Orbital Motion Worksheet
Explore the principles of orbital motion, including gravity, centripetal force, and Kepler's Laws, for Grade 10 Science students.
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Orbital Motion Worksheet
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. Show all your work for calculations.
1. Which force is primarily responsible for keeping planets in orbit around the Sun?
Electromagnetic force
Strong nuclear force
Gravitational force
Weak nuclear force
2. According to Kepler's First Law, the orbit of a planet around the Sun is a(n):
Perfect circle
Ellipse
Parabola
Hyperbola
3. The force that constantly pulls an orbiting object towards the center of its orbit is called the force.
4. Kepler's Second Law states that a line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal of time.
5. All planets in our solar system have perfectly circular orbits.
True
False
6. The speed of a planet in its orbit is constant throughout its entire revolution.
True
False
7. Briefly explain Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation and how it applies to orbital motion.
8. Observe the diagram below showing a satellite orbiting Earth. Label the centripetal force and the velocity vector.
