Physical Science

Quarter 2 – Module 3:
Modern Astronomy

CO_Q2_Physical Science SHS

Module 3
Physical Science
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 3: Modern Astronomy
First Edition 2021

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Physical Sciences
Quarter 2 – Module 3:
Modern Astronomy
Introductory Message
This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear learners,
can continue your studies and learn while at home. Activities, questions, directions,
exercises, and discussions are carefully stated for you to understand each lesson.

Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each part shall guide you step-by-
step as you discover and understand the lesson prepared for you.

Pre-tests are provided to measure your prior knowledge on lessons in each

SLM. This will tell you if you need to proceed on completing this module or if you
need to ask your facilitator or your teacher’s assistance for better understanding of
the lesson. At the end of each module, you need to answer the post-test to self-check
your learning. Answer keys are provided for each activity and test. We trust that you
will be honest in using these.

In addition to the material in the main text, Notes to the Teacher are also
provided to our facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders on how they can
best help you on your home-based learning.

Please use this module with care. Do not put unnecessary marks on any part
of this SLM. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises and tests. And
read the instructions carefully before performing each task.

If you have any questions in using this SLM or any difficulty in answering the
tasks in this module, do not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator.

Thank you.
 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you to
explain how Tycho Brahe’s innovations and extensive collection of data in
observational astronomy paved the way for Johannes Kepler’s discovery of his laws
of planetary motion. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different
learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of
students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course.
But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the
textbook you are now using.

The module contains discussion about the five noted scientists who made important
discoveries that gave rise to the birth of modern astronomy.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. discuss the notable contributions of some of the notable astronomers of
modern astronomy;
2. describe the relationship of Brahe and Kepler to the discovery of planetary
motion; and
3. realize the importance of the laws of planetary motion.

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 What I Know

Word Play!

Directions: Use the pool of words in the box to complete the puzzle.

Across
1. Earth does this around the sun once a year.
1. Dark region of the Sun due to lower temperature.
8. an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another
between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination
12. are three scientific laws describing the motion of planets around the Sun,
by Johannes Kepler
15. the perimeter of a circle or ellipse

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Down

1. It is the shape of the Earth and some other planets. It is like a sphere squashed
from the top so the diameter from pole to pole is less than the diameter from
equator to equator.
3. An imaginary line through Earth.

Down

4. A representation of the sun-Earth-moon system.

6. Discovered by Galileo to look at the moon, discover the four satellites of
Jupiter, observe supernova, and discover sunspot.
7. Developed and formalized Galileo's concept of inertia.
9. A displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed
along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-
angle of inclination between those two lines.
10. Justified his Earth-centered model and explained retrograde motion
through cycles and epicycles.
11. Earth's path in space.
13. His accurate measurements of Mars were his greatest contributions to
astronomy.
14. Developed a heliocentric system wherein the orbits were elliptical rather
than circular. This advanced the Sun-centered view.

Pool of Words
parallax circumference Planetary motion

oblate spheroid eclipse model

telescope Ptolemy axis
revolve orbit Newton

Kepler sunspots Tycho Brahe

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 Lesson

1 Modern Astronomy

Throughout human history, scientists have struggled to understand what they see
in the night sky. Famous astronomers — many of them great scientists who mastered
many fields — explained the heavens with varying degrees of accuracy. Over the
centuries, a geocentric view of the universe — with Earth at the center of everything
— gave way to the proper understanding we have today of an expanding universe in
which our galaxy is but one of billions. On this list are some of the most famous
scientists from the early days of astronomy through the modern era, and a summary
of some of their achievements.

After 14 centuries since Ptolemy, five noted scientists made important discoveries
that gave rise to the birth of modern astronomy. These were Nicolaus Copernicus,
Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.

What’s In

Matching Type. Directions: Match the five noted scientists in column A with their
important discoveries in column B. Write the letter on the space provided before each
number.

Column A Column B

________1. Nicolaus Copernicus A. He developed and formalized Galileo’s

________2. Tycho Brahe
________3. Johannes Kepler
________4. Galileo Galilei
________5. Isaac Newton
concept of inertia. He conceptualized the
force of gravity and he was able to provide
an explanation for the elliptical orbits.
B. He was the greatest Italian scientist of the
Renaissance. Due to the telescope, he was
able to discover and observe important
astronomical facts.
C. Using his mentor’s data, he formulated the
three laws of planetary motion: the law of
Ellipse, Law of Equal Areas, and the Law of
harmonies.

