KEPLER'S LAW WITHIN

SOLAR SYSTEM

PRESENTED BY
THANITTHA CHIVATXARANUKUL
JIRANICH CHOTIPIMAI
PANYAWAREE SARINGKARNPOONPERM
YAVITHA SIRI-U-VITHTAYA
CHANYA THEDRATANAWONG

TEACHER

GOPINATH SUBRAMANIAN
 CONTENTS

Abstract
Objective
Introduction
Newton discovered that Gravity is Universal
The Universal Law of Gravity Equation
The Universal Gravitational Constant
Gravity and Distance : The inverse-square law
Ocean tides
Gravitational Fields
Kepler's law: Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
Material (Model)
Procedure (Model)
Discussion (Model)
Conslusion (Model)
References
 ABSTRACT

According to this project, we are going to make a

simulation and academic research of solar system
which related to gravitational force, Kepler’s Law
and universal gravity. First of all, the work schedule
will be planned from the beginning to the end. We
started to explore the various kind of sources either
the internet, books, or articles in order to find out
information and make sure that it supports the idea
of our project. Once we got enough information, we
began to prepare materials for our physical work and
follow the plan until the work is all done and
success. However, all the details and information
will be discussed in this lab report.
 OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this project is to makes sure that
everyone who did this project and read this lab
report understands clearly about the gravitational
force, Kepler’s Law and universal gravity. We aim the
readers to get as many benefits as possible from our
experiments and make it useful and be able to apply
to their daily life.
 INTRODUCTION
The solar system is the system which consists of
 Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune. They are putted together by
the gravitational of the sun. According to Kepler's
first laws of planetary motion which is The path of
the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with
the center of the sun being located at one focus,
explain how the planets are moving around the Sun
and their revolutions are changed little by little all
the time. The Earth is also has a gravity which make
organisms can stay on the ground even the earth is
not flat. Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is
used to explain gravitational force. This law states
that every massive particle in the universe attracts
every other massive particle with a force which is
directly proportional to the product of their masses
and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them. This general, physical law
was derived from observations made by induction.
the law say that every point mass attracts every
single other point mass by a force pointing along the
line intersecting both points. The force is
proportional to the product of the two masses and
inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between the point masses. According to the law, the
main thing that make most of natural phenomenon
happened is because of the gravitational. The next
law that came right after the Newton’s Law is
Inverse-square law. A law that states that the
influence (such as sound) of a point source (such as
radio) is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance from the source of the particular quantity.

In this project, we are going to make a solar

system model to explain how each law is works. we
will make only the Inner planets, which is Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars, also including the Suns, to
show their orbit. the reasons why  we make only 4
planets is that we are focus on the Earth and
phenomenon that happen because of the gravity.
 NEWTON DISCOVERY OF GRAVITY

