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...

Discover the transition from circular orbit theories to elliptical orbits. An episode of a video series on astronomy models the different elliptical shapes of the orbits of the planets in the solar systems. Using string, the presenter...

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...

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.

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...

Students define and identify planetary orbit, ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola, and simulate Kepler's Second Law. They explore interactive websites demonstrating orbital motion and complete modeling activities.

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...

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....

Students explore satellite orbits and gravitational force.