Data Table
Object
The radius of Orbit (AU)
Period (years)
Circumference of Orbit (AU)
Orbital Speed (AU/year)
Orbital Speed (miles/hour)
Mercury
0.387
0.24
Venus
0.723
.62
Earth
1.000 AU
1.000 yr
6.283 AU
6.283 AU/yr
66,627 mi/hr
Mars
1.52
1.88
Jupiter
5.2
11.86
Saturn
9.55
29.46
Uranus
19.2
84.01
Neptune
31.1
164.79
Pluto
39.529
248.54
Drawing Conclusions
Which celestial body takes the longest amount of time to travel once around its orbit?
Which celestial takes the shortest amount of time?
How does an increase in orbital radius affect average orbital speed?
I need help finding Circumference of Orbit (AU), Orbital Speed (AU/year), Orbital Speed (miles/hour)
To find the Circumference of Orbit (AU), you can use the formula: Circumference = 2 * π * radius.
For example, to calculate the Circumference of Orbit for Mercury, with a radius of 0.387 AU, you can use the formula: Circumference = 2 * π * 0.387 AU = 2.43 AU.
To find the Orbital Speed (AU/year), you can divide the Circumference of Orbit (AU) by the Period (years).
For example, for Mercury with a Circumference of 2.43 AU and a Period of 0.24 years, you can calculate the Orbital Speed using the formula: Orbital Speed = Circumference / Period = 2.43 AU / 0.24 years = 10.125 AU/year.
To convert the Orbital Speed (AU/year) to miles per hour, you can use the conversion factors 1 AU = 92,955,807 miles and 1 year = 365.25 days = 24 hours. So, multiplying the Orbital Speed (AU/year) by these conversion factors will give you the speed in miles per hour.
For example, for Mercury with an Orbital Speed of 10.125 AU/year, you can convert it to miles per hour using the formula: Orbital Speed (miles/hour) = Orbital Speed (AU/year) * 92,955,807 miles/AU * 24 hours/year = 229,150,742 miles/hour.
Now, let's answer the given questions:
- Which celestial body takes the longest amount of time to travel once around its orbit?
To find the celestial body that takes the longest time, you need to look at the Period (years) column and find the largest value. In this case, Neptune has a Period of 164.79 years, so it takes the longest time to complete one orbit.
- Which celestial body takes the shortest amount of time?
To find the celestial body that takes the shortest time, you need to look at the Period (years) column and find the smallest value. In this case, Mercury has a Period of 0.24 years, so it takes the shortest time to complete one orbit.
- How does an increase in orbital radius affect average orbital speed?
An increase in orbital radius will generally result in a decrease in average orbital speed. This can be observed by comparing the data in the table. Celestial bodies with larger orbital radii generally have smaller values for average orbital speed. For example, Mercury with a radius of 0.387 AU has an orbital speed of 10.125 AU/year, while Neptune with a radius of 31.1 AU has an orbital speed of 0.189 AU/year.