The Birth of a Solar System:

Governing Laws

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Force – A push or a pull

Gravity – force of attraction between two objects

It pulls to the center of an object with mass

Larger masses have a larger gravitational force.

The closer the object, the more the force of gravity.

Equation:

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Gravity depends on:

Distance of 2 objects

The size of the arrows represent the magnitude of gravitational

attraction.

Draw this:

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Gravity depends on:

Mass of 2 objects

Draw this:

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Draw this:

Distance = r Draw this:

Mass = m

Force = F

G is a gravitational

constant number

that never

changes.

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Inertia

Inertia – the tendency of an object at rest to stay at rest or to keep moving in the same direction at the same speed, until acted upon by an outside force

In other words:

An object in motion, stays in motion.

An object at rest, stays at rest.

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Inertia

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Inertia

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Inertia

Newton’s 1st Law of Motion: Inertia

Orbits of the planets

Orbit – a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one.

An object in an orbit is called a satellite.

Satellites can be natural (planets, moons) or

man-made (space station)

Orbits are Elliptical shapes (oval)

Planets are almost circular

Asteroids are eccentric or squashed ovals

Orbits of the planets

Orbit – a balance between gravity and inertia

Draw this:

Orbits of the planets

Without gravity, an Earth-orbiting satellite would go off into space along a straight line.

With gravity, it is pulled back toward Earth.

A constant tug-of-war takes place between the satellite's tendency to move in a straight line, or momentum, and the tug of gravity pulling the satellite back.

Orbits of the planets

For the next 2 minutes try to list all of our planets in order on your notes.

The next slide will show you these planets and their orbital planes.

Orbital plane - the flat, disk-shaped space that connects the center of the object being orbited with the center of the orbiting objects

Orbits of the planets

Orbits within our solar system:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, (Pluto)

Orbits of the planetsNotice the comet’s plane

Orbits of the planets

Almost all these bodies also travel in the same orbital plane, a thin disk surrounding the sun and extending to the edge of the solar system.

The orbital plane usually prevents planets or other celestial bodies from bumping into each other. 

Some comets orbit outside the

orbital plane, perpendicular or at

an angle to the rest of the solar

system bodies.

Orbits of the planets

Orbital Velocity Law -

Mass = m

Distance = r

Velocity (speed) = v

Velocity is distance divided by time

Solar Systems

For the next 2 minutes try to make a list of all of the things that are in a solar system.

Try to explain how a solar system formed?

Solar System

For the next 2 minutes try to make a list of all of the things that are in a solar system.