Q11. - Algebra 1

Question

Record your answers on a sheet of paper. Show your work.

The table below shows the distances from the Sun to Mercury, Earth, Mars and Saturn. Use the data to answer each question.

Planet	Distance from Sun (km)
Mercury	$5.79\times {10}^7$
Earth	$1.50\times {10}^8$
Mars	$2.28\times {10}^8$
Saturn	$1.43\times {10}^9$

a. Of the planets listed, which one is the closest to the Sun?

b. About how many times as far from the Sun is Mars as Earth?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

a. Of the planets listed, Mercury is closest to the Sun.

b. The distance of Mars from the Sun is $1.52$ times as the distance of Earth from the Sun.

Part a. Step 1. Write the distances of the planets from the Sun in standard form.

The distances of the planets from the Sun in standard form is:

Planet	Distance from Sun (km)
Mercury	57900000
Earth	150000000
Mars	228000000
Saturn	1430000000

Part a. Step 2. Determine which planet is closest to the Sun.

From the above table, it can be noticed that the distance of Mercury from the Sun is least.

 

Therefore, of the planets listed, Mercury is closest to the Sun.

Part b. Step 1. Write the distances of the Mars and Earth from the Sun.

From the given table, it can be noticed that the distances of Mars and Earth from the Sun are $2.28\times {10}^8$ and $1.50\times {10}^8$ respectively.

Part b. Step 2. Determine about how many times as far from the Sun is Mars as Earth.

The distances of Mars and Earth from the Sun are $2.28\times {10}^8$ and $1.50\times {10}^8$ respectively.

 

Therefore, it can be noticed that:

$$\begin{gathered} \frac{\text{Distance of Mars from the Sun}}{\text{Distance of Earth from the Sun}}=\frac{2.28\times {10}^8}{1.50\times {10}^8} \\ =\frac{2.28}{1.50} \\ =1.52 \end{gathered}$$

Therefore, it can be obtained that:

$\text{Distance of Mars from the Sun}=1.52\times \text{Distance of Earth from the Sun}$

Therefore, the distance of Mars from the Sun is $1.52$ times as the distance of Earth from the Sun.