Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 7, Problem 47IF
Pluto/Charon Mass. Pluto’s moon Charon orbits Pluto every 6.4 days with a semimajor axis of 19,700 kilometers. Calculate the combined mass of Pluto and Charon. Compare this combined mass to the mass of Earth, which is about 6 × 1024 kg. Can you determine the individual masses of Pluto and Charon from the given data? Explain.
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Until recently, the term "planet" had no clear-cut definition. In August of 2006, leading astronomers established new guidelines and declared that Pluto is no longer a planet. Which of the following is either false or least consistent with the new guidelines?
Group of answer choices
Pluto is by far the largest known object in the Kuiper belt, while Eris is the largest known object in the asteroid belt.
A planet must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
Pluto is automatically disqualified from being a planet because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's.
A planet must have sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape.
Pluto and the asteroid Ceres are both now classified as dwarf planets.
Suppose there were a planet in our Solar System orbiting at a distance of 0.5 AU from theSun, and having ten times the mass and four times the radius of Earth. For reference, theEarth has a mass of 5.97 × 1024 kg and a radius of 6,378 km a) Calculate the density of this hypothetical planet.b) Based on your answer from part a), what do you think this planet would be made of?Explain your reasoning.c) Do this planet’s properties agree with the condensation theory for the formation of ourSolar System? Why or why not?
Let's use Kepler's laws for the inner planets. Use the following distances from the sun to calculate the orbital period for each of these planets. Express your answer in terms of Earth years to two significant figures. Answer for the highlighted planet in each question.
Note: Use Kepler's law directly. Don't just Google the answers, as they will be a little bit different.
When you have calculated them, only submit the value for Earth.
Planet
Distance from the sun
Period of orbit around the sun
Earth
150 million km
___ Earth years
Mercury
58 million km
___ Earth years
Venus
108 million km
___ Earth years
Mars
228 million km
___ Earth years
Chapter 7 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 7 - Why do we expect the elements of life to be widely...Ch. 7 - How does the strength of sunlight vary with...Ch. 7 - Under what conditions does it seem reasonable to...Ch. 7 - Why is a liquid medium important for life? Why...Ch. 7 - Summarize the three major environmental...Ch. 7 - Why do the Moon and Mercury seem unlikely to be...Ch. 7 - Why is Venus so much hotter than Earth? How does...Ch. 7 - Why does Mars seem such a good candidate for life?Ch. 7 - Briefly discuss the possibility of life on Jupiter...Ch. 7 - With regard to habitability, how do the cases of...
Ch. 7 - What characteristics make some of the large moons...Ch. 7 - Briefly describe the prospects for habitability of...Ch. 7 - Describe and distinguish between space missions...Ch. 7 - For a few of the most important past, present, or...Ch. 7 - On the smallest moon of Uranus, my team discovered...Ch. 7 - New spacecraft images show lakes of liquid water...Ch. 7 - We are pumping water for our new Moon colony from...Ch. 7 - I was part of the first group of people to land on...Ch. 7 - We sent a robotic airplane into the atmosphere of...Ch. 7 - On a moon of Neptune, we discovered photosynthetic...Ch. 7 - We deposited bacteria (from Earth) that get energy...Ch. 7 - The drilled sample showed no signs of life on...Ch. 7 - We cut holes in the frozen surface of a methane...Ch. 7 - The drilled sample from Mars brought up rock that...Ch. 7 - Oxygen and carbon are (a) rarer than almost all...Ch. 7 - On an asteroid that is twice as far as Earth from...Ch. 7 - Compared to liquid water, liquid methane is (a)...Ch. 7 - Frozen lakes often have liquid water beneath their...Ch. 7 - Temperatures on Mercury are (a) always very hot;...Ch. 7 - On Venus, liquid water (a) does not exist...Ch. 7 - The reason Venus is so much hotter than Earth is...Ch. 7 - Life is probably not possible in Jupiters...Ch. 7 - Which of the following are you most likely to find...Ch. 7 - The Cassini spacecraft (a) flew past Pluto; (b)...Ch. 7 - Bizarre Forms of Life. Discuss some forms of life...Ch. 7 - Making a Living. Consider various methods by which...Ch. 7 - Solar System Tour. Based on the brief tour in this...Ch. 7 - Galileo Spacecraft. In 2003, scientists...Ch. 7 - Greenhouse Effect. The text (in Chapter 4) makes...Ch. 7 - Prob. 41IFCh. 7 - Understanding Newtons Version of Keplers Third Law...Ch. 7 - Understanding Newtons Version of Keplers Third Law...Ch. 7 - Earth Mass. The Moon orbits Earth in an average...Ch. 7 - Jupiter Mass. Jupiters moon Io orbits Jupiter...Ch. 7 - Pluto/Charon Mass. Plutos moon Charon orbits Pluto...Ch. 7 - Mission to Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft took...Ch. 7 - Planetary Missions. Visit the web page for one of...
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