A Spherical

Earth and
Kepler’s Law
of Planetary
Motion
Physical Science | Quarter 2
Prepared by: Jay Jay C. Milo
 Christian and his father were gazing at stars outside
one beautiful evening. They were very surprised at the
presence of a lot of stars.
 But since it was already
late at night, they needed to go home and have a rest.
 His father said, "Let's sleep
now because it's another day tomorrow."
 There was a moment of silence, and
Christian suddenly asked, "Daddy, why do we have
a day and a night?
• The scenario above is an astronomical phenomenon
that needs an explanation of how the universe
works.
• In this learning lesson, you will know and
comprehend the origins of Earth, the solar system,
and the universe.
• You will also examine the transformation from the
ancient view of the universe, which focused on the
positions and movements of celestial objects, to the
modern perspective, which focuses on
understanding how these objects came to be and
why they move the way they do.
 MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING
COMPETENCIES
1 explain how the Greeks knew that the Earth is
spherical (S11/12PS-Iva-38)
cite examples of astronomical phenomena
2
known to astronomers before the advent of
telescopes (S11/12PS-Iva-40)
3 explain how Brahe’s innovations and extensive
collection of data in observational astronomy
paved the way for Kepler’s discovery of his laws
of planetary motion. (S11/12PS-Iva-44)
EXPLAIN HOW THE GREEKS KNEW THAT
THE EARTH IS SPHERICAL
Learning Objectives:

a. enumerate philosophers that contributes to the

development of the theory that earth is spherical in
shape

b. explain how the philosophers came to realize that

earth is sphere

c. create a comic strip that shows the evidences that

supports
philosophers’ claim (Spherical Earth)
 Guess the Philosopher
Below are the pictures and names (which are jumbled) of Greek
philosophers who made great explanations for why Earth is
spherical. Arrange their names and choose their significant
contribution in determining that Earth is spherical in shape,
which can be found in the box below.
1 Guess the Philosopher

ARSAGOTHYP
2 Guess the Philosopher

OLPTA
3 Guess the Philosopher

EASIRLTTO
4 Guess the Philosopher

TTOSHENESARE
1 Guess the Philosopher

PYTHAGORAS
Influenced by Thales
& Anaximander and
he said that sphere is
the most perfect
shape.
2 Guess the Philosopher

PLATO
“My conviction is that the Earth is
a round body in the center of the
heavens, and therefore has no
need of air or any similar force to
be a support”.
3 Guess the Philosopher

ARISTOTLE
Conducted experiment to measure the
length of the shadow casted by vertical
stick during solstice noon in order to
figure out the angle the sun made with the
vertical direction at Alexandria.
4 Guess the Philosopher

ERATOSTHENES
There are stars that were
seen in Egypt and
Cyprus that is not visible
in the northern region.
Pythagoreans
have developed a spherical model
of the Earth and the heavens
since the fifth century BC. Their
geographical and astronomical
work was based on the theory
that the Earth was a sphere.
 The evidence for a spherical Earth is overwhelming. Evidence of a
spherical Earth is visible to the naked eye, and one of the first cosmic
facts worked out by ancient individuals.
By the time of the philosopher
Socrates and his student Plato,
that the Earth was spherical,
many Greeks also understood.

Sailors would have noticed that

before the hulls of the
approaching ships became
visible, the sails appeared first
because the surface of the sea
is slightly curved, like a surface
of an enormous ball.
 ARISTOTLE
(384-322 BC)

the famous Greek philosopher, concluded that

the Earth is spherical because when it eclipses
the moon, it always casts a curved shadow
 ARISTOTLE
(384-322 BC)

