Planetary Orbit Simulator – Pretest



Planetary Orbit Simulator – Questions

BIN 1: General overview

Which of the following is not part of Kepler's contribution to planetary orbits?

a) shapes of the orbit

b) speeds of planets in their orbit

c) orbital period

d) gravity

BIN 2: Components of an Ellipse

Rank the following 4 ellipses below in order of increasing ellipticity.

[pic]

a) A, B, C, D

b) B, A, D, C

c) C, D, B, A

d) D, C, B, A

[pic]

In the figure above, which letter corresponds to the [distance from focus to center/semimajor axis/semiminor axis]?

a) X

b) Y

c) Z

[pic]

Which point or points in the figure above is a focus of the ellipse?

a) A, E

b) C

c) B, D

d) B, C, D

e) A, C, E

BIN 3: Planetary orbit’s are ellipses, sun/star is located at one focus of the orbit’s ellipse

Which of the following look most like the orbit of [Mercury/Venus/Earth/Pluto]?

a) [pic]

b) [pic]

c) [pic]

d) [pic]

The center of [PLANET]'s orbit is

a) exactly at the center of the sun.

b) close to the sun[‘s center].

c) half-way between the sun and the planet.

d) close to the planet.

In an orbit, the planet is almost always

a) moving directly away from the sun.

b) moving directly towards the sun.

c) neither moving away nor towards the sun.

d) moving in a random direction.

BIN 4: Orbital Speeds vary with time or place in the orbit

[pic]

At which point or points is the planet slowing down? (planets shown here are assumed to be orbiting counter-clockwise)

a) A, E

b) B,C,D

c) D

d) A, B, C, D, E

e) none of the points (the planet is moving at constant speed)

The speed of a planet in orbit is

a) constant.

b) always speeding up, but barely noticeable.

c) always slowing down, but barely noticeable.

d) sometimes speeding up and sometimes slowing down.

BIN 5: Connect variation of orbital speed with 2nd Law

[pic]

The areas in regions A and B are equal in size. Which of the following statements are true?

a) The orbital path length subtended by region A is longer than that given by region B. Therefore it will take the planet longer to move through region A.

b) The planet will cover the distances subtended by regions A and B in equal amounts of time because the planet moves faster through region A than region B.

c) The planet will take longer to move through region B because it is moving slower in region B than it is in region A.

[pic]

With respect to the figure above, which of the following statements is true?

a) The planet will cover regions A and B is the same amount of time because of Kepler’s 2nd Law.

b) The planet will cover region A in a faster amount of time than region B, because A has less area.

c) The planet will take longer to move through region A because it is moving slower in region A than it is in region B.

BIN 6: Meaning of Kepler’s 3rd Law

[pic]

If a planet has an orbital radius four times earth's, what will its period be?

a) half as large

b) the same

c) four times as much

d) eight times as much

e) none of the above

If a planet's orbital period is twice the earth's orbital period, what will its average orbital radius be?

a) half as large.

b) the same.

c) four times as much.

d) eight times as much.

e) none of the above.

[pic]

Using the graph, a planet with a semimajor axis of 10 will have an orbital period of about

a) 4.6 years

b) 10 years

c) 32 years

d) 100 years

Using the graph, a planet with a period of 10 years will have semimajor axis of about

a) 1 year

b) 4.6 years

c) 10 years

d) 32 years

Bin 7: Orbital period is independent of eccentricity

The orbital period of [SUPERIOR PLANET] is

a) longer than earth's orbital period because it is farther from the sun.

b) shorter than earth's orbital period because it is farther from the sun.

c) longer than the earth's orbital period because its orbit is less circular.

d) short than the earth's orbital period because its orbit is more circular.

Which of the following significantly influence the orbital period of a planet?

a) the shape of the planet's orbit (for a given average distance)

b) the average distance of the planet from the sun

c) both of the above

d) neither of the above

Which of the orbital distances below correspond to an eccentricity of 0.1?

a) 0.5 AU

b) 1 AU

c) 4 AU

d) 13.6 AU

e) all of the choices are physically possible

Bin 8: Planets are under constant acceleration, Acceleration force is directed towards the sun

Planets orbit the sun because

a) magnetic fields alternate pulling and pushing the planets.

b) the solar wind balances the inward pull of gravity.

c) a planet's velocity is constantly redirected by the sun's gravitational pull.

d) planets naturally move in circles.

The acceleration of a planet is

a) directly opposite the planet's motion if it is slowing down.

b) in the same direction of the planet's motion if it is speeding up.

c) always towards the sun.

d) always away from the sun.

[pic]

If the arrows depicted in the picture represent acceleration, which planet or planets is shown correctly? (Planets can be orbiting either clockwise or counterclockwise.)

a) A

b) C

c) D

d) B, E

e) A, C

BIN 9: Velocity is tangent to the orbital path

If the arrows depicted in the picture represent velocity, which planet or planets is shown correctly? (Planets can be orbiting either clockwise or counterclockwise.)

a) A

b) C

c) D

d) B, E

BIN 10: Advanced questions

If a planet has a semimajor axis of 4 and an eccentricity of 0.2, how far is the planet at [aphelion/perihelion]?

a) 0.8

b) 3.2

c) 3.8

d) 4.2

e) 4.8

f) 20

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