What two pieces of information do we need to know about the Earth in order to calculate the mass of the Sun? A) The semimajor axis of the Earth's orbit is 1 AU and the mass of the Earth is 6 × 10²⁴ kg. B) The semimajor axis of the Earth's orbit is 1 AU and the Earth takes 1 year to orbit the Sun. C) The radius of the Earth is 6.4 × 10³ km and the Earth takes 1 year to orbit the Sun. D) The radius of the Earth is 6.4 × 10³ km and the mass of the Earth is 6 × 10²⁴ kg.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We need to know the semimajor axis of the Earth's orbit (which is given as 1 AU) and the time period of Earth's orbit (which is given as 1 year) in order to use Kepler's laws and calculate the mass of the Sun. The mass and radius of the Earth are not directly relevant for this calculation.

What Two Pieces of Information Do We Need to Know