WorksheetsKepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
Planets orbit the Sun in a shape called _?_.
a circle
an ellipse
a focus
an oblong
An ellipse is drawn around two points called _?_.
dots
points
foci
axis
According to Kepler's 1st Law, the _?_ is at one of the foci of each planetary orbit.
the axis
the magnitude
the center
the Sun
What has an eccentricity of zero?
a straight line
a large ellipse
circle
a small ellipse
Where is the planet moving faster?
around segment A
around segment B
around either segment - the speed doesn't change
impossible to know
While traveling around its orbit, during which segment does a line from the planet to the sun sweep through the most area of space?
The area between A, B and the Sun is the largest.
The area between G, H and the Sun is the largest
the areas are equal in size
There is not enough information to determine the areas
A planet moving counterclockwise in its orbit will be increasing speed at position _?_.
P1
P2
P3
P4
The diagram below shows a moon revolving around a planet in an elliptical orbit. At which position is the moon traveling fastest?
location 1
location 2
location 3
location 4
Which planet of those shown, because of its position, will take the least amount of time to revolve around the Sun?
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
A comet moves much faster when it passes closer to the Sun than when it is further away. What is the primary cause in the change of the comet’s orbital speed?
Jupiter's gravitational field.
The sun's solar wind.
The sun's gravitational field.
Saturn's magnetic field.
According to Kepler's 3rd law, the square of the time it takes a planet to orbit (T) is directly related to the cube of half the distance across the orbital ellipse (a). This means the further away from the sun a planet orbits, _?_.
the larger the constant k is.
the smaller the constant k is.
the longer the orbital period is.
the shorter the orbital period is.
According to the Heliocentric Model of the Universe (the one we use in class), __?__ is at the center of our Solar System with the planets revolving around it.
Earth
The Sun
Jupiter
Helios
The period of Jupiter is 4,344 days. This tells you how long it takes _?_.
Jupiter to orbit the sun.
Jupiter to rotate one time on its axis.
the sun to orbit Jupiter.
Earth to orbit Jupiter.
Why is Earth’s year shorter than Jupiter’s year?
the gravitational pull of Jupiter’s moons
the shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun
the smaller distance between Earth and the Sun
the mass and density of Jupiter
In this diagram, the length of the semi-major axis is labeled with _?_.
a
x
y
F