In addition to this observations of the stars, Aristotle

also argued that not only is the earth circular, but it
is also a circle of no great size. He pointed out that
the stars at night had minimal change in position to
south or north, and the stars seen are different, as
one moves north or south. His belief in a spherical
Earth, however, was lost during the Middle Ages
Using experimental measurements of
shadows in two cities and some geometry, an
ancient scholar named ERATOSTHENES
(276-194 BC) correctly approximated the
circumference of the Earth.
 Evidences that supports their claim
Ships appear to sink
If you stood at the
gradually below the
horizon as they travel North Pole, Polaris
far away from the would be almost
observer and over the directly overhead.
horizons – in all
directions

The North star

Polaris, the North Star,
gradually appears
is located practically
lower and lower in
over the North Pole of
the sky as you
planet Earth.
travel toward the
equator.
 Evidences that supports their claim

When the North Star

is visible at the Only a sphere can
horizon, you are cast a shadow that
located at the always appears
equator. round. During lunar
eclipses, Earth
casts its shadow on
South of the the moon, and the
equator, the North shadow is always
Star is not visible. round.
Enrichment Activity: FLAT OR SPHERE

Make a short essay on the

topic “Is the Earth Flat or
Sphere?”. Be guided by the
scoring rubric on how your
output will be rated.

15 Points
MEMES
:
 Performance Task 1: STORY LINE
Create a comic out of the
ancient Greeks’ view about the
argument on Earth’s shape. Be
guided by the scoring rubric on
how your output will be rated.
5 4 3 2
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA
KNOWN TO ASTRONOMERS
 WHAT YOU KNOW
Directions: Make your mind map on the things you know
about the main concepts, which are the SUN and MOON. Add
branches to the main concept and draw or use symbols to
classify different types of thoughts and ideas.
Without the help of telescopes,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn can be easily seen in
the sky. These planets can be
easily confused with stars and are
only seen at specific times of the
day. The best time to look for
these planets would be before
sunrise and after sunset.
Even before the telescope's
invention, different
astronomical phenomena
were observed by ancient
people. The sun and moon are
the most observable
objects in the sky.
In systematically observing the movement of the sun, the
Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations used a primitive version
of a sundial called a gnomon. They were able to observe that
the sun rises in the eastern part of the sky, reaches its highest
point at noon, and sets in the western part of the sky by
looking at the shadows which the gnomon casts.
 They also recorded that the points
where the sun rises and sets on the
horizon vary over a year, and
periodically these variations occur.
They noted that these variations are
weather-related and thus concluded
that seasonal climate changes occur
over one year.
PHASES OF THE
MOON
SYZYGY
CORONA
Motion of the Stars

It was also noted that the stars seem to be

attached in one day to a celestial sphere that
rotates around an axis. At a point in the northern
sky, this axis intersects the celestial sphere and
is presently close to the northern star, Polaris.
Also, the positions of the constellations in the
night sky vary according to the time of the year.
Visibility of the Planets

Astronomers have found the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and
Saturn because they have noticed that the stars (like how constellations
are always grouped) are in a fixed position to each other. But there are
very bright stars which periodically change positions. These “stars” do not
belong to any group of constellations in the sky. In Greek terms, they are
called "wanderers" or planets.
BRAHE’S INNOVATIONS IN THE
DISCOVERY OF KEPLER’S LAWS
OF PLANETARY MOTION
 Activity: SET ME FREE
Directions: Unscramble the letters in each item to form
words and give your ideas
in each word.
1. ELLIPSE
2. EKPLRE
3. EHABR
4. SAMR
5. TRICLIOEH
 TYCO BRAHE
a Danish nobleman and astronomer known for
his accurate and comprehensive astronomical
observations
the last major naked-eye astronomer, working
without telescopes.

his observations of planetary motion, particularly that of

Mars, provided the crucial data for the later astronomers like
Kepler to construct our present model of the solar system.
the assistant of Tycho Brahe
was tasked to analyze the
planetary positions
measurements and to find
explanation for the irregular
backward movement of the Mars

JOHANNES KEPLER
3 LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION BY KEPLER
 Kepler
discovered that
the planet speeds
up as it comes
closer to the Sun
and slows down
as it pulls away
from the Sun.