Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/ia/paper-4/4a/c/solution

With the Sun fixed, its gravitational force on the planet is a central force. In the fixed orbital plane, the transverse acceleration in polar coordinates therefore vanishes:
During , the position vector sweeps an infinitesimal sector of area . Hence the areal velocity is
Integrating over any two equal time intervals gives equal swept areas, proving Kepler's second law. Here is the signed component of angular momentum normal to the orbital plane. The argument uses conservation of angular momentum; an inverse-square dependence is not needed for this particular law, only a central force.

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