Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion Quiz

Which of Kepler's laws describes the shape of planetary orbits?

• First law
• Second law
• Third law
• Fourth law

According to Kepler's First Law, what is the shape of a planet's orbit?

• Perfect circle
• Parabola
• Ellipse
• Hyperbola

Where is the Sun located in a planet's orbit, according to Kepler's First Law?

• At the center of the ellipse
• At one focus of the ellipse
• At the vertex of the ellipse
• At any point along the ellipse

What does Kepler's Second Law describe?

• The shape of planetary orbits
• The speed of planets at different points in their orbits
• The relationship between a planet's orbital period and its distance from the Sun
• The gravitational force between planets

According to Kepler's Second Law, when does a planet move fastest in its orbit?

• When it's closest to the Sun
• When it's farthest from the Sun
• At the midpoint of its orbit
• It moves at a constant speed throughout its orbit

What does Kepler's Third Law relate?

• A planet's mass to its size
• A planet's orbital period to its average distance from the Sun
• A planet's speed to its distance from the Sun
• A planet's rotation to its revolution

How did Kepler's Laws challenge the prevailing model of the solar system at the time?

• By suggesting the Earth was flat
• By proposing that planets moved in perfect circles
• By placing the Sun at the center and introducing elliptical orbits
• By stating that planets don't move at all

How do Kepler's Laws apply to artificial satellites orbiting Earth?

• They don't apply to artificial objects at all
• They apply exactly the same way as to planets orbiting the Sun
• They apply, but with Earth as the central body instead of the Sun
• They only apply to satellites in geostationary orbit

What is the eccentricity of a perfectly circular orbit according to Kepler's First Law?

• 0
• 1
• π
• Undefined

Which scientist later provided a theoretical explanation for Kepler's Laws?

• Galileo Galilei
• Albert Einstein
• Isaac Newton
• Nicolaus Copernicus