2024 Kepler's 3 Laws of Planetary Motion

Front

What is Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion?

Back

Planets orbit the sun in elliptical orbits, with the sun located at one focus.

Front

What does Kepler's Second Law state?

Back

A line segment joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

Front

What is Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion?

Back

The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Front

Define eccentricity in the context of orbits.

Back

Eccentricity is a measure of how much an orbit deviates from being circular; it ranges from 0 (circle) to 1 (parabola).

Front

What shape do planetary orbits take according to Kepler's laws?

Back

Ellipses.

Front

How does the distance from the sun affect a planet's orbital period?

Back

The closer a planet is to the sun, the shorter its orbital period.

Front

What is the significance of the sun being at one focus of an elliptical orbit?

Back

It explains why planets move faster when they are closer to the sun and slower when they are farther away.

Front

What is the relationship between orbital speed and distance from the sun?

Back

As a planet moves closer to the sun, its orbital speed increases.

Front

What does it mean for an orbit to have an eccentricity close to 1?

Back

It indicates a highly elongated elliptical orbit.

Front

If a planet takes 2 years to travel from one point to another in its orbit, what can be inferred about the areas swept out?

Back

The area swept out in the longer time interval is larger than that in the shorter time interval.