Keplers Laws

Today we are learning to:

1. Explain planetary orbits using Keplers laws.

Keplers 1 Law
st

First law each planet orbits the Sun

in an ellipse, not a circle
Draw an ellipse->

Keplers 2

nd

Law

Second Law- a line connected to

the planet sweeps out equal amount
of area in equal time (planets move
faster when closer to the sun)
Draw this
picture as
well ->

A little more on the 2nd

law
Think of two triangles (Area= base
* height)

Although the two triangles have

different measurements for their
bases and heights they have the same
area.
H=10
H=4

B=
4
Area= 20

B=10
Area= 20

Keplers 3 Law
rd

Third Law- The square of the orbital

period of a planet is directly
proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis
T2/R3 = Keplers constant T is time
and R is distance
This will come in handy for practice
that we will do later!