My Solar System

NamE Semota Emanuel Period 18 10 23

Introduction: Every physics student has had a lot of experience with the force of gravity.
Unfortunately, their experience is limited to the interaction between a very large object, the
Earth, and much smaller objects that are very close to it. This represents a small range of the
possibilities. Software simulations of gravitational force allow physics students to explore a
variety of other gravitational interactions between objects. These activities are designed to be
used with the My Solar System simulation that can be found on the Physics Education
Technology (PhET) website at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Directions: Go to the My Solar System simulation on the PhET website. Select the Lab option.
Carefully follow the instructions for each activity below. Answer the questions, record your
results, and use the simulation to check your work before going on to the next activity. The
simulation can be found at the URL below or search "phet my solar":

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/my-solar-system/latest/my-solar-system_en.html

Activity 1: Look over the start screen. The simulation controls and settings are on the right.
Check the Path and Grid boxes. The simulation inputs are at the bottom left. Check the More Data
box. Click Play ( ) and write down at least 2 observations about this simulation below.

Obs 1 Corpul deculoarea galbema se roteste in partea dreapta.

Obs 2 Corpul al 2 lea se roteste in partea stanga.

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Activity 2: Click Reset ( )in the upper right. It will

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save you work and frustration if you always v

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clicvReset before changing inputs. Configure the Mass, Position, and Velocity of Body 1 (yellow)
and Body 2 (magenta) as shown at right. Write down your prediction for the motion of each body
BEFORE clicking Play.

Body 1 (Yellow) motion:1sta pe loc.

Body 2 (Magenta) motion:Se Duce spre dreapta.

Q1: Were your predictions correct? Explain. Da pt ca su miscarea si masa s au schimbat .

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Q2: Click Reset ( ). Change Body 2’s mass to 0.1 kg 1028. Click Play ( ). What is differen

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about the motion? Why do you think this is?

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Corpul 1 a stat pe loc iar al 2 lea se misca mai tare.

Masa elementului 2 e mai mare .

Q3: In what direction (x or y) should Body 2's initial velocity be so that it doesn’t hit Body 1?

Corul 2 are o viteza de 30 km pe secpe directia x.

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Q4: Zoom out by clicking in upper left twice. Click Reset ( ). From now on you need to
remember to click Reset on your own. Give Body 2 an initial y velocity of 10 km/s. What happens
when you click Play ( )? Increase Body 2’s y velocity in increments of 0.5 km/s until it doesn’t
touch Body 1. At what velocity does this first happen? What is the shape of the resulting orbit?

la viteza 11.0m/s pe directia y ele nu se mai ciocnesc si merde in forma de elipsa.

Q5: Continue to increase Body 2’s velocity until the orbit has a circular shape. Use the grid to
decide if it is a circle, your eyes can be deceived! When it is close, adjust it by increments of 0.1
km/s until it is as close to a perfect circle as you can get. Check the Values box and observe the
displayed speed. If the orbit is circular, speed will be constant. There might be small variations

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because of the accuracy of the simulation. What velocity resulted in a circle?

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viteza orbita aproape circ este de 20 km/s.

Q6: Assuming a perfectly circular orbit, would the velocity of Body 2 be constant? Explain.

Nu e constanta pt ca corpul 1 nu e pe miloc si are constanta mai mare de 20 km /s

Activity 3: Draw a free-body diagram of Body 2 (m) in its circular orbit about Body 1 (M) below.
Using Newton’s Second Law, the Law of Gravity, and the equation for centripetal acceleration,
derive an expression for the Universal Gravitational Constant, G. Using the values from Body 2's
orbit, solve for the value of G used in the simulation. Show ALL your work below. Record your
result in the units of the simulation: AU, km, s, and kg 1028.

G=

Q7: In metric units, G = 6.67 10-11 m3/kg.s2. Given that 1 AU = 1.496 1011 m, convert your G value
to the units of m3/kg.s2. It should be close to 6.67 10-11 m3/kg.s2. Show all your work.

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Q8: Rearrange your equation for G to solve for the speed of an object in a circular orbit. Using
this equation, solve for the speed required for Body 2 to be in a circular orbit about Body 1 with a
4 AU radius. Use G = 4.46 AU.km2/s2.kg1028 for the rest of the lab. Show all your work below.

Activity 4: Zoom out all the way by clicking . Change the number of bodies to 3 by clicking
Bodies arrow in lower left. Input the values shown at right, using your values for Vy from Q5 and
Q8. Using your equation from Q8, the fact that speed is the distance over time, and the equation
for the circumference of a circle, derive an equation for the period of an object in a circular orbit
in terms of G, M, and r. Simplify your equation and show all your work below.

