Mercury. Venus, and Earth are the three planels closest to the sun. Would their combined distance from the sun be greater or less than the distance from the sun to Neptune? Show your work and justify your answer.
To determine if the combined distance from the sun to Mercury, Venus, and Earth is greater or less than the distance from the sun to Neptune, we first need to find the distances for each.
The average distance from the sun to Mercury is about 57.9 million kilometers (M km).
The average distance from the sun to Venus is about 108.2 M km.
The average distance from the sun to Earth is about 149.6 M km.
Adding the distances together:
57.9 M km + 108.2 M km + 149.6 M km = 315.7 M km
The average distance from the sun to Neptune is about 4.5 billion kilometers (B km), which can also be expressed as 4,500 M km.
Comparing the two distances:
315.7 M km < 4,500 M km
Therefore, the combined distance from the sun to Mercury, Venus, and Earth is significantly less than the distance from the sun to Neptune.