Kepler's 3rd Law relates the period of a planet to its distance from the Sun. The orbital period (P) is the length of time it takes to complete one orbit around the Sun. The distance from the Sun (a) is the semi-major axis of a planet's elliptical orbit. Using years for time units and AU for distance units, Kepler's third law becomes, "The period of a planet (in years), squared, equals the semi-major axis of the planet (in AU), cubed," or P² = a³ 1. Algebraically solve Kepler's third law for the period of a planet, in the space below, expressing the answer as a raised to an exponent, without the square root sign V:

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)
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Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals
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Kepler's 3rd Law relates the period of a planet to its distance from the Sun.
The orbital period (P) is the length of time it takes to complete one orbit around the Sun.
The distance from the Sun (a) is the semi-major axis of a planet's elliptical orbit.
Using years for time units and AU for distance units, Kepler's third law becomes, "The period of a
planet (in years), squared, equals the semi-major axis of the planet (in AU), cubed," or
P² = a³
1. Algebraically solve Kepler's third law for the period of a planet, in the space below,
expressing the answer as a raised to an exponent, without the square root sign √:
2.
In the third column of the table below, the actual, measured orbital periods of the eight
known planets, and the dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto, are already written down.
3. Use your equation (derived above) to calculate the period of each planet or minor planet
from its semi-major axis. Write your answers in the table below, in the fourth column.
Only go to the same decimal place in writing each answer in column 4 as
the number in the actual period in column 3.
Calculate the discrepancy, the difference between the actual and the calculated orbital
periods, and write the discrepancies in the last column. Leave off any negative signs.
Discrepancy
Discrepancy
Planet
or Minor Planet
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Ceres
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Semi-major
Axis (AU)
a.
0.3871
0.7233
1.0000
1.5237
2.767
5.2028
9.5388
19.18
30.0611
39.44
Actual
Period (yr)
0.2408
0.61515
1.0000
1.8808
4.5998
11.86461
29.4589
84.0013
164.8095
247.68
Calculated
Period (yr)
4. Which planet or minor planet has the greatest absolute discrepancy
between the actual value and the calculated value of its period?
%
What percentage of the actual period is this discrepancy? Divide the discrepancy into the actual
period and multiply the result by 100 to get your answer. Show your complete calculation here:
5. Which planet or dwarf planet has the greatest percentage discrepancy?
a. What percentage is this discrepancy? Show your calculation and result in the following space:
6. What may be the cause of some of the actual periods varying a tiny bit from the theoretical periods?
4
Transcribed Image Text:Kepler's 3rd Law relates the period of a planet to its distance from the Sun. The orbital period (P) is the length of time it takes to complete one orbit around the Sun. The distance from the Sun (a) is the semi-major axis of a planet's elliptical orbit. Using years for time units and AU for distance units, Kepler's third law becomes, "The period of a planet (in years), squared, equals the semi-major axis of the planet (in AU), cubed," or P² = a³ 1. Algebraically solve Kepler's third law for the period of a planet, in the space below, expressing the answer as a raised to an exponent, without the square root sign √: 2. In the third column of the table below, the actual, measured orbital periods of the eight known planets, and the dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto, are already written down. 3. Use your equation (derived above) to calculate the period of each planet or minor planet from its semi-major axis. Write your answers in the table below, in the fourth column. Only go to the same decimal place in writing each answer in column 4 as the number in the actual period in column 3. Calculate the discrepancy, the difference between the actual and the calculated orbital periods, and write the discrepancies in the last column. Leave off any negative signs. Discrepancy Discrepancy Planet or Minor Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Semi-major Axis (AU) a. 0.3871 0.7233 1.0000 1.5237 2.767 5.2028 9.5388 19.18 30.0611 39.44 Actual Period (yr) 0.2408 0.61515 1.0000 1.8808 4.5998 11.86461 29.4589 84.0013 164.8095 247.68 Calculated Period (yr) 4. Which planet or minor planet has the greatest absolute discrepancy between the actual value and the calculated value of its period? % What percentage of the actual period is this discrepancy? Divide the discrepancy into the actual period and multiply the result by 100 to get your answer. Show your complete calculation here: 5. Which planet or dwarf planet has the greatest percentage discrepancy? a. What percentage is this discrepancy? Show your calculation and result in the following space: 6. What may be the cause of some of the actual periods varying a tiny bit from the theoretical periods? 4
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