The asteroid belt has a gap where few objects are found because of repeated gravitational disturbances from Jupiter. At what distance from the Sun will this gap be found if objects in the gap have a period one-third that of Jupiter? (Hint: Jupiter's orbital period is about 12 years.)

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using Kepler's third law, if the period of objects is one-third that of Jupiter (4 years), the semi-major axis can be calculated as (4/12)^(2/3) * 5.2 au ≈ 2.5 au.

The Asteroid Belt Has a Gap Where Few Objects Are