Newton wasn’t the first to discovered gravity, but

he discovered that Gravity is Universal
The constant G is also known as the universal
gravitational constant. It is termed a universal
constant since it is considered to be the same at
all the places and all times, and thus universally
characterizes the intrinsic strength of the
gravitational force. The numerical value of G is
very small, which is basically the reason for the
force of gravity to be the weakest force of the
nature.
The Law of Universal Gravitation states that every
point mass attracts every other point mass in the
universe by a force pointing in a straight line
between the centers of the mass of two points.
Moreover, this attractive force always points
inward, from one point to the other.
 THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF GRAVITY
EQUATION
Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation is about
the universality of gravity. It states that every
particle in the universe attracts every other particle
with a force of gravitational attraction which is
along a line joining them. That’s means that the
gravity is universal.
 According to Newton’s universal law of
2
g r a v i t a t i o n . I t s t a t e s t h a t FG r a v  = G x m1 x m2  / r . T h e FG r a v
in the equation represents the force of gravity
between the 2 objects. The G represents the
u n i v e r s a l g r a v i t a t i o n a l c o n s t a n t m1 a n d m2 m e a n s t h e
mass of the 2 objects and the d represent the
distance between the 2 objects which started to
count on the center of each object called center of
mass (CM).
From the equation that we discussed above it can
2
b e s e e n t h a t F  G r a v i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o m  1 x m
  2 /d . S I n c e
the gravitational force is directly proportional to the
mass of the two objects time each other and then
divided by the distance separating the object, the
more mass the object is the greater gravitational
force it is. In contrast, the more distance the two
objects are apart, the lower the gravitational force
it is.
 Other than what we wrote above, we can think
proportionally about this equation which we can
divided it into effects of mass on FGrav and effects
of Distance on FGrav. For the effects of mass on
FGrav, according to the picture above it can be said
that it the mass of the FGrav become twice, that’s
means that one of the mass of the object became
twice or the. If the FGrav become triple, then it
means that one of the mass of the objects become
triple. If the FGrav become quadruple, it can means
that each of the mass of the 2 objects become twice,
one of the mass of the objects become quadruple, or
the distance between the 2 objects became half of
the distance that it was before.
 The formula that we were discussed above is also
be able to adapt with the Newton’s second laws of
motion which states that F = m x a. Where F
represents the force, m represents the mass of the
object, and a represents the acceleration. Therefore
w h e n F = m x a a n d   FG r a v = G x m1  x m2  / d2 , t h e n m x a = G
x m1 x m2 / d2. A f t e r t h a t w e c a n c a n c e l m w h i c h i s o n
t h e l e f t s i d e w i t h t h e m1 w h i c h i s o n t h e r i g h t s i d e .
After that the formula will come out as a = G x m2/ d2
o r a = G m2 / r2.
 THE UNIVERSAL GRAVITATIONAL
CONSTANT
The  universal gravitational constant is the
proportionality constant used in Newton’s Law of
Universal Gravitation which is represented by capital
“ G ” i n t h e f o r m u l a o f FG r  a v = G x m1  x m2  / r2.

This capital “G” or the universal gravity constant

h a s i t s v a l u e a t 6 . 6 7 x 1 0 - 1 1 N m 2/ k g 2. T h e d i f f e r e n c e
between the capital “G” and the lowercase “g” is that
the value of the capital “G” will always be fixed. The
value of “G” will never be changed in any place. For
the lowercase “g”, the value of the lowercase “g” can
be changed depends on the place, the height, etc.
 GRAVITY AND DISTANCE : THE
INVERSE-SQUARE LAW
Gravitation refers to the attraction between
objects and consists of  mass. It is stated by Newton
that “The gravitational attraction force between two
point masses is directly proportional to the product
of their masses and inversely proportional to the
square of their separation distance. The force is
always attractive and acts along the line joining
them.”

In case the quantity is constant :

Fortunately, be careful when calculating

gravitational force. The point of masses located at
the object’s center of mass.
 OCEAN TIDES

Ocean tides is caused by the gravitational

interaction attraction of the moon

The Ocean Tides can separate into 8 types

1. Diurnal Tide: These tides occur once a

day. A body of water with diurnal tides, like the
Gulf of Mexico, has only one high tide and one
low tide in a 25-hour period.
 2. Semi-diurnal Tide: These are tides occurring
twice a day. This means a body of water with semi-
diurnal tides, like the Atlantic Ocean, will have
two high tides and two low tides in one day, much
like the eastern seaboard of North America.

3. Mixed Tide : Some bodies of water, including

most of North America that’s in contact with the
Pacific Basin, have mixed tides, where a single
low tide follows two high tides.

4. Neap Tide: When the Sun and Moon form a

right angle, as when we see a half moon, their
gravitational pulls fight each other and we notice
a smaller difference between high and low tides.
These are called neap tides.

5. Spring Tide: When the Moon, Earth, and Sun

fall in a straight line, which we call syzygy (siz-
eh-gee), we notice the greatest difference
between high and low tide water levels. These
spring tides occur twice each month, during the
full and new Moon. If the Moon is at perigee, the
closest it approaches Earth in its orbit, the tides
are especially high and low.
 6. Rip Tide: A rip current, commonly referred to
simply as a rip, or by the misnomer rip tide, is a
strong channel of water flowing seaward from near
the shore, typically through the surf line. Typical
flow is at 0.5 meter-per-second (1–2 feet-per-
second), and can be as fast as 2.5 meters-per-second
(8 feet-per-second), which is faster than any human
swimmer. They can occur at any beach with breaking
waves, including oceans, seas and even large lakes.

