Chapter 7, Problem 11STP

(a)

To determine

To find: The closest planet to the earth.

Answer to Problem 11STP

Mercury is the closest planet to earth.

Explanation of Solution

Given information:

Given table shows the distances from Sun to Mercury.

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

Calculation:

Clearly from the given table, Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun with smallest distance $5.79\times {10}^7$ .

Therefore, Mercury is the closest planet to earth.

(b)

To determine

To find: The Sun is $1.52$ times far from Mars as Earth.

Answer to Problem 11STP

The Sun is $1.52$ times far from Mars as Earth.

Explanation of Solution

Given information:

Given table shows the distances from Sun to Mercury.

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

Calculation:

Distance of Mars from the Sun

  $D=2.28\times {10}^8$

Distance of Earth from the Sun

  $D=1.50\times {10}^8$

Ratio

  $R=\frac{2.28\times {10}^8}{1.50\times {10}^8}$

  $\begin{array}{l}R=\left(\frac{2.28}{1.50}\right)\left(\frac{{10}^8}{{10}^8}\right)\\ R=\left(\frac{2.28}{1.50}\right)\left({10}^{8-8}\right)\\ R=\left(1.52\right)\left(1\right)\\ R=1.52\end{array}$

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