
Concept explainers
Choose the best answer to each of the following. Explain your reasoning.
How many of the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction as Earth does? (a) a few. (b) most (c) all

Number of planets orbiting Sun in the same direction as Earth.
Answer to Problem 1QQ
Option (b) Most planets possess same direction of motion as Earth does, revolving around the sun.
Explanation of Solution
Introduction:
Rotational motion possessed by any planet but in the direction opposite to that of the center(sun) is called retrograde motion and when a planet or satellite possesses same rotational direction of motion with its reference point (sun) is called prograde motion.
The direction of motion of the sun is counterclockwise like most of the planets except Uranus and Venus when observed from a high point of the North Pole of the solar system. Earth possesses prograde motion and the planets Venus and Uranus possess retrograde motion. Apart from these two planets, every planet rotates in a direction same as the Earth. The retrograde motion of Venus and Uranus is due to an asteroid hit which occurred billions of years ago.This caused the Uranus to be tilted with an angle of
Hence, all the planets beside Uranus and Venus rotate in direction same as Earth.
Conclusion:
Most planets possess the same direction of motion as Earth does, circling around the sun.
Want to see more full solutions like this?
Chapter 4 Solutions
Cosmic Perspective Fundamentals
Additional Science Textbook Solutions
Human Biology: Concepts and Current Issues (8th Edition)
Organic Chemistry (8th Edition)
Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)
Anatomy & Physiology (6th Edition)
Genetic Analysis: An Integrated Approach (3rd Edition)
Laboratory Experiments in Microbiology (12th Edition) (What's New in Microbiology)
- pls help on thesearrow_forward20. Two small conducting spheres are placed on top of insulating pads. The 3.7 × 10-10 C sphere is fixed whie the 3.0 × 107 C sphere, initially at rest, is free to move. The mass of each sphere is 0.09 kg. If the spheres are initially 0.10 m apart, how fast will the sphere be moving when they are 1.5 m apart?arrow_forwardpls help on allarrow_forward
- 19. Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, has a peak of 8849 m above sea level. Assume that sea level defines the height of Earth's surface. (re = 6.38 × 106 m, ME = 5.98 × 1024 kg, G = 6.67 × 10 -11 Nm²/kg²) a. Calculate the strength of Earth's gravitational field at a point at the peak of Mount Everest. b. What is the ratio of the strength of Earth's gravitational field at a point 644416m below the surface of the Earth to a point at the top of Mount Everest? C. A tourist watching the sunrise on top of Mount Everest observes a satellite orbiting Earth at an altitude 3580 km above his position. Determine the speed of the satellite.arrow_forwardpls help on allarrow_forwardpls help on allarrow_forward
- 6. As the distance between two charges decreases, the magnitude of the electric potential energy of the two-charge system: a) Always increases b) Always decreases c) Increases if the charges have the same sign, decreases if they have the opposite signs d) Increases if the charges have the opposite sign, decreases if they have the same sign 7. To analyze the motion of an elastic collision between two charged particles we use conservation of & a) Energy, Velocity b) Momentum, Force c) Mass, Momentum d) Energy, Momentum e) Kinetic Energy, Potential Energyarrow_forwardpls help on all asked questions kindlyarrow_forwardpls help on all asked questions kindlyarrow_forward
- Stars and GalaxiesPhysicsISBN:9781305120785Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage LearningAstronomyPhysicsISBN:9781938168284Author:Andrew Fraknoi; David Morrison; Sidney C. WolffPublisher:OpenStax
- Foundations of Astronomy (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399920Author:Michael A. Seeds, Dana BackmanPublisher:Cengage LearningStars and Galaxies (MindTap Course List)PhysicsISBN:9781337399944Author:Michael A. SeedsPublisher:Cengage Learning