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 D. He believed that only the sun and the moon
revolved around the earth; the other
planets revolved around the sun, which
itself revolved around the earth.

E. He was a student of Plato. For him, the earth

is spherical in shape since it always casts a
curved shadow when it eclipses the moon.

F. He considered the sun as the stationary

center of the universe. He classified earth as
a planet just like Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn.

Notes to the Teacher

Is science worth dying for? This may sound absurd and unlikely but for
some scientist risking their lives for the truth is one of their greatest
achievements.
Students will analyze and discuss the implications of scientists defying
cultural beliefs in older times and what science would be like today
without the scientific analysis and discoveries of Tycho Brahe and
Johannes Kepler.

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 What’s New

Some Astronomical Terms for Students

astronomical unit (AU)

the unit of length defined as the average distance between Earth and the Sun;
this distance is about 1.5 × 108 kilometers or 1.5 x 1011 metres

eccentricity
in an ellipse, the ratio of the distance between the foci to the major axis

ellipse
a closed curve for which the sum of the distances from any point on the ellipse
to two points inside (called the foci) is always the same
focus
(plural: foci) one of two fixed points inside an ellipse from which the sum of
the distances to any point on the ellipse is constant

Kepler’s first law

each planet moves around the Sun in an orbit that is an ellipse, with the Sun
at one focus of the ellipse

Kepler’s second law

the straight line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in space
in equal intervals of time

Kepler’s third law

the square of a planet’s orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of
the semimajor axis of its orbit

major axis
the maximum diameter of an ellipse

orbit
the path of an object that is in revolution about another object or point

orbital period (P)

the time it takes an object to travel once around the Sun

orbital speed
the speed at which an object (usually a planet) orbits around the mass of
another object; in the case of a planet, the speed at which each planet moves
along its ellipse

semimajor axis
half of the major axis of a conic section, such as an ellipse

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 What is It

Tycho Brahe

• Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer and nobleman who made accurate
observations of the movement of celestial bodies in an observatory built for
him by King Frederick II of Denmark in 1576. He was able to invent different
astronomical instruments, with the help of his assistants, and made an
extensive study of the solar system. He was able to determine the position of
777 fixed stars accurately.

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 Johannes Kepler

• When King Frederick II died, and the successor did not fully support Brahe’s
work, he moved to Prague in 1599 where he was supported by Emperor Rudolf
II and worked as an imperial mathematician. Emperor Rudolf II recommended
Johannes Kepler to work for him as an assistant. Kepler was born to a poor
German family and studied as a scholar at the University of Tübingen in 1589.

Brahe and Kepler's Work

• Brahe and Kepler had an unsteady working relationship. Kepler was Brahe's
assistant. However, Brahe mistrusted Kepler with his astronomical data in
fear of being shadowed by his assistant.
• Brahe assigned to Kepler the interpretation of his observations of Mars, whose
movement did not match Brahe’s calculations. Kepler was tasked to figure out
what path Mars followed as it revolved around the Sun. It was believed by
many scientists that Brahe gave this task to Kepler to keep him occupied and
left Brahe to develop his laws of planetary motion.

Kepler's Discoveries from Brahe's Data

Kepler postulated that there must be a force from the Sun that moves the planets.
He was able to conclude that this force would explain the orbit of Mars and the Earth,

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including all the other planets, moved fastest when it is nearest from the Sun and
moved slowest when it is farthest from the Sun.
Eventually, Brahe decided to give all his data to Kepler hoping that he would be able
to prove his Tychonic system and put together new tables of astronomical data. This
table was known as Rudolphine Tables, named after the Roman emperor and was
useful in determining the positions of the planets for the past 1000 years and the
future 1000 years. This table was the most accurate table that is known to the
astronomical world.
After Brahe died in 1601, Emperor Rudolf II assigned Kepler as the new imperial
mathematician, and all of Brahe’s writings, instruments, and the Rudolphine tables
were passed on to him. From Brahe’s data, Kepler was able to formulate his laws of
planetary motion: the law of ellipses, the law of equal areas, and the law of
harmonies.

Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

First Law - The Law of Ellipses
When Kepler tried to figure out Mars’ orbit, it did not fit the then-famous theory that
a planet follows a circular path. He then postulated that instead of a circular path,
planets follow an oval or an ellipse orbit.

