Kepler's Third Law - The Equation
- Determine the best-fit relationship between orbital period and orbital distance for the planets from graphs of the data.
- Become familiar with various XY-plots
Context for Use
Teaching Notes and Tips
These modules were developed as essentially self-paced, take-home lab assignments. Students are supposed to work through the modules, slide by slide, building their own worksheets as they go along, taking note of instructions and prompts, hints, and queries.
Students must have access to computers equipped with a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
This module is one of several developed by Dr. Vacher. The module presentation could be found at http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/modules/moduleList.asp
The Powerpoint file is considered to be the student version. There is also an instructor's version that has active spreadsheets in it. There are instructions for requesting this version on the website.
References and Resources
Contact the Author
Controlled Vocabulary Terms
Resource Type: Activities:Lab Activity
Special Interest: Quantitative
Grade Level: College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14)
Quantitative Skills: Arithmetic/Computation, Problem Solving, Probability and Statistics:Data Trends:Curve Fitting/Regression, Units and Unit Conversions, Scientific Notation
Ready for Use: Ready to Use
Topics: Solar system