Q9: Using your equation for period from above, predict the ratio of Body 3’s (cyan) period to
Body 2’s (magenta) period. Use the simulation to verify your result. Show all your work below. It
is easier to measure the period if you click Pause just as a body completes an orbit.

Activity 5: Add velocity to Body 2 (magenta) in increments of 2 km/s until it reaches a maximum
radius of about 8 AU on the left side of its orbit. You can select the Fast option to make this go
quicker. Change the velocity in increments of 0.1 km/s until it is as close to 8 AU as you can get.
Write the velocity that achieved a max radius of 8 AU below.

Q10: Click Reset ( ) then Play ( ) and observe Body 2 (magenta) carefully during the first half
of its orbit. What happens to its distance from Body 1 (yellow) as it travels this part of the orbit?
What happens to its speed?

Q11: Observe Body 2 (magenta) carefully during the last half of its orbit. What happens to its
distance from Body 1 (yellow) as it travels this part of the orbit? What happens to its speed?

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Q12: For an elliptical orbit like that travelled by Body 2, the point closest to the central body
(Body 1) is known as the periapsis, the farthest is the apoapsis. Write down periapsis, apoapsis,
or same for the location of each quantity listed below for body 2 in an elliptical orbit.

Max Velocity________________ Max Kinetic Energy________________ Max Potential Energy________________

Max Force_______________ Max Angular Momentum_____________ Max Mechanical Energy______________

Q13: Use conservation of angular momentum and the equation for the angular momentum of a
particle to predict the speed of Body 2 at apoapsis. Show all your work below. Use the simulation
to find the speed of Body 2 at apoapsis and compare it to your prediction. Find the % error.

Activity 6: Select the “Sun and Planet” preset from the drop-down menu in
the upper right. Click Start and observe the motion of Body 1. In this
system, the mass of the small body is not insignificant relative to the larger
body. Both bodies orbit their center of mass. In this activity you will create
a new 2-body system where each body orbits in a circle about the center
of mass as shown in the figure at right. The radius of each orbit is equal to
the distance between the center of the body and the center of mass. Body
1 has a mass of 300 kg 1028 (m1). Body 2 has a mass of 75 kg 1028 (m2).
Their centers are separated by 4 AU. Calculate the distance m1 is from the center of mass. This
distance will be the radius of the smaller circular orbit. What is the radius of m2's larger orbit?
Show all your work below.

Q14: Each body will have the same circular orbit period. Knowing this, which body will have the
greatest speed? Which body will have the greatest angular speed? Explain.

Draw a free-body diagram of m1 below. Using Newton’s Second Law, the Law of Gravity, and the
equation for centripetal acceleration, derive an expression for the speed of m1. Use this equation
to calculate the speed of m1. Show all your work below. Hint: The quantity r used in the
gravitation equation is the distance between the centers of 2 objects. The quantity r in the

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centripetal acceleration equation is the radius of the circle. Unlike in Q8, these two quantities are
NOT the same because the mass of body 2 is significant.

Derive an equation for the speed of m2 using the same method used for m1. Using this equation,
calculate m2’s speed. Show all your work below. Set up this 2-body simulation using your center
of mass and velocity calculations. Refer to the figure at the top of the previous page to help set
the Positions. Both m1 and m2 should trace the path shown by the dotted lines.

Activity 7: Input the values shown at right. This puts

Body 2 just above the surface of Body 1 and moving
away at a large speed. Write down your prediction for the
motion of Body 2 below before you click Play.

Q15: Was your prediction correct? Increase Body 2's x velocity in increments of 1 km/s. At what
velocity does Body 2 leave the screen? Setting the simulation to Fast makes this go quicker.

There is a minimum velocity that will result in Body 2 never returning. This is called escape velocity.
Using the fact that an object on an escape trajectory has zero total energy, use conservation of energy
to derive an equation for escape velocity for an initially stationary object. Use your equation to
determine its x velocity so that Body 2 escapes Body 1. The result should be a little larger than the
value you found in Q15. Show your work below.

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 One More Activity on Back
Activity 8: Conservation of energy can be used to predict the maximum separation of 2 objects moving
apart with an initial velocity. Input the values shown at right. Use conservation of energy to predict
their greatest separation. Draw a sketch below showing their initial and final positions. Verify your
prediction by clicking Play. Click Pause when Body 1 and Body 2 are at their greatest separation. This
is easier if the simulation is in Normal or Slow mode. Measure the distance between their centers using
the Measuring Tape. Find the percent error. Show all your work below.

Congratulations! You have completed your tasks. Try some of the other presets in the drop-down menu
in the upper right. Something similar to many of these systems exist in our galaxy. Which one is your
favorite? Mine is the Four Star Ballet.

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