Figure 3: The figure shows the Kepler’s First Law or

The Law of Ellipses

This orbit matched his calculations and explained the “irregularities” in the
movement of Mars. He was able to formulate his first law of planetary motion, the law
of ellipses which describes that the actual path followed by the planets was elliptical,
not circular, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.

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Second Law - The Law of Equal Areas
The second law, which is the law of equal areas states that when an imaginary line
is drawn from the center of the Sun to the center of a planet, the line will sweep out
an equal area of space in equal time intervals.

Planet
P
A B

A
B

Elliptical orbit

Figure 4: The figure shows the Kepler’s 2nd Law or

The Law of Equal Areas
The law describes how fast a planet moves in its orbit. A planet moves fastest when
it is nearest the Sun and slowest when it is farthest from the Sun, and still, the same
area is swept out by the line in equal amounts of time.

Third Law - The Law of Harmonies

The law of harmonies, which is the third law, describes that the square of a planet’s
orbital period (T2) is proportional to the cube of a planet’s average distance from the
Sun (R3). It states that that the ratio of the squares of the periods of two planets is
equal to the ratio of the cubes of the average distances of these two planets from the
Sun or:

where the subscript 1 indicates planet 1 and subscript 2 indicates

planet 2.

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 50000
Neptune
10000
Uranus

1000 Saturn

100 Jupiter

10
Mars

1 Earth
Venus
10 100 1000 10000
Mercury

Square of Orbital Period (Yr2)

Figure 4: The figure shows the Kepler’s 3rd Law or The Law
of Harmonies

What’s More

Our understanding of the elliptical motion of planets about the Sun spanned several
years and included contributions from many scientists. Answer the questions below.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
Q1. Which scientist is credited with the collection of the data necessary to support
the planet's elliptical motion?
A1. _____________________________________

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Q2. Which scientist is credited with the long and difficult task of analyzing the data?

A2. _____________________________________

3. Which scientist is credited with the accurate explanation of the data?

A3. _____________________________________

What I Have Learned

Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. ___________________ was a Danish astronomer and nobleman who made accurate

observations of the movement of celestial bodies.
2. ___________________ was a German astronomer and mathematician who worked as
an assistant to Brahe and formulated the three laws of planetary motion based on
Brahe’s extensive astronomical data.
3. ____________________ states that planets follow an elliptical orbit.

4_____________________ states that when an imaginary line is drawn from the center
of a planet to the center of the Sun, an equal amount of space is swept in equal
amount of time.

5. __________________ states that the ratio of the squares of the period of two planets
is equal to the ratio of the cubes of the planets’ average distance from the Sun.

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 What I Can Do

Using YouTube, watch the Ptolemaic Planetary Model on the website below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGjlT3XHb9
This will allow the introduction of Brahe and Kepler's analysis of planetary motions
that led to the 3 laws.

Analyze and discuss the implications of scientists defying cultural beliefs in older
times and what science would be like today without the scientific analysis and
discoveries of Brahe and Kepler. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Who determined the positions of 777 fixed stars accurately from his
observatory in Denmark?
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Johannes Kepler
C. Nicolaus Copernicus
D. Tycho Brahe

2. Johannes Kepler is best known for the:

A. Invention of the first telescope
B. Laws of planetary motion
C. Principle of stellar parallax
D. Sun-centered Universe

3. As one of his three axioms of planetary motion, ____________ demonstrated

that the planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun.
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Johannes Kepler
C. Nicolaus Copernicus
D. Tycho Brahe

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4. Who was Brahe's most famous student?
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Isaac Newton
C. Johannes Kepler
D. Nicolaus Copernicus

5. The great contribution of Tycho Brahe was to _________.

A. offer the first detailed model of a Sun-centered solar system, thereby
beginning the process of overturning the Earth-centered model of the
Greeks
B. observe planetary positions with sufficient accuracy so that Kepler
could later use the data to discover the laws of planetary motion
C. discover four moons orbiting Jupiter, thereby lending strong support to
the idea that the Earth is not the center of the universe
D. discover that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits with varying speed

6. Which of the following is a statement of Kepler's first law?

A. Planets move in perfect circles with the Sun at the center
B. Planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at the center
C. Planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at one of the
foci
D. Planets move along an elliptical path with the Earth at one of
the foci

7. The following are the laws formulated by Kepler using Brahe’s data
and observations, EXCEPT:
A. Law of Ellipses
B. Law of Equal Areas
C. Law of Harmonies
D. Law of Inertia

8. In simple language, Kepler's second law means that

A. slowly moving planets are close to the Sun.
B. the Sun is at the center of planetary orbits.
C. planets close to the Sun have shorter periods than those
farther away.
D. a planet moves more rapidly when near the Sun than when
farther away.

