Which of the following pieces of information are needed to calculate the total mass of a binary system?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the total mass of a binary system, we need the semi major axis and period of the orbit because this will give us the average distance between the two stars and the time it takes for them to complete one orbit around their common center of mass. Knowing this, we can use Kepler's laws to calculate the total mass of the system. The other pieces of information (A, C, and D) are important for studying binary systems but are not necessary for calculating the total mass.

Which of the Following Pieces of Information Are Needed to Calculate