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Kepler's first law of planetary motion states that ________.

a. the Sun is at the center of the solar system
b. planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits, with the Sun located at one focus
c. planets orbit the Sun in circular orbits, with the Sun located at the center
d. gravity provides the force that holds the planets in orbit about the Sun


Sagot :

Answer:

Kepler's first law of planetary motion states that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits, with the Sun located at one focus (option b)

Explanation:

Kepler's laws or laws of planetary motion are scientific laws that describe the movement of the planets around the Sun. The fundamental contribution of Kepler's laws was to show that the orbits of the planets are elliptical and not circular as was previously believed.

Kepler's laws are kinetic laws. This means that its function is to describe the planetary motion.

Kepler formulated three laws:

  • First Law: The planets move around the Sun describing elliptical orbits, the Sun being located in one of the focus.
  • Second Law: The vector radius that joins the planet and the Sun sweeps equal areas in equal times.
  • Third Law: For any planet, the square of its orbital period (time it takes to go around the Sun) is directly proportional to the cube of the mean distance from the Sun.

An ellipse is a closed curve that has two symmetrical axes, called foci or fixed points. In simpler words, an ellipse can be described as a flattened circle.

The degree of flattening of a closed curve is called eccentricity. When the eccentricity is equal to 0, the curve forms a perfect circle. On the other hand, when the eccentricity is greater than 0, the sides of the curve are flattened to form an ellipse.

Kepler's first law of planetary motion states that planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits, with the Sun located at one focus (option b)