Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Last updated about 3 years ago

19 questions

Note from the author:

In this activity students will be exploring Kepler’s Laws and Orbital Motion using the “Gravity and Orbits” PhET simulation.

Take a look at the explanatory video via YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m6e2y4fef1I

Learning Objectives
____________________________________________________________________________
By the end of these activities it is hoped that students will have an
acquired the following skills:
• Following explicit instructions to gain acquired knowledge
• Investigate the shape of planetary orbits
• Relate how planetary orbits link to Kepler’s first two laws of
planetary motion.

Here is a link to the simulation if the version below does not work:
Phet Sim link

Instructions

In this activity students will be exploring Kepler’s Laws and Orbital Motion using the “Gravity and Orbits” PhET simulation.

Take a look at the explanatory video via YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m6e2y4fef1I

Learning Objectives
____________________________________________________________________________
By the end of these activities it is hoped that students will have an
acquired the following skills:
• Following explicit instructions to gain acquired knowledge
• Investigate the shape of planetary orbits
• Relate how planetary orbits link to Kepler’s first two laws of
planetary motion.

Here is a link to the simulation if the version below does not work:
Phet Sim link

Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Last updated about 3 years ago

19 questions

Note from the author:

In this activity students will be exploring Kepler’s Laws and Orbital Motion using the “Gravity and Orbits” PhET simulation.

Take a look at the explanatory video via YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m6e2y4fef1I

Learning Objectives
____________________________________________________________________________
By the end of these activities it is hoped that students will have an
acquired the following skills:
• Following explicit instructions to gain acquired knowledge
• Investigate the shape of planetary orbits
• Relate how planetary orbits link to Kepler’s first two laws of
planetary motion.

Here is a link to the simulation if the version below does not work:
Phet Sim link

Instructions

In this activity students will be exploring Kepler’s Laws and Orbital Motion using the “Gravity and Orbits” PhET simulation.

Take a look at the explanatory video via YouTube:
https://youtu.be/m6e2y4fef1I

Learning Objectives
____________________________________________________________________________
By the end of these activities it is hoped that students will have an
acquired the following skills:
• Following explicit instructions to gain acquired knowledge
• Investigate the shape of planetary orbits
• Relate how planetary orbits link to Kepler’s first two laws of
planetary motion.

Here is a link to the simulation if the version below does not work:
Phet Sim link

Complete the table

What do you notice about the distances?

Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Complete the table

What do you notice about the distances?

What does this data say about the orbit of the planet, discuss?

Screenshot the trajectory and paste here

What holds the planet in the orbit?

What shape is the orbit use the screenshot to explain this?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.
A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending the
red ‘v’ arrow.

• What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

What do you notice about the orbit?

What happens to the velocity on the path?

What do you notice about the orbit?

Why do you think the observation for your previous answer occurs?

What did you learn from this virtual lab?

Complete the table

What do you notice about the distances?

What does this data say about the orbit of the planet, discuss?

Screenshot the trajectory and paste here

What holds the planet in the orbit?

What shape is the orbit use the screenshot to explain this?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.
A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending the
red ‘v’ arrow.

• What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

What do you notice about the orbit?

What happens to the velocity on the path?

What do you notice about the orbit?

Why do you think the observation for your previous answer occurs?

What did you learn from this virtual lab?

Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Kepler's Laws Virtual Lab

Complete the table

What do you notice about the distances?

What does this data say about the orbit of the planet, discuss?

Screenshot the trajectory and paste here

What holds the planet in the orbit?

What shape is the orbit use the screenshot to explain this?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending thered ‘v’ arrow.• What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

What do you notice about the orbit?

What happens to the velocity on the path?

What do you notice about the orbit?

Why do you think the observation for your previous answer occurs?

What did you learn from this virtual lab?

Complete the table

What do you notice about the distances?

What does this data say about the orbit of the planet, discuss?

Screenshot the trajectory and paste here

What holds the planet in the orbit?

What shape is the orbit use the screenshot to explain this?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending thered ‘v’ arrow.• What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What happens to the planet in the orbit?

What is the shape of the orbit when increased?

What do you notice about the orbit?

What happens to the velocity on the path?

What do you notice about the orbit?

Why do you think the observation for your previous answer occurs?

What did you learn from this virtual lab?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.
A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending the
red ‘v’ arrow.

• What happens to the planet in the orbit?

Turn on gravity force button, green circle above.
A) Answer the quation and add a screenshot

Now increase the velocity of the plant to a large extent by extending the
red ‘v’ arrow.

• What happens to the planet in the orbit?