Lecture tutorials

Over what range of distances from the sun would you expect to find only solid, Rocky material collecting together to form a terrestrial planet?

0.2 - 2.0 AUs

How far from the central star does a planet orbit if it has an orbital period of one year

1 AU

How many moons would fit across the diameter of the sun?

440

Which of the following pairs would make a good scale model of earth and the moon?

A basketball and a baseball

What items can represent the scale of the earth/suns diameter

Basketball and pea

Which planets formed at temperatures cooler than the freezing point of water?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

When the spacecraft is at the halfway point between earth and mars, how does the strength of the gravitational force on the spaceprobe by earth compare with the strength of the force by mars?

It will experience a stronger force by earth because earth is more massive.

How would the strength of the force between the Moon and Earth change if the mass of the Moon were somehow made of two times greater than its actual mass?

It would double

As a planets orbital distance from the sun increases

It's orbital period also increases

If a planets distance from a central star is doubled than

It's orbital period will more than double

Eccentricity close to 1

Orbit is very flat

Eccentricity close to 0

Orbit is very round, almost a perfect circle

If you have two stars and one of them is closer to the sun, which would orbit the central star faster?

The closer star because the central stars gravity affects it more

Given that earth is larger and more massive than the moon, how does the strength of the gravitational force that the moon exerts in earth compare to the gravitational force that earth exerts on the moon?

The forces are equal but opposite

How would the speed change of a planet with a perfectly circular orbit?

The speed would stay the same

Would your weight be more, less or the same on mars as it is on earth?

You would weigh less on mars

over what range of distances from the sun would you expect to find light gases, such as hydrogen and helium, collecting to form a jovian planet?

greater than 2 au

Which planet is an example of why mass does not play a role?

Mars-it is 2nd smallest planet, is pretty far from the sun and has an orbital period slightly longer than earths

At which position does a planet travel its fastest? Slowest?

Fastest when it is closest to the sun and slowest when it is farthest from the shb

A planets mass does not affect

The orbital period of a planet

How many times could the moons orbital diameter fit between earth and the sun

220

How many earths could you fit between the earth and the sun

110

Relationship between a planets orbital speed and companion star

A planets orbital speed is faster when it is closer to its companion star

How many earths could you fit between earth and the moon?

About 30 earths

How does earths orbital speed change throughout the year?

Earths orbital speed changes very little throughout the year

Which planets formed at temperatures hotter than the boiling point of water?

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Whenever one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite force on the first.

Newton's third law of motion

Does the mass of a planet play a role in the speed it orbits a central star?

No only it's distance from the central star plays a role

If a planet has a perfectly circular orbit and the distance it travels is the same each month, does it obey keplers 2nd law?

Yes becuase the orbit is a perfect circle so the distance around the orbit is the same each month