Keplers_First_and_Second_Laws for BS students

The first presentation on Kepler’s First and Second Laws explains how planetary motion follows precise geometrical and temporal patterns. It describes the Law of Ellipses, stating that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical paths with the Sun at one focus, and the Law of Equal Areas, which shows that a planet moves faster when closer to the Sun and slower when farther away. The slides include diagrams, examples, and summaries that highlight how these laws describe the non-uniform yet predictable motion of planets around the Sun.

1. Kepler’s First and Second Laws

2. Introduction Kepler’s laws describe how planets move around the Sun, forming the foundation of planetary motion and celestial mechanics.

3. First Law – Law of Ellipses Each planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the Sun located at one of the two foci of the ellipse.

4. Explanation This law replaced the ancient belief in perfect circular orbits, showing that planetary paths are slightly elongated ellipses.

5. Second Law – Law of Equal Areas A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time.

6. Meaning The planet moves faster when closer to the Sun and slower when farther away, showing the variation in orbital speed.

7. Physical Principle This demonstrates the conservation of angular momentum in planetary motion.

8. Applications Used to calculate orbital speed variations and explain how energy is distributed in an orbit.

9. Summary Kepler’s first two laws describe the shape of orbits and the varying speed of planets as they revolve around the Sun.