Question

Mercury has an average distance to the sun of 0.39 AU. In two or more complete sentences, explain how to calculate the orbital period of Mercury and then calculate it

Answer 1

First transform the period to appropriate units. For fast revolving bodies with lesser orbits (like Mercury or Moon), the most appropriate unit is typically a day, so divide the period up to 365.25 over the years. Bigger orbits have lengthier periods that you must typically measure in years

Answer 2

As per the Kepler’s law, p^2/a^3 = 4pi^2/GM which is the expression used.

Here p will be the period, a will be the orbital distance that is given as 0.39 AU that will be 58,343,169,871 metres.

Also, there will be the G which is a universal constant of gravity = 6.67408 * 10^-11 m^3kg^-1s^-2.

Even the mass of the sun = m = 1.989 * 10^30 kilogram.

Just put the value in the equation.