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GCSE Physics · key term
The path followed by an object as it moves around another object in space.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Specification 4.8.1.3 · Paper 2
The path an object follows around another object in space.
Revise: Orbital motion, natural and artificial satellitesAn orbit is the path an object follows around another object in space. Earth is a planet: a natural object orbiting a star, the Sun. The Moon is a natural satellite orbiting Earth.
Specification 7.3P, 7.5P, 7.7P · Paper 1
For Higher Tier, distinguish speed from velocity: constant speed does not mean constant velocity in a circular orbit.
Compare speeds only for stable circular orbits around the same central body. Speeding up a satellite does not instantly put it into a new circular orbit.
Name the body being orbited: planets and comets orbit the Sun; moons orbit planets; artificial satellites often orbit Earth.
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The eight planets orbit the Sun. Their order in terms of distance from the Sun means listing them from the nearest to the furthest—not by their size or their distance from Earth.
A curved path followed by a body moving under the gravitational attraction of another body.
A path around another body maintained by gravitational attraction.
Paper 1, Paper 2
The path of an object moving around another object under gravity.
Revise: Structure and Orbits of the Solar SystemEight planets orbit it: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are alike in orbiting the Sun in the same direction on paths that are almost circular. They differ in their distance from the Sun, their orbital speed and the time they take to complete an orbit.