MasteringAstronomy Assignment #3

Ranking Task: Formation of the Solar System

Provided following are stages that occurred during the formation of our solar system. Rank these stages from left to right based on when they occurred, from first to last.

Ranking Task: Orbital Distance, Mass, and Radius of Planets
Part A
The following images show six objects in our solar system. Rank the objects from left to right based on their average distance from the Sun, from farthest to closest. (Not to scale.)

Part B
The following images show six objects in our solar system. Rank these objects from left to right based on their mass, from highest to lowest. (Not to scale.)

Part C
The images below show six objects in our solar system. Rank these objects by size (average equatorial radius), from largest to smallest. (Not to scale.)

Visual Activity: Comparative Planetology

Assuming that other planetary systems form in the same way as our solar system formed, where would you expect to find terrestrial planets?
Terrestrial planets will likely be located nearer the planetary system’s star than any jovian planets.

Compared to terrestrial planets, jovian planets are __________.
more massive and lower in average density

Which planet is approximately halfway between Pluto’s orbit and the Sun?
Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun

The dwarf planet Eris was discovered in 2005, orbiting the Sun at an average distance about twice that of Pluto. In which of the following ways do Pluto and Eris differ from the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system?
Both Pluto and Eris are smaller than any of the terrestrial planets.
Both Pluto and Eris travel in more elliptical orbits than any of the terrestrial or jovian planets.
Both Pluto and Eris are less massive than any of the terrestrial or jovian planets.



Ranking Task: Matter in the Solar System

Part A
The materials that made up the solar nebula can be categorized into the four general types as follows. Rank these materials from left to right based on their abundance in the solar nebula, from highest to lowest.

Part B
The materials that made up the solar nebula can be categorized into these four general types. Rank these materials from left to right based on the temperature at which each would condense into a solid, from highest to lowest. Note: For a substance that does not condense at all, rank it as very low temperature.

Part C
As you’ve learned from Part B, hydrogen and helium gas never condense under conditions found in the solar nebula. The remaining three categories of material in the solar nebula are shown again here. Rank these materials from left to right based on the distance from the Sun at which they could condense into a solid in the solar nebula, from farthest to closest.

Visual Activity: Condensed Materials in Different Regions of the Disk of the Forming Solar System
What substances were found within the inner 0.3 AU of the solar system before planets began to form?
Rocks, metals, hydrogen compounds, hydrogen, and helium, all in gaseous form

What substances existed as solid flakes within the inner 0.3 AU of the solar system before planets began to form?
none

Where would you expect terrestrial planets to form in the solar nebula?
anywhere between 0.3 AU and the frost line

The jovian planets are thought to have formed as gravity drew hydrogen and helium gas around planetesimals made of __________.
rocks, metals, and ices


Sorting Task: Formation of Terrestrial and Jovian Planets
Listed following are statements that, based on our current theory of solar system formation, apply either to the formation of terrestrial planets or of jovian planets, but not both. Match these to the appropriate category.

Sorting Task: Characteristics of Terrestrial and Jovian Planets
Listed following are characteristics that can identify a planet as either terrestrial or jovian. Match these to the appropriate category.

Ranking Task: Understanding Comet Tails

The following figures show four positions (1-4) of a comet during its orbit of the Sun. Also shown is the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. Rank the positions of the comet from left to right based on the size of its tail, from shortest to longest. (Not to scale; tails not shown.)