Principal Sponsors
Makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society, where risk capital, responsibly invested, may make a difference over time.
National Science Foundation
An independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science.
King Saud University seeks to become a leader in educational and technological innovation, scientific discovery and creativity through fostering an atmosphere of intellectual inspiration and partnership for the prosperity of society.
The O'Donnell Foundation is devoted to building model programs to enhance the quality of education.
My Solar System
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.
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Teaching Resources
Main Topics
- Motion
- Acceleration
- Velocity
- Position
- Gravity
Sample Learning Goals
- Predict the necessary mass, velocity, and distance from the sun of a planet in order for this planet to make a circular orbit around a sun.
- What happens when you increase or decrease the mass of the planet, but keep everything else constant? Does this agree with your prediction?
- What happens to the orbit of the planet when you increase or decrease the magnitude of the velocity of the planet, but keep everything else constant?
- What happens to the planet's orbit when the increase or decrease the initial distance between the planet and the sun?
Teaching Ideas
| Title | Authors | Level | Type | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar System Momentum | Juan Fernandez | HS | Lab | 10/10/13 |
| Satellite Motion Lab | Scott Goelzer | HS | Lab | 5/13/13 |
| Things you can show with 'My Solar System' | Carlo Smits | K-5 MS |
CQs Demo |
9/28/12 |
| AP Physics Gravity Lab | Michael F. Gallo | HS | Lab | 1/12/12 |
| Universal Gravitation | Sarah Stanhope | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | 1/27/11 |
| Gravity Lab | Dan Burns | HS MS |
Lab | 1/21/11 |
| Phet Solar System Simulation Lab | Pauline Seales | HS | Lab | 8/24/10 |
| Phet Solar System Simulation Lab | Pauline Seales | HS | Lab | 8/2/10 |
| Gravity and Planetary Orbits Lab | Patrick Harmon | HS | Lab | 4/22/10 |
| AP Physics Orbit Lab | Dan Burns | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | 4/5/12 |
| Worlds of Wonder | Dean Baird, Paul G. Hewitt | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | 5/7/11 |
| How does the mass and velocity of a satellite affect the orbit? | Carlton Rink | HS | Lab | 1/15/09 |
| Trip to Mars | Elizabeth Praton | UG-Intro | Lab | 4/11/08 |
| Modeling a planetary system | Mark Kelly | HS | Lab | 3/3/08 |
| Orbits--effects of mass and distance | Chris Cochran | MS | HW Lab |
12/7/07 |
| Lecture Demonstrations and Reviews the SIMS, My Solar System | Nancy Spletzer | HS | CQs | 3/11/07 |
| Exploring Gravitation | David Simmons | HS | Lab | 9/18/07 |
You can submit your own ideas and activities.
Translated Versions:
Software Requirements
| Windows | Macintosh | Linux |
|---|---|---|
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Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7 Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
OS 10.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
Macromedia Flash 9 or later |
Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
|---|---|---|
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