Gravity And Orbits
Original Sim and Translations |
About
Topics
- Gravitational Force
- Circular Motion
- Astronomy
Description
Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!
Sample Learning Goals
- Describe the relationship between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station, including orbits and positions
- Describe the size and distance between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station
- Explain how gravity controls the motion of our solar system
- Identify the variables that affect the strength of gravity
- Predict how motion would change if gravity was stronger or weaker
Keywords
For Teachers
Teacher Tips
Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ). |
Teacher-Submitted Activities
Title | Authors | Level | Type | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) | Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro |
MC | ||
Gravity and Orbits-Vector Concept | Trish Loeblein | HS UG-Intro MS |
MC | ||
Gravity and Orbits | Emily Moore, Kathy Perkins, Christine Denison, Trish Loeblein | K-5 MS |
Lab | ||
Solar System NGSS aligned | Debbie Brown | MS | Lab | ||
Gravity and Orbits Lesson | UTeach Middle School PhET Team | MS | Lab | ||
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS | Trish Loeblein | HS | Other | ||
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? | Sarah Borenstein | MS | Other | ||
Investigating the Parameters of Circular Orbits | Bruce Palmquist | HS UG-Intro |
HW Lab Guided |
||
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C | Roberta Tanner | HS | Other | ||
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment | Elyse Zimmer | HS MS |
Other | ||
Kepler's Laws and Orbits | Simon Lees | HS | Lab HW Guided |
||
Student Guide for PhET - Gravity and Orbits | Brian Libby | HS MS |
Lab HW Discuss Guided |
||
Preguntas de razonamiento para todas las simulaciones HTML5 | Diana López | K-5 HS UG-Intro Grad UG-Adv MS |
HW Discuss |
Browse more activities.
Translations
Software Requirements
Windows 7+ | Mac OS 10.7+ | iPad and iPad Mini with iOS | Chromebook with Chrome OS |
---|---|---|---|
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
|
Safari 9+, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Chrome.
|
Latest version of Safari
|
Latest version of Chrome
|
Credits
Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
---|---|---|
|
|