We present a pedagogical proposal to introduce the theme of dark matter in the universe to high school students. The intrinsic appeal of this subject is used to discuss some applications of movement of planetary system and stars in galaxies and relations between different forms of energy in the movement of stars and others astronomical objects. The main goal is to motivate students with interactive actions, including activities inside and out-classroom, to a further development of the theme. Finally, the didactic sequence is closed with a numerical demonstration of gravitational virial theorem, leading the students to discussions about the existence of dark matter around galaxies, based on the obtained result in verifying the gravitational virial theorem.
Keywords:
Physics education; Virial theorem; Dark matter
