Download SNC1PL Calculating Distance in Space Name Short Form Relative

SNC1PL
Calculating Distance in Space
Name
Kilometer
Short
Form
km
Relative Distance
Purpose
1000 m
Distances on Earth.
Astronomical Unit A.U.
150 000 000 km
Distances within our solar system
Light Year
9.46 x 1012 km
Distances beyond our solar system
ly
1) Fill in the following table.
PLANET
DISTANCE
FROM SUN IN
KILOMETRES
DISTANCE FROM
SUN IN
ASTRONOMICAL
UNITS
MASS OF
PLANET IN
KILOGRAMS
MASS OF
PLANET
COMPARED TO
EARTH
DIAMETER OF
PLANET IN
KILOMETRES
MERCURY
57 800 000
3.3 X 1023
4878
VENUS
108 200 000
4.89 X 1024
12 104
EARTH
150 000 000
6 X 1024
12 750
MARS
227 900 000
6.42 X 1023
6 787
JUPITER
778 300 000
1.914 X 1027
142 800
SATURN
1 427 000 000
5.712 X 1026
120 660
URANUS
2 870 000 000
8.76 X 1025
50 800
NEPTUNE
4 497 000 000
1.03 X 1026
48 600
DIAMETER OF
PLANET
COMPARED TO
EARTH
2) Arrange the planets in order by mass, from smallest to largest.
______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________
3) Arrange the planets in order by diameter, from smallest to largest.
______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________ < ______________
4) Was the order the same? Suggest a reason for the difference.
5) Brazil's flag contains Adhara, a star in the Canis Major constellation, which is located 4.0678 x 1015 km away. How far away is Adhara in light years?
6) Electra is a blue-white star located in the Taurus constellation and is located 37 840 000 AU away from Earth. How far away is Electra in light years?
7) Polaris, the North Star, is the brightest star in the Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) constellation and is located directly above Earth's northern pole. It takes light 433
years to travel from Polaris to Earth. What is this distance in AU?
8) Sirius, the brightest star in Earth's sky is approximately 8.6 ly away from Earth. Describe this distance in astronomical units.
9) The rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy is a part of the Sagittarius constellation and is called Sagittarius A*. It is hypothesized that a supermassive black
hole exists at this point 25 370 AU away. Describe this distance in light years.
10) How many astronomical units are there in one light year?
11) How long would it take a radio transmission travelling at the speed of light (c=300 000 km /s) to travel from Earth to Mars? to Jupiter? to Uranus? (assume
shortest distances)
12) Our sun has a radius of 7.0 x 108 m. VY Canis Majoris, the largest star known to humans has a radius that is 2 000 x larger than the Sun's. How many
astronomical units is VY Canis Majoris' diameter?