9. In non-mathematical terms, Kepler's third law says that:

A. slowly moving planets are close to the Sun.
B. the Sun is at the center of planetary orbits.
C. planets close to the Sun have shorter periods than those
farther away.
D. a planet moves more rapidly when near the Sun than when
farther away.

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10. Who is often considered to be the first truly modern scientist?
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Johannes Kepler
C. Nicolaus Copernicus
D. Tycho Brahe

11. Which of the following did Galileo NOT observe?

A. sunspots
B. the moons of Mars
C. the phases of Venus
D. the craters on the Moon

12. If in a violent moment you kick a wall, your foot will hurt. This is best
explained by:
A. Newton's first law of motion.
B. Newton's second law of motion.
C. Newton's third law of motion.
D. the universal law of gravity.

13. Who was recommended by Emperor Rudolf II to be Tycho Brahe’s

assistant?
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Isaac Newton
C. Johannes Kepler
D. Nicolaus Copernicus

14. The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun-centered solar system

was:
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Johannes Kepler
C. Nicolaus Copernicus
D. Tycho Brahe

15. Using Brahe’s observations and data what was Kepler’s findings
about the shape of the orbit followed by the planets?
A. The orbit was circular.
B. The orbit was elliptical.
C. The orbit has an uneven shape.
D. The orbit of the planets was irregular.

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 Additional Activities

If you were given a chance to write something on your journal for your chosen Modern
Astronomer, who would it be and what would you tell him about his findings on
ancient history?
________________________________

(Name of the Modern Astronomer)

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
My Journal ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________.

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 Module 3
CO_Q2_Physical Science SHS 17
Assessment What I Have Learned
1. D 1. Tycho Brahe
2. B 2. Johannes Kepler
3. B 3. Kepler’s First Law
4. C 4. Kepler’s Second Law
5. B 5. Kepler’s Third Law
6. C
7. D
8. D
9. C
10. A
11. B
12. C
13. C
14. C
15. B
What's More What’s In What I Know
A1. Tycho Brahe 1. E 1. Greeks
2. C 2. Ptolemic Model
A2. Johannes Kepler 3. D 3. Oblate spheroid
4. B 4. North Star
A3. Isaac Newton 5. A 5. Aristotle
6. Eclipse
7. Shadow
8. Eratosthenes
9. Retrograde motion
10. Winter solstice
11. Summer solstice
12. Heliocentrism
13. Geocentrism
14. Nicolaus Copernicus
15. Galileo Galilei
Answer Key
References
Canoy, Warlito. How the Greek Knew That the Earth Is Spherical.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/grade-11-physical-science/lesson-63-
how-the-greeks-knew-that-the-earth-is-spherical/2033007150048833/
(accessed June 06, 2020)

Dowling, Mike. “Mr.Dowling.com”. Aristotle’s Conclusion.

https://www.mrdowling.com/601-
aristotle.html?fbclid=IwAR04dJDnSvnAfFr4sP4rxiZ0qgU7C5OVFxO5ZpnokO
Tj8Kxh8dNQbRPtpWA (accessed June 06, 2020)

Nucum, Zenaida T. 2016. The Physical Sciences (For Senior High School).
Mandaluyong City: Books QAtbp. Publishing Corp.

Rocelia de Villa, Exploring Natural Science: Physical Science (Makati City: Don Bosco
Press Inc., 2015) 192.

Schroeder, Daniel. Astronomy Before Copernicus.

https://physics.weber.edu/schroeder/ua/BeforeCopernicus.html?fbclid=Iw
AR0IICE1TO0OLEb9-MdUEZUBryyhDfd62eRmnuaQh2YqI9sysFr7FXmaV-I
(accessed June 06, 2020)

http://nautil.us/blog/why-renaissance-astronomer-tycho-brahe-is-still-a-star

https://schools.wikia.org/wiki/Kepler%27s_Second_Law
https://www.aanda.org/glossary/198-keplers-laws

https://www.pinterest.ph/wilson1051/johannes-kepler/

https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/keplers-third-law

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