Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

In this math worksheet, students state Newton's second law of motion and his law of gravity. Then they state Kepler's three laws of planetary motion.

Students explain why a transiting planet causes a periodic dimming in the light from its parent star. They determine the radius of a planet, and its orbital distance, by analyzing data and manipulating equations. Students compare the...

Calculate the movement and properties of planets like professional astronomers! Scholars use Kepler's third law to find Mercury and Venus's distance from the sun. Using changes in brightness of distant stars and Kepler's third law,...

The class examines graphs in the form r = F(¿¿) in polar coordinates (r, ¿¿), in particular with the circle, ellipse and other conic sections. They determine the nature of an ellipse by studying the role of the semimajor axis and...

In this black hole instructional activity, students read about the black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy called Sagittarius A and observe a Chandra image of the area where the black hole exists. Students solve two problems...

In this algebra worksheet, 11th graders apply ellipses to real life scenarios such as football, satellite and planet orbits. They discuss a variety of way sto apply ellipses.

Students explain that planets actually orbit the center of gravity of the solar system, and that distant planets may be detected by motions of their central star around the centers of gravity of their planetary systems.

Ninth graders study the origin and organization of the solar system. They investigate the Earth's place in the system and how planetary motions explain natural phenomena observable from Earth.

The purpose of this task is to solve some expressions requiring fractional exponents in the modeling context of planetary motion. Aligns with N-RN.A.2.

Biographical information of the early life of Kepler is provided as well as a somewhat detailed look at the highs and lows of his work in studying planetary motion.

Good site explaining the laws of planetary motion and ellipses