Your teacher provides data showing Jupiter's orbital period is about 12 years while Neptune's is about 165 years. What does this data tell you about their distances from the Sun?


AJupiter is farther from the Sun than Neptune.
BNeptune is much farther from the Sun than Jupiter.
CNeptune orbits slower because it has more mass than Jupiter does overall.
DTheir distances are unrelated to the orbital period.

Verified Answer :

Final answer:

Jupiter's shorter orbital period of 12 years compared to Neptune's 165 years indicates that Jupiter is much closer to the Sun than Neptune. According to Kepler's laws, a longer orbital period correlates with a greater distance from the Sun. Therefore, the conclusion is that Neptune is much farther from the Sun than Jupiter.


Explanation:

Understanding Orbital Period and Distance from the Sun

The orbital period of a planet is the time it takes for that planet to complete one full orbit around the Sun. In the case of Jupiter, its orbital period is about 12 years, whereas Neptune's is significantly longer at around 165 years. This noticeable difference in the orbital periods relates directly to their distances from the Sun.

According to Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion, the square of a planet’s orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit (which can be understood as the average distance from the Sun). Therefore:

  1. Jupiter, with a shorter orbital period, is much closer to the Sun compared to Neptune.
  2. Neptune, with a much longer orbital period, indicates that it is located at a greater distance from the Sun than Jupiter.

This means that the correct conclusion from the provided data is that Neptune is much farther from the Sun than Jupiter.


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