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19 October 2020

Are Kepler's Laws Covered in AP Physics 1?

Kepler's laws are never a starting point for an AP Physics 1 question.  

That said... situations involving gravitation and planetary orbits are part of Physics 1.  AP Physics 1 does include circular orbits, from which one could in principle do the work that derives Kepler's T^2-r^3 law.  AP Physics 1 does include angular momentum conservation, from which one can understand the same consequences as Kepler's equal areas/equal times law.  There's no need to understand elliptical orbits, just circular orbits.  

Physics C includes some questions where the best approach is to cite one of Kepler's laws and logic from there.  Physics 1 does not - the approach to every planet problem starts with Newton's law of gravitation or conservation of angular momentum.

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