7. Brown Tide: Brown Tide is a bloom (excessive

growth) of small marine algae (Aureococcus
anophagefferens). Although algae of many types are
found in all natural freshwater and marine
ecosystems, blooms of the Brown Tide organism
literally turn the water deep brown, making it
unappealing to swimmers and fishermen alike. While
not harmful to humans, the presence of the Brown
Tide is a problem for bay scallops and eelgrass, and
to a lesser degree other finfish and shellfish. Brown
Tide is unlike most other algal blooms because of its
unusually high concentrations, the extent of area it
covers and the length of time it persists.
 8. Red Tide: Harmful algal blooms, (HAB) occur
when colonies of algae grow out of control while
producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish,
shellfish, marine mammals and birds. The human
illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be
debilitating or even fatal. Many people call HABs 'red
tides,' scientists prefer the term harmful algal
bloom. One of the best known HABs in the nation
occurs nearly every summer along Florida’s Gulf
Coast.
 GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
A field is a region in which a force is felt. It can
be represented by vectors showing a value and a
direction. Fields are spatial constructs and are
independent of time.
Gravity is a very mysterious force. Nobody knows
why objects have this attractive force between them,
even if they are far apart. This attraction occurs for
any object with mass, however small. The force is
very small, and always attractive. We never get a
repulsive gravitational force. Gravity can be shown
as a gravitational field.
 We are all familiar with the magnetic field of a
bar magnet.  The field lines show up as areas of
attraction and repulsion at the poles and the
concentration of field lines at any point.  The closer
we are to the magnet, the stronger the lines of
force.
For an example, The Earth, in common with many
other planets, is very nearly a perfect sphere
(relatively smoother than a billiards ball).  Its
gravity field is radial with the pull being directly
towards the centre. The closer in we get, the
stronger the pull.
 KEPLER’S LAWS
KEPLER'S LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION

Who is Kepler’s

Johannes Kepler, a german astronomer who

discovered three major laws of planetary motion. He
discovered as following:
1. The planets move in elliptical orbits with the
Sun at one focus
2. The time necessary to traverse any arc of a
planetary orbit is proportional to the area of the
sector between the central body and that arc.
3. There is an exact relationship between the
square of the planets’ periodic times and the cubes
of the radii of their orbits.
 Kepler himself did not call these discoveries
‘laws’. He regarded them as celestial harmonies the
reflected God’s design for the universe.
Kepler’s discoveries turned Nicolaus Copernicus’s
Sun-centred system into a dynamic universe, with
the Sun actively pushing the planets around in non
circular orbits. And it was Kepler’s notion of a
physical astronomy that fixed a new problematic for
other important 17th-century world-system builders,
the most famous of whom was Newton.
Johannes Kepler, used data collected by Tycho
Brahe without using a telescope and developed three
laws which described the motion of the planet
across the sky.
As summaries below:
The Laws of Orbits : All planets move in
elliptical orbits, with the sun at one of it foci.
The Laws of Areas : A line that connects planet
to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
The Laws of Periods : The square of the period
of any planet is proportional to the cube of the
semimajor axis of its orbit.
 The Law of ellipse: Planets move in elliptical
orbits with the sun at one of the foci

Foci : 2 points that are equidistant from the

center on major axis
You may think that most objects in space that
orbit something else move in circles, but that
isn't the case. Although some objects follow
circular orbits, most orbits are shaped more like
"stretched out" circles or ovals.
Fact about ellipse : An ellipse is a special
curve in which the sum of the distances from
every point on the curve to two other points is a
constant. The two other points (represented here
by the tack locations) are known as the foci of
the ellipse.
 This is one of Kepler's laws. The elliptical
shape of the orbit is a result of the inverse
square force of gravity.

The eccentricity of the ellipse is greatly

exaggerated here.
Orbit Eccentricity : The eccentricity of an
ellipse can be defined as the ratio of the
distance between the foci to the major axis of
the ellipse. That means Circle has eccentricity
of zero.
On planetary orbits, only Pluto has the
largest eccentricity.

