Gravity and Orbits

Gravity and Orbits Screenshot
  • Gravitational Force
  • Astronomy
  • Circular Motion
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Topics

  • Gravitational Force
  • Astronomy
  • Circular Motion

Description

Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe the relationship between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station, including orbits and positions
  • Describe the size and distance between the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station
  • Explain how gravity controls the motion of our solar system
  • Identify the variables that affect the strength of gravity
  • Predict how motion would change if gravity was stronger or weaker
Version 2.04

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MC Physics
Algebra-based Physics Semester one lessons, clicker questions, and schedule in pdf (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
Lab
Demo
HW
Physics
Gravity and Orbits-Vector Concept A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein UG-Intro
HS
MS
MC Astronomy
Earth Science
Physics
Gravity and Orbits A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Emily Moore, Kathy Perkins, Christine Denison, Trish Loeblein K-5
MS
Lab Earth Science
Astronomy
Physics
Solar System NGSS aligned A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Debbie Brown MS Lab Earth Science
Gravity and Orbits Lesson A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. UTeach Middle School PhET Team MS Lab Earth Science
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other Earth Science
Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics Jaya Ramchandani HS Other Physics
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS
Other Biology
Physics
Chemistry
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other Physics
Gravitação Paulo Gouveia MS
HS
HW
Discuss
Lab
Physics
Earth Science
Astronomy
Mathematics
h Bobby Fine HS Lab Physics
Gravity, Orbits and Kepler's Laws Rhoda Berenson UG-Intro Lab
Inquiry to Gravity Brian Underwood HS Lab Physics
Gravity and Orbits Student Guide Joel Barthel HS Lab Physics
Gravity Assist Ahmad Abdelhadi UG-Intro Demo Astronomy
Physics
[tradução] Gravidade, Orbitais e leis de Kepler Amanda Santos HS Guided Astronomy
Physics

Language Download or Run Tips
Albanian All shqip Run now Graviteti dhe Orbitat
Arabic All العربية Run now الجاذبية و الأفلاك
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now الجاذبية والمدارات
Basque All Euskara Run now Grabitatea eta Orbitak
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Гравітацыя і арбіты
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Gravitacija i orbite
Bulgarian All български Run now Гравитация и орбита
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 重力和轨道
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 重力與軌道
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Gravitacija i Orbite
Czech All čeština Run now Gravitace a oběžná dráha
Danish All Dansk Run now Tiltrækning og kredsløb
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Zwaartekracht en Banen
Estonian All Eesti Run now Gravitatsioon ja orbiidid
Finnish All suomi Run now Painovoima ja kiertoradat
French All français Run now Gravité et orbites
Galician All Gallegan Run now Gravidade e Órbitas
Georgian All ქართული Run now ორბიტები და გრავიტაცია
German All Deutsch Run now Schwerkraft und Umlaufbahnen
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Βαρύτητα και Τροχιές
Hebrew All עברית Run now כבידה ומסלולים
Hungarian All magyar Run now Tömegvonzás és keringési pályák
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Gravitasi dan Orbit
Italian All italiano Run now Gravità e orbite
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 重力と軌道
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಗುರುತ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ಕಕ್ಷೆ
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Тартылыс күші және орбиталар
Khmer All Khmer Run now ទម្ងន់ និងគន្លង
Korean All 한국어 Run now 중력과 궤도
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Rakêşan û Rêgeh
Lao All Lao Run now Gravity and Orbits
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Gravitāte un orbītas
Macedonian All македонски Run now Гравитација и орбити
Marathi All मराठी Run now गुरुत्वाकर्षण आणि कक्षा
Mongolian All Монгол (Монгол) Run now Таталцал ба Орбит
Persian All فارسی Run now گرانش و مدار
Polish All polski Run now Grawitacja, a orbity
Portuguese All português Run now Gravidade e Órbitas
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Gravidade e Órbitas
Romanian All română Run now Gravitatia si Orbitele
Russian All русский Run now Гравитация и орбиты
Serbian All Српски Run now Гравитација и орбите
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Gravitácia a obežná dráha
Spanish All español Run now Gravedad y Órbitas
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Gravedad y Órbitas
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Gravedad y Órbitas
Swedish All svenska Run now Gravitation och banor
Thai All ไทย Run now ความโน้มถ่วงและวงโคจร
Tigrinya All Tigrinya Run now ሳሕቢ መሬትን ምህዋርን
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Yerçekimi ve Yörüngeler
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Grawitasiýa we orbitalar
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Lực hấp dẫn và quỹ đạo

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Latest version of Java
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Latest version of Java
Latest version of Java

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Noah Podolefsky (lead designer)
  • Emily Moore (lead)
  • Kathy Perkins
  • Trish Loeblein
  • Sam Reid (lead developer)
  • Jon Olson (developer)
  • Chris Malley (developer)
  • John Blanco (developer)
  • piccolo2d