Keplers Laws

Front

What is Kepler's First Law of Planetary Motion?

Back

A planet orbits the sun in an elliptical path with the sun at one of the foci.

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

How do you calculate the orbital period using Kepler's Third Law?

Back

T^2 = a^3, where T is the orbital period in years and a is the average distance from the sun in astronomical units (AU).

Front

What is the significance of the semi-major axis in an elliptical orbit?

Back

It represents half the longest diameter of the ellipse and is used to determine the size of the orbit.

Front

If a planet is 35 AU from the sun, what is its orbital period according to Kepler's Third Law?

Back

Approximately 200 years.

Front

Which planet has the largest orbital radius in our solar system?

Back

Neptune.

Front

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

Back

The farther a planet is from the sun, the slower its orbital speed.

Front

What happens to a planet's speed as it moves closer to the sun in its orbit?

Back

The planet moves faster due to the stronger gravitational pull from the sun.

Front

If an object orbits the sun every 2.5 Earth years, how far is it from the sun in AU?

Back

Approximately 1.84 AU.