”Exploring the Solar System Formation with NetLogo” by Joel Schwartz

Edited by Kyle Thompson

This activity is designed to introduce concepts of late-stage solar system evolution through computer simulation. Students will be introduced to the functional form of Newton’s Law of Gravitation and practice running the NetLogo “Solar System Formation” model.

This lesson is free to download for use in your classroom.
Click to download the lesson plan as a printable PDF or an editable Word Document.

Grade Level: 11-12
Difficulty Level: Intermediate
Skills and Topics: Astronomy, computational thinking, modeling, NetLogo, Newton’s Law of Gravitation
Technical Needs: Computer, NetLogo, Google Docs