I don't understand this question at all. If you want to see the figure, let me know The figure below is a scaled representation of a planet's orbit with a semimajor axis of 1.528 AU. (Use the exact values you enter in previous answer(s) to make later calculation(s).)
(a) Find the ratio of the aphelion-to-perihelion distance.
rA/rP=
(b) Find the perihelion and aphelion distances in astronomical units.
rP=( )AU
rA=( )AU
(c) Find the distance the Sun is from the center of the orbit.( )AU
this seems like part of a series of questions
... the note about values from previous answers
planetary orbits are elliptical, with the sun at one of the foci
perihelion is the closest approach to the sun
... distance from vertex to focus
aphelion is the farthest distance
... major axis minus perihelion
perihelion + aphelion = 2 * semimajor axis
you need the ellipse parameters; either from a previous question or measured from the "scaled figure"
a=1.5
b rP=1.22AU and rA=1.70AU
c=0.308AU
To answer these questions, we need to understand the concepts of aphelion, perihelion, and the semimajor axis of an orbit. Let's break it down step by step.
1. Aphelion and Perihelion:
- Aphelion is the point in an orbit where a planet is farthest from the Sun.
- Perihelion is the point in an orbit where a planet is closest to the Sun.
2. Semimajor Axis:
- The semimajor axis is half the length of the longest diameter of an elliptical orbit. It is denoted by letter 'a'.
Now let's solve each part of the question:
(a) Finding the ratio of aphelion-to-perihelion distance:
- The ratio of aphelion-to-perihelion distance is given by rA/rP, where rA represents the aphelion distance and rP represents the perihelion distance.
(b) Finding the perihelion and aphelion distances in AU:
- The perihelion distance is the distance from the Sun to the planet when it is at the perihelion point.
- The aphelion distance is the distance from the Sun to the planet when it is at the aphelion point.
(c) Finding the distance the Sun is from the center of the orbit:
- This refers to the distance between the Sun and the center of the planet's orbit.
To find the answers to these questions, we would need additional information or equations such as the eccentricity of the orbit or the formulae related to the properties of ellipses.