What did you learn from this virtual lab?
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
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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
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?
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?
Now decrease the velocity of the plant to a large extent by moving the ‘v’
arrow in. (Full Sentences)
A) What happens to the planet in the orbit?
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B) Now try to explain this in terms of v and
gravity?
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C) Is the velocity constant throughout the journey?
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D) Which one of Kepler’s law does this relate to?
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?