Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer famous for his laws of planetary motion. Check out our Johannes Kepler facts page for more information.
Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer famous for his laws of planetary motion. Check out our Johannes Kepler facts page for more information.

Kepler’s Laws of planetary orbits explain why the planets move at the speeds they do. You’ll be making a scale model of the solar system and tracking orbital speeds.


Kepler’s 1st Law states that planetary orbits about the Sun are not circles, but rather ellipses. The Sun lies at one of the foci of the ellipse. Kepler’s 2nd Law states that a line connecting the Sun and an orbiting planet will sweep out equal areas in for a given amount of time. Translation: the further away a planet is from the Sun, the slower it goes.
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2 Responses to “Kepler’s Swinging System”

  1. Please take a picture of the work you have so far so I can see where you are having trouble. You can send the picture and information to [email protected] Also, please write a message to let me know which part of the problem is giving you difficulty.

  2. Bekahbennett says:

    Can you please explain how you got your answer of 1.25 miles for answer number 1, in the worksheet? Thank you!