Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains multiple...
Curated OER
Worksheet 32: Kepler's Law
In this math worksheet, students are given 8 questions regarding Kepler's first law of motion. The questions include definitions, short essay explanations, and formulaic expressions.
NASA
Exploring Exoplanets with Kepler
Calculate the movement and properties of planets like professional astronomers! Scholars use Kepler's third law to find Mercury and Venus's distance from the sun. Using changes in brightness of distant stars and Kepler's third law,...
PBS
Analyzing Light Curves of Transiting Exoplanets
Scientists detected exoplanets by measuring how the brightness of stars changed over time. Young astronomers interpret and analyze the same data that led to exoplanet discoveries. They learn to apply light curve graphs and connect the...
PBS
Light Curves of Kepler's First Five Discoveries
The Kepler missions discovered and confirmed more than 2,650 exoplanets to date. A video shares the data from the first five discoveries. It provides graphs and diagrams to put each discovery in perspective to help scholars discuss the...
PBS
Exoplanets through Kepler’s Laws
The majority of all confirmed exoplanets relied on Kepler's laws to discover their locations. Scholars learn how to apply Kepler's laws and then practice using data to discover exoplanets. They benefit from NASA video footage, NOVA...
CK-12 Foundation
Orbital Motion
Why do planets orbit the sun in ellipses when moons orbit their planet in circles? Pupils control the semi-major axis, eccentricity of the orbit, and position angle. The resulting orbital appears with the related force vectors as...
CK-12 Foundation
Journey to Mars
Why are there launch windows when traveling to outer space? Scholars explore the trajectory of traveling from one planet to another. By adjusting the departure and destination planets, as well as the launch date, they observe the ideal...
McGraw Hill
Orbital Velocity Interactive
Why does it take Pluto 90,000 days to orbit the sun, but it only takes Mercury 88 days? An interactive lesson helps pupils find a connection between the speed of orbit and distance a planet is from the sun. The simulation allows for...
McGraw Hill
Kepler's Second Law Interactive
Kepler decided to think outside the box and discovered that planets orbit in elliptical patterns. An engaging activity demonstrates the elliptical orbit pattern in relationship to the area of a planet to explain Kepler's Second Law....
McGraw Hill
Kepler's Third Law Interactive
Common sense says that the farther a planet is from the sun, the longer the orbit. Kepler turned common sense into his third law by quantifying this relationship. Classes explore Kepler's Third Law through an interactive tutorial. They...
McGraw Hill
Extra Solar Planets Interactive
Studying what you can't see can be challenging. Discover how scientists use indirect measurements to prove the existence of planets and estimate their sizes. The introduction explains the symbiotic movement of planets and stars during an...
Urbana School District
Gravitation
Introduction your class to famous astronomers with a presentation that also covers Newton's Laws of Gravitation, Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, both uniform and nonuniform gravitational fields, and how to calculate the gravitational...
Curated OER
Universal Gravity and Kelper's Laws Worksheet
High school physicists apply their knowledge of planetary motion. Using Kepler's three laws, Newton's law of universal gravitation, and the provided properties of the moon, sun, and Earth, they proceed to solve 23 problems. An answer key...
University of Washington
Kepler’s Laws
Introduce your physics or astronomy class to Kepler's laws of planetary motion with this straightforward worksheet. It covers the basic concepts of each and has learners answer questions to demonstrate their grasp on them. You could use...
Physics Classroom
Kelper's Three Laws
A flipped classroom lesson introduces astrophysics fanatics to Kepler's three laws of planetary motion. After reading about the laws of ellipses, equal areas, and harmonies, and also learning how Newton's gravitation concepts come into...
Curated OER
Leading Scientist of the Scientific Revolution
Quiz your class on how well they know the leading scientist of the scientific revolution. They answer seven multiple choice questions that require them to know each major contribution of each of the following scientists: Galileo, Newton,...
Mr. E. Science
Our Solar System
The presentation starts with the scientists who made discoveries about our solar system: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Brahe, Kepler, and Newton. It also covers the planets, inner, outer, and Pluto, satellites, and an in-depth discussion...
Curated OER
The Scientific Revolution: 1500-1700
Discover the key players involved in reshaping scientific thought during the scientific revolution. Basic information regarding major contributions of Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo, Bacon, Kepler, Descartes, and Newton are covered in this...
Curated OER
Review of Gravitation
In this gravitation activity, students complete 50 multiple choice questions on universal gravitation topics and Kepler's laws.
Curated OER
The Solar System
In this solar system worksheet, students will name the two models of the solar system and compare their differences. Students will state the hypothesis behind the formation of the sun and planets. Students will compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
The Seasons
Discover the change of the seasons by modeling the Earth-Sun system. Learners model the orbit of the Earth around the sun and explore how and why the patterns of winter and summer occur.
Curated OER
Cosmic Wheels
Young scholars build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
Curated OER
Planet Paths: Studying Planetary Orbital Paths
Students define and identify planetary orbit, ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola, and simulate Kepler's Second Law. They explore interactive websites demonstrating orbital motion and complete modeling activities.