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Lesson Plan: Mechanical Energy Conservation in Orbits Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to calculate the kinetic energy required to maintain circular orbit around a star or planet.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- use to find the kinetic energy of an object in circular orbit,
- use to find the gravitational potential energy of an object in a circular or elliptical orbit,
- recall that for an object to maintain a circular orbit, the ratio between its kinetic and potential energy must be ,
- recall that mechanical energy is conserved for all orbits.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- using ,
- the idea that the mechanical energy of an object is the sum of its kinetic and potential energies,
- how to use .
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- escape speed or launching projectiles from planet surfaces,
- general relativity or any non-Newtonian gravity.
