Kepler's Second Law

Kepler's second law of planetary motion, specifically, the law of equal areas, is demonstrated by your high schoolers. On the provided graph paper, they mark out the designated path of Earth at two different times of the year and then...

High school astrophysicists perform the classic activity of using a loop of string and two push pins to draw ellipses and calculate eccentricity. They also answer questions and solve problems using Kepler's laws of planetary motion. The...

Twelfth graders examine the misconceptions of Newton's laws of motion.  In this motion and gravity lesson students interpret data and see the effects of gravity. 

Orbital velocity of planets change. Kepler's Second Law of Motion attempts to explain and predict the change in velocity. Scholars learn how to apply this law as they watch the video lesson.

Kepler and Newton make a great team! Derive Kepler's Third Law of Motion using Newton's work with gravitational forces. An installment of the Socratica "Astronomy" playlist explores the applications of Kepler's Third Law of Motion after...

Kepler decided to think outside the box and discovered that planets orbit in elliptical patterns. An engaging activity demonstrates the elliptical orbit pattern in relationship to the area of a planet to explain Kepler's Second Law....

Common sense says that the farther a planet is from the sun, the longer the orbit. Kepler turned common sense into his third law by quantifying this relationship. Classes explore Kepler's Third Law through an interactive tutorial. They...

Using an online planetary simulator, astrophysics high schoolers explore each of Kepler's laws. The 13-page printable handout walks them through the activity, which also includes using string, pushpins, and a pencil to model three...

Introduce your physics or astronomy class to Kepler's laws of planetary motion with this straightforward activity. It covers the basic concepts of each and has learners answer questions to demonstrate their grasp on them. You could use...

Students gain an understanding of Kepler's 2nd law--that planets (and satellites) move fastest at their closest approach to the center of attraction, and slow down when far away. They explore the concepts of "potential energy" and...