Orbital Motion

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 plan then...

Now, that's some fire power! The five-page handout provides a description of the basics of how rockets work. The reading explains Newton's Laws of Motion by beginning with defining some of the important terms. The article finishes by...

What does your world revolve around? Challenge the class as they learn about orbits and the effects of them on our modern world. Young astronomers begin by measuring ellipses and calculating the eccentricity of Earth's orbit. Then, they...

Young scientists design a rocket to launch using Newton's Laws of Motion in order to discover for themselves the forces of motion. 

What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits are used...

Why do planets orbit the sun in ellipses when moons orbit their planet in circles? Pupils control the semi-major axis, eccentricity of the orbit, and position angle. The resulting orbital appears with the related force vectors as...

Earth's motions, the moon's orbit, and the celestial sphere are thoroughly explained in this 52-slide PowerPoint. There are a couple of slides specific to the author's class, but you can easily edit or remove them. This fabulous...

Your class will watch as one child orbits the sun as Earth, while another orbits as Mars. If the timing is right, they will see the repetitive dance between the two planets and discover how often they are opposite from each other. For...

Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.

Have you ever wanted to turn off gravity? This simulation allows learners to do just that in addition to altering other variables. Scholars can move the sun, Earth, moon, and space station to see how distance affects gravitational pull....