A student uses a diagram to show the scale sizes of the planets. Which planet’s diameter would be approximately the distance across the United States?(1 point)
Responses
Mercury
Mercury
Jupiter
Jupiter
Uranus
Uranus
Neptune
The diameter of the United States is roughly 3,000 miles (about 4,800 kilometers) from coast to coast. Among the planets listed, none has a diameter close to this distance, but we can identify which one's diameter is closest:
- Mercury: ~4,880 km in diameter
- Jupiter: ~139,820 km in diameter
- Uranus: ~50,724 km in diameter
- Neptune: ~49,244 km in diameter
Considering the sizes stated above, none of these planets have a diameter that is very close to the distance across the United States. However, since we need to choose the one that's approximately the distance, Mercury, with a diameter of about 4,880 km, would be the smallest and the only one that's close to being within an order of magnitude of the width of the United States (~4,800 km). The other planets are much larger than the width of the United States.
Therefore, the best answer, while not exact, would be Mercury, as it is the closest in size to the distance across the United States among the options provided.