"Recall that Kepler's Third Law is: P^2 = a^3
where P is the period of a planet's orbit measured in years and a is the semimajor axis length of the planet's orbit measured in astronomical units (AU).
Suppose a comet orbiting the Sun had an orbital semimajor axis length of 44.4 AU. What is the comet's orbital period in years? (Type in your answer to the nearest 0.1 year. Only type in the number. Do not include any spaces or letters in your answer.)"
I'm not asking you to do it for me because then I'll never learn.
But how do I set this up? What in the world does this mean? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!!
where P is the period of a planet's orbit measured in years and a is the semimajor axis length of the planet's orbit measured in astronomical units (AU).
Suppose a comet orbiting the Sun had an orbital semimajor axis length of 44.4 AU. What is the comet's orbital period in years? (Type in your answer to the nearest 0.1 year. Only type in the number. Do not include any spaces or letters in your answer.)"
I'm not asking you to do it for me because then I'll never learn.
But how do I set this up? What in the world does this mean? I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO!!
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Well, P is the period that you want to find.
a is the distance (in au) from the sun.
So, you're given the distance:
P^2 = a^3 (The equation)
P^2 = 44.4au(^3) (fill in what you know, and calculate)
P^2 = 87528.384 (Now, take the square root)
P = 295.9 years
a is the distance (in au) from the sun.
So, you're given the distance:
P^2 = a^3 (The equation)
P^2 = 44.4au(^3) (fill in what you know, and calculate)
P^2 = 87528.384 (Now, take the square root)
P = 295.9 years