Students explore orbits of planets and satellites. Some topics examined in the activities are planetary motion, angular momentum of orbits, and Kepler's laws. The resource consists of video clips, lecture notes, practice problems, and...

At this site from the Astronomy Department of Cornell University, Kepler's three laws of planetary motion are stated. There are brief explanations of each, along with links to additional information on related subjects.

This site from NASA provides biographical details about the lives of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Discusses Kepler's successes at developing laws of planeatry motion. States the three laws and discusses each one individually....

This activity introduces gravity and Kepler's Laws and helps to develop an understanding of gravitational force, satellite orbits, and their dependence on the initial velocity.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Understand angular momentum conservation in the absence of an applied torque in the context of planetary orbits using this interactive simulation. A PDF worksheet and a video tutorial are also...

A page describing the physics, mathematics, and historical figures associated with planetary motion, satellite motion, and universal gravitation.

This study guide on gravitation covers some key vocabulary, Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, and orbiting bodies or satellites. Includes important equations. It is available for download with free registration.

Describes the logic behind the development of Newton's law of universal gravitation. Beginning with Johannes Kepler and his three laws of planetary motion, content walks the reader through Newton's thought process and development of this...

The three laws of planetary motion as described by Kepler are stated and elaborated upon. Useful graphics and an easy-to-understand language are used to explain the nature of planetary motion. Both conceptual and mathematical. Includes a...

This site from NASA states Kepler's third law of motion and extends it to develop an equation for the velocity of an orbiting planet.

Demonstrate how, with the use of orbital mechanics, a space mission to Mars can be planned. Using no more than algebra, Kepler's laws and the formula for the energy of an object in a Kepler orbit, the exercise derives the time for an...

At this site from Cornell University, Kepler's three laws of planetary motion are stated. There are brief explanations of each. The laws are applied to explain the features of planetary orbits as well as the motion of binary star...

This site from NASA states Kepler's second law of planetary motion and depicts its meaning with an informative diagram. Relates the law to conservation of energy principles and discusses the eccentricity of a satellite's (or a planet's)...

Kepler's second law of planetary motion is stated and explained. An animation of the orbit of a planet and an accompanying graphic assists in explaining the meaning of the law of equal areas.

From The Physics Classroom. Uses easy- to-understand language to discuss how circular motion principles apply to the motion of satellites. Describes the tangential velocity and centripetal acceleration of a satellite. Includes many...

The mathematics associated with the motion of satellites is described. Equations (for period, velocity, acceleration and force) are stated, symbols described, and sample problems solved. Includes five practice problems with solutions and...

Good site explaining the laws of planetary motion and ellipses

This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a set of directions for the creation of a solar system model out of paper mache. Includes orbital distances and planet diameters for the nine planets. Great idea for a student...

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.

A site dedicated to help students prepare for the AP Physics B test. This specific site reviews gravitation including Newton's Law of Gravity, orbits of planets and satellites, and Kepler's three laws. Site contains links to video...

In this interactive module students will explore what different ancient cultures believe was an explanation of the stars and planets. They will look at how the work of Nicolas Copernicus revolutionize the world of astronomy and learn how...