Question

Earth is slightly closer to the Sun in January than in July. How does the area swept out by Earth's orbit around the Sun during the 31 days of January compare to the area swept out during the 31 days of July?
a. Both areas are the same.
b. The area swept out in January is larger.
c. The area swept out in July is larger.

Answer 1

Answer: Option a.

Explanation:

Kepler's 2nd law of planetary motion states:

A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

It tells us that it doesn't matter how far Earth is from the Sun, at equal times, the area swept out by Earth's orbit it's always the same independently from the position in the orbit.