Activity: The Orbital Trial

"Gravity isn't just a good idea, it's the law."

Vibecoded by Mr. Ellis & Gemini

System Parameters

10.0
1.0

Live Telemetry

Orbital Speed: 0.00
Force of Gravity: 0.00

Newton's 3rd Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Analyze the vectors: Velocity and Force of Gravity.

Physics Observation

Notice that the force arrows on both the star and the planet are always equal in length, regardless of their masses.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe how central mass (star) affects orbital velocity.
  • Investigate if planet mass influences orbital speed.
  • Verify Newton's Third Law within a gravitational system.

NGSS Standards

HS-PS2-4: Use mathematical representations of Newton’s Law of Gravitation to predict forces between objects.