Planetary Motion
Physics ⇒ Earth and Space Physics
Planetary Motion starts at 8 and continues till grade 12.
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See sample questions for grade 11
A comet has a highly eccentric orbit. What does this mean about its path around the Sun?
A planet is 4 times farther from the Sun than Earth. According to Kepler's Third Law, how many Earth years does it take to complete one orbit?
A satellite orbits Earth at a height where the acceleration due to gravity is 4.9 m/s². What fraction of Earth's surface gravity is this?
Calculate the gravitational force between two 1,000 kg masses separated by 10 meters. (G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N·m²/kg²)
Describe what is meant by 'orbital resonance' in planetary systems.
Explain why planets do not fall into the Sun despite the gravitational attraction.
Explain why the orbital speed of a planet decreases as its distance from the Sun increases.
If a planet's distance from the Sun is doubled, by what factor does the gravitational force between the planet and the Sun change?
If a planet's orbital period is 27 years, what is its average distance from the Sun in astronomical units (AU)? (Use Kepler's Third Law: T² = r³)
If the mass of a planet is halved, but its distance from the Sun remains the same, how does its orbital period change?
If the mass of the Sun were doubled, what would happen to the gravitational force between the Sun and a planet at the same distance?
State Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.
The orbital speed of a planet is highest at which point in its orbit?
Which law states that the orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci?
Which planet has the longest orbital period around the Sun?
Which scientist formulated the three laws of planetary motion?