Examples of Ellipse Eccentricity :

- Planetary orbit eccentricities
- Mercury = .206
- Venus = .0068
- Earth = .0167
- Mar = .0934
- Jupiter = .0485
- Saturn = .0556
- Uranus = .0472
- Neptune = .0086
- Pluto = .25
 Earth's orbit is almost a perfect circle; its
eccentricity is only 0.0167!
Pluto has the least circular orbit of any of the
planets in our Solar System. Pluto's orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.2488.
More Fact about the orbit : Because the Sun is at
the focus, not the center, of the ellipse, the planet
moves closer to and further away from the Sun
every orbit.

- The close point in each orbit is called perihelion.

- The far away point is called aphelion
 The First law had states that planets move in
elliptical orbits. Now the second law will explains
how planets move faster when they are close to the
Sun than when they are far away.

The Law of Equal Areas: The Speed of a planet

travelling in an elliptical orbit around the sun.

Kepler’s Second Law states that a line between

the sun and the planet sweeps equal areas in equal
times. A planet will move through equal area of
space in an equal amount of time.
- Perihelion: Closest to sun [Velocity increase]
- Ahelion: farest from sun [Velocity decrease]
Thus, the speed of the planet increases as it
nears the sun and decreases as it recedes from the
sun.
 The Law of Harmonies (Law of Periods): The
farther a planet is from the focus, the longer the
period of revolution
For example : Earth is closer to the sun than
Jupiter, therefore the Earth has a shorter period of
revolution (ESRT)

This law also said that, the square of the period

of any planet is proportional to the cube of the
semimajor axis of its orbit..
WORK LOG
 MATERIAL (MODEL)

- Box
- Water Color
- Brush
- Card Board
- Plastic Ball
- Wire
- LEDs
- Bread Board
- Switch
- AA Battery x4
 PRECEDURE (MODEL)

1. Sketches out different style for the model

2. Finalize the model
3. Gather materials needed

4. Paint the inner of the plastic balls to create the

model of planets and moon. [Mercury Venus Earth
moon and Mars]
 5. Bend lends into circular shape which in to
create the path of the planet. [4 different size]
6.Cover the lead with dark tape

7. Cut cardboard to create a show box with one

open side for the viewer to see
 8. Cut the top part of the box , one at the center
for spinning mercury path model and another
surround [but left it uncut for four sides so the
cardboard won’t fall.]
9. Connect planets [both that will able to spin and
unable to spin with the box]
10. Paint the box covered with black
 11. Make some holes at the opposite side where we
had cut out as the view side.
12. Connect the circuit that will open up leds that
will replaced where holes are and the lamp
representing as the sun.
 DISCUSSION
Ours model is kind of different from what we had
expected at first, so at first we thought that we
going to do stand model with only three planets plus
the moon but finally it turns out to be the box style
model instead. Ours model shows the movement of
two planet which is the mercury and the Earth at
different speed. Sadly that we aren’t able to find
the motors that each had different speed in the
rush of time so we changed the model to be able to
move by ours own hand instead of being automation.
The model also show the path of the planets around
the sun which aren’t imperfectly circle but as
ellipse.
So as said we had run into many of the error
during the process of making this model. At first
ours materials came so late so we had to wait for
those materials until the last week of this project
and had to start things quickly as possible. We can’t
also code the light for that path or find motors that
had different speed in this rushy time so we fix ours
problem with handmade cardboard for hand rotation
instead.
 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, doing this final project makes us

understand and be able to conclude the topic of
universal gravity and Kepler’s laws of Physics. It
shows that the gravity, which was discovered by
Newton, is universal since we could apply the
constant in other planets as well. Moreover, the
Kepler’s laws allows us to know the three major
laws of planetary motions. For example, we might
think that the planets move in circular, but
according to the Kepler’s laws, the planets move in
elliptical orbits.
 REFERENCES
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/
Lesson-3/Newton-s-Law-of-Universal-Gravitation
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineerin
g/universal-gravitational-constant
https://opentextbc.ca/physicstestbook2/chapter/
newtons-universal-law-of-gravitation/
https://www.universetoday.com/34838/gravitation
al-constant/
http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/152.mf1i.s
pring02/GravField.htm
https://www.britannica.com/science/gravitational
-field
http://bioprofe.com/en/what-is-gravitational-
field/