Lab 4 online explore the solar system
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Dallas County Community College *
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Course
1403
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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7
Uploaded by ConstableJellyfish29124
Lab 4 Explore the Solar System
Objective:
1.
Learn the relative sizes and order of the planets 2.
Making a scale model of the planet size. 3.
Review Kepler’s Laws. Equipment:
Internet Various sized balls How to do the Lab:
1.
Download the lab in the study module on eCampus to your computer
.
Answer all questions and fill data in the table. 2.
On eCampus, the same location, click on lab 4, then Browse for Local files, then click on the button Attach File to attach your file to submit. Background:
Our solar system is made up of the Sun, eight planets, about 56 moons, and numerous asteroids and comets. Most of the mass of the solar system is concentrated in the Sun, which is a medium-sized star. (Jupiter, the largest planet, has a mass just 1/100 that of the Sun.) However, most of the volume of the solar system is just empty space. The planets orbit the Sun at distances that are thousands of times larger than their planetary diameters. It is thus difficult to make models that show both distances between and sizes of the planets together. Part I. The size of Planets
Conversion:
1.609km = 1mile; 2.54cm=1 inch
Scale
: one earth diameter = 1 inch Example
: Mars diameter in the scale model: So Mar’s relative size to Earth is 0.53. If we use a model that let Earth be 1 inch, then, Mars size is 0.53inch, or 0.53x2.54 =1.35 cm.
Table 1 Size of Planets (14pts) Using the above scale model, each group (person) please represent your model with an actual object you see around you. You can find any creative way to represent the size of your planet, the possible choices are: basketball, golf ball, tennis ball, apple…... (5pts) What did you choose to represent Earth _______ What did you choose to represent Jupiter_______ Sun is ________________ times the diameter of Earth Venus is ___________ times the diameter of Earth Jupiter is____________ times the diameter of Earth Explore further: go to Planet-Sizes to compare earth’s size to all other planets. Name
Diameter (miles)
Diameter Relative to Earth(8pts)
Diameter (inches) (2pts) Diameter (cm) (4pts)
Sun
865000
109
Mercury
3031
Venus
7521
7,926
Earth
7926
1.0
1.0
2.54
Mars
4222
0.53
0.53
1.35
Jupiter
88730
Saturn
74940
Uranus
31763
Neptune
30775
Pluto
1430
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Part II. Answer the following question.
1)
List all 8 planets in our solar system, starting with the planet that is closest to the Sun. (hint: this phrase will help you memorize all planets: M
y V
ery E
xcellent M
other J
ust S
erved U
s N
acho
) (2pts) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, N
eptune 2)
What lies between the planets? (1pts) Astroid Belt
3)
Which planet is about the same size of earth? (1pts) Venus
4)
Which planet is the largest? How many times larger than Earth in terms of diameter? (
hint: it is the relative size. Your calculation would be same if you use your scale mode you did in table 1 instead of the real size
). (2pts) 5)
How many times larger is the sun than earth in terms of diameter? (1pts) 6)
How many earths would fit inside Sun? (2pts) (hint: you can search internet to find out or calculate: Volume of sphere = 4/3
R
3
and =3.14, again, you only need to find the relative volume with relative size, For example, object A’s volume is 5, object B’s volume is 2, that means object B will fit inside object A) Part III Solar System Orbit
Background Material Answer the following questions after reviewing the “Kepler's Laws and Planetary Motion” and “Newton and Planetary Motion” in your book. 1)
Connecting each law with a description from i) to iv). (4pts) a)
Kepler’s first law iii π
π
5
.
2
2
5
=
b)
Kepler’s second law i c)
Kepler’s third law ii d)
Newton’s Universal law of gravitation iv i)
Planets move faster when close to the sun ii)
Planets with larger orbits take longer time to complete one orbit iii) Planets orbit the Sun in elliptical orbit iv)
Gravity follows an inverse square law on distance. 2)
If a planet is twice as far from the sun at aphelion than at perihelion, then the strength of the gravitational force at aphelion will be ____________ as it is at perihelion. (1pts) a)
four times as much b)
twice as much c)
the same d)
one half as much e)
one quarter as much Open ClassAction
, scroll down to Renaissance Astronomy. Kepler’s first law Planet orbit in an elliptical orbit around the sun, and the Sun is at one focal point of the ellipse. The shape of the orbit is defined by eccentricity (e). Eccentricity e is equal to the distance from focal point to center (c) divided by the semi-major axis (a) (the longest distance from center to the edge of the ellipse. In the list under Renaissance Astronomy, click on the Eccentric Demonstrator to understand the eccentricity and the orbit. Fill out the table 1 Table 1 Eccentricity and Orbit (3pts) Under the same list, now click Planetary Orbit
, open the Kepler’s 1
st
Law tab if it not already (it’s open by default). Enable all 5 check boxes. Under Orbiter Settings on right panel, set the planet to the following and record their eccentricity and semi major axis. c
a
e
Shape
Orbit 1
0
80
Orbit 2
20
80
Orbit 3
40
80
Orbit 4
60
80
Table 2 Planet Orbit Properties (3pts) 1.
Which planet has the smallest eccentricity? (1pts) 2.
Which planet has the most elongated orbit? (1pts) Click on the Kepler’s 2
nd
Law tab. Press the “start sweeping” button. •
Adjust the animation rate so that the planet moves at a reasonable speed. •
Adjust the size of the sweep using the “adjust size” slider. Click and drag the sweep segment around. Note how the shape of the sweep segment changes, but the area does not. •
Erase all sweeps with the “erase sweeps” button. The “sweep continuously” check box will cause sweeps to be created continuously when sweeping. Test this option. •
On the right panel, set the planet as Earth, observe the orbiting pattern and sweeping speed. Then keep the semi-major axis the same, adjust the eccentricity to maximum, again observe the orbiting and sweeping speed. 3.
Describe what you see with eccentricity set as Earth and eccentricity at the maximum value.(2pts) Kepler’s Third Law Use the “clear optional features” button to remove the 2
nd
Law features. Click on the third law tab. Use the simulator to complete the table below. (note: use the panel on the right to set the planets. The reading for p
2
and a
3
are given on the lower left panel.) Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus Neptune
Eccentricity
Semi-major axis
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Table 3 Kepler's 3rd Law (4pts) 3)
As the size of a planet’s orbit increases, what happens to its period? (1pts) 4)
Did your result show that P
2
=a
3
? (Kepler’s Third Law) (1pts) 5)
Start with the Earth’s orbit and change the eccentricity to 0.6. Does changing the eccentricity change the period of the planets? (1pts) Changing the eccentricity does not change the period of the planets because the period of planet’s is not determined by eccentricity.
Object
P (years)
a (AU)
e
P
2
a
3
Earth
1.0
0
Mars
1.5
2
Jupiter