Orbital Motion Worksheet
Explore the principles of orbital motion, including gravity, centripetal force, and Kepler's Laws, for Grade 8 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. Use complete sentences for short answer questions.
1. What force keeps planets in orbit around the Sun?
Electromagnetic force
Gravitational force
Strong nuclear force
Weak nuclear force
2. Which of the following describes the path a planet takes around the Sun?
A perfect circle
A straight line
An ellipse
A spiral
3. The force of is what pulls objects towards each other, and it depends on their mass and the distance between them.
4. According to Kepler's First Law, planets orbit the Sun in paths called .
5. The Earth's orbital period around the Sun is approximately days.
6. A larger mass will exert a stronger gravitational pull than a smaller mass.
True
False
7. Planets move at a constant speed throughout their entire orbit.
True
False
8. Explain how gravity and inertia work together to keep a planet in orbit around the Sun.
9. Label the Sun and the elliptical orbit of a planet in the diagram below.
