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Kepler\'s Third Law describes the relationship between how long it takes a plane

ID: 363 • Letter: K

Question

Kepler's Third Law describes the relationship between how long it takes a planet to orbit a  star (orbital period) and how far away that planet is from the star (orbital distance).  The figure illustrates how the orbital period (expressed in years) and the orbital  distance (expressed in astronomical units, au) of a planet are related.

#1 Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. Which planet will move around the central star in the least amount of time?

a. Esus

b. Sulius

c. Esus and Sulius will move around the central star in an equal amount of time

#2 Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. What would happen to the orbital period of Esus if its mass increased?

a. The orbital period would increase

b. The orbital period would stay the same

c. The orbital period would decrease

#3 Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. Imagine that both Esus and Sulius were in orbit around the same central star at the same distance and that their orbital positions would never intersect (so that they would never collide). Which of the following statements would be true?

a.  Esus would orbit the central star in less time than Sulius.

b. Esus and Sulius would orbit the central star in the same amount of time.

c. Sulius would orbit the central star in less time than Esus.

#4 According to Figure 5, which of the following statements is true?

a. The orbital period of planets increases as the orbital distance increases.

b. The orbital period of planets decreases as the orbital distance increases.

c. There is no relationship between the orbital period of planets and the orbital distance of planets.

#5 According to Figure 5, which of the following statements best describes how a planet

Kepler's Third Law describes the relationship between how long it takes a planet to orbit a star (orbital period) and how far away that planet is from the star (orbital distance). The figure illustrates how the orbital period (expressed in years) and the orbital distance (expressed in astronomical units, au) of a planet are related. Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. Which planet will move around the central star in the least amount of time? Esus Sulius Esus and Sulius will move around the central star in an equal amount of time Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. What would happen to the orbital period of Esus if its mass increased? The orbital period would increase The orbital period would stay the same The orbital period would decrease Imagine a make-believe planetary system that has an average star, like the Sun, at the center and two planets. A huge Jupiter-like, Jovian planet named Esus orbits close to the star, while a small Earth-like, terrestrial planet named Sulius is in an orbit far away around the star. Imagine that both Esus and Sulius were in orbit around the same central star at the same distance and that their orbital positions would never intersect (so that they would never collide). Which of the following statements would be true? Esus would orbit the central star in less time than Sulius. Esus and Sulius would orbit the central star in the same amount of time. Sulius would orbit the central star in less time than Esus. According to Figure 5, which of the following statements is true? The orbital period of planets increases as the orbital distance increases. The orbital period of planets decreases as the orbital distance increases. There is no relationship between the orbital period of planets and the orbital distance of planets. According to Figure 5, which of the following statements best describes how a planet's orbital period will change (if at all) when its distance to the central star is doubled? The planet's orbital period will decrease by half. The planet's orbital period will not change. The planet's orbital period will double. The planet's orbital period will more than double.

Explanation / Answer

1)

c. Esus and Sulius will move around the central star in an equal amount of time

2)

b. The orbital period would stay the same

3)

b. Esus and Sulius would orbit the central star in the same amount of time.

4)

a. The orbital period of planets increases as the orbital distance increases.

5)

b. The planet