National Science Foundation
Excellence Center of Science and Mathematics Education at King Saud University
My Solar System
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.
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Topics
Main Topics
- Motion
- Acceleration
- Velocity
- Position
- Gravity
Related Topics
- Motion, Acceleration, Velocity, Circular Motion, Elliptical Motion, Vectors, Harmonic Motion, Kinematics, Rotational Motion, Gravity, Planets, Satellites, Astronomy, Gravitational Force
Sample Learning Goals
- Predict the necessary mass, velocity, and distance from the sun of a planet in order for this planet to make a circular orbit around a sun.
- What happens when you increase or decrease the mass of the planet, but keep everything else constant? Does this agree with your prediction?
- What happens to the orbit of the planet when you increase or decrease the magnitude of the velocity of the planet, but keep everything else constant?
- What happens to the planet's orbit when the increase or decrease the initial distance between the planet and the sun?
Teaching Ideas
Tips for Teachers
There is no teacher's guide for this simulation.
Ideas and Activities for this Sim
There are 8 contributions listed.
 Title | Author | Level | Type | Updated |
| AP Physics Orbit Lab | D. Burns | UG-Intro HS | Lab | 3/09 |
| Exploring Gravitation | D. Simmons | HS | Lab | 9/07 |
| How does the mass and velocity of a satellite affect the orbit? | C. Rink | HS | Lab | 1/09 |
| Lecture Demonstrations and Reviews the SIMS, My Solar System | N. Spletzer | HS | CQs | 3/07 |
| Modeling a planetary system | M. Kelly | HS | Lab | 3/08 |
| Orbits--effects of mass and distance | C. Cochran | MS | HW Lab | 12/07 |
| Trip to Mars | E. Praton | UG-Intro | Lab | 4/08 |
| Worlds of Wonder | D. Baird | UG-Intro HS | Lab | 3/09 |
Submit Your Ideas & Activities
Software Requirements
| Windows Systems | Macintosh Systems | Linux Systems |
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Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 Macromedia Flash 8 or later |
OS 10.4.11 or later Macromedia Flash 8 or later |
Macromedia Flash 8 or later |
Translated Versions
Credits
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
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