity is a force that attracts two objects towards each other. In the case of people on Earth, the two objects are the person (or object) and the Earth itself.

2. The direction of gravity is towards the center of the Earth. This is because the Earth is a nearly spherical object and its mass is distributed around its center.

3. When we say something falls "down", it's a way of describing the direction towards the Earth's center from our specific location on the Earth's surface.

4. If you were to dig a hole through the Earth and jump in, you would fall "down" towards the center of the Earth, not towards the other side of the Earth.

5. Therefore, while we often refer to gravity as pulling us "down", it's more accurate to say that gravity pulls us towards the Earth's center.

So, in conclusion, the force of gravity that holds you to the surface of the Earth is not actually "down" in a universal sense, but rather towards the center of the Earth.