Download #1) Description: The figure below shows several positions of a

Kepler’s 3 Laws of
Planetary Motion
Name______________________
Block_________
#1) Description: The figure below shows several positions of a comet traveling in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. Four different
segments of its orbit ( A – D), and the corresponding triangular shaped area swept out by the comet, have been shaded in gray.
Assume that each of the shaded triangular segments have the same area.
A. Ranking Instruction: Rank the time it took (from greatest to least) for the
comet to move along each of the segments
(A – D) of the orbit.
Ranking Order: Greatest 1_______ 2_______ 3_______ 4_______ Least
Or, the time to travel each segment would be the same. ______
(indicate with check mark).
B. Ranking Instructions: Rank the distance (from greatest to least) the
comet traveled during each of the segments (A – D) of the orbit.
Ranking Order: Greatest 1_______ 2_______ 3_______ 4_______ Least
Or, the distance traveled during each segment would be the same.
______ (indicate with check mark).
#2) Description: The figure below shows four locations (A – D) of an asteroid during its elliptical
orbit around the Sun.
Ranking Instructions: Rank the speed (from fastest to slowest) that the asteroid would have at each
the four locations.
of
Ranking Order: Fastest 1 ____ 2 ____ 3 ____ 4 ____ Slowest
Or, the orbital speed at each location would be the same. ________ (indicate with check
mark).
#3) Description: The figure below shows four identical one solar mass stars, and four planets (A – D) of different masses in circular
orbits of various sizes. In each case the mass of the planet is given in Earth masses and the orbital distance is given in Astronomical
Units (AU). Note that the sizes of the stars and planets, and the orbital distances have not been drawn to scale.
Ranking Instructions: Rank the orbital periods (from longest to shortest) of the planets (A – D).
Ranking Order: Longest 1 ___ 2 ____ 3 ____ 4 ____ Shortest
Or, the orbital periods of the planets would all be the same. ________ (indicate with check mark).
#4) Description: The figure below shows a star and five orbiting planets (A – E). Note that planets A, B and C are in perfectly
circular orbits. In contrast, planets D and E have more elliptical orbits. Note that the closest and farthest distances for the elliptical
orbits of planets D and E happen to match the orbital distances of planets A, B, and C as shown in the figure.
Ranking Instructions: Rank the orbital period (from longest to shortest) of
the planets.
Ranking: Longest 1 ___ 2 ____ 3 ____ 4 ____ 5 ____ Shortest
Or, the orbital periods of the planets would all be the same.
________ (indicate with check mark).
#5) Description: The table below provides a partial list of the orbital periods (in years), and orbital distances (in AU) for six planets
orbiting a one solar-mass star. The mass of each planet is also provided (in Earth masses).
Planet
Period
(Years)
A
20
Orbit Distance
(semi-major axis in
AU)
Mass
(Earth Masses)
500
B
0.8
375
C
3.0
100
D
2.0
E
F
50
5.0
3.5
3
0.5
Ranking Instructions: Use the provided information to rank the distance (from farthest to closest) of the planets (A – F) from the
star. Note that it is not necessary, but may be helpful, to complete the table before making your rankings.
Ranking Order: Farthest 1 ____ 2 ____ 3 ____ 4 ____ 5 ____ 6 ____ Closest
Or, the orbital distance for each of the planets would all be the same. ________ (indicate with check mark).