Question

reading data tables - the solar system
use the data table to answer the questions that follow. planets are listed in order of increasing distance from the sun.

celestial object	mean distance from sun (million km)	period of revolution (days) (years)	period of rotation at equator	eccentricity of orbit	equatorial diameter (km)	mass (earth = 1)	density (g/cm³)
mercury	57.9	88 d	59 d	0.206	4,879	0.06	5.4
venus	108.2	224.7 d	243 d	0.007	12,104	0.82	5.2
earth	149.6	365.26 d	23 h 56 min 4 s	0.017	12,756	1.00	5.5
mars	227.9	687 d	24 h 37 min 23 s	0.093	6,794	0.11	3.9
jupiter	778.4	11.9 y	9 h 50 min 30 s	0.048	142,984	317.83	1.3
saturn	1,426.7	29.5 y	10 h 14 min	0.054	120,536	95.18	0.7
uranus	2,871.0	84.0 y	17 h 14 min	0.047	51,118	14.54	1.3
neptune	4,498.3	164.8 y	16 h	0.009	49,528	17.15	1.8
earths moon	149.6 (≈ 386 from earth)	27.3 d	27.3 d	0.055	3,476	0.01	3.3

mean distance:

1. what is the distance from the sun to the farthest planet in our solar system?
2. an orbiting belt of asteroids is located about 500 million kilometers from the sun. between which two planets is this belt located?
3. what is the relationship between a planet’s mean distance from the sun and its period of revolution?

Explanation:

Question 1

Step1: Identify the farthest planet

Look at the "Mean Distance from Sun (million km)" column. The planets are Mercury (57.9), Venus (108.2), Earth (149.6), Mars (227.9), Jupiter (778.4), Saturn (1,426.7), Uranus (2,871.0), Neptune (4,498.3). Neptune has the largest mean distance.

Step2: Get Neptune's distance

From the table, Neptune's mean distance from the Sun is 4,498.3 million km.

Step1: List mean distances

Mercury: 57.9, Venus: 108.2, Earth: 149.6, Mars: 227.9, Jupiter: 778.4, Saturn: 1,426.7, Uranus: 2,871.0, Neptune: 4,498.3.

Step2: Find between which planets 500 million km lies

Mars is 227.9 million km, Jupiter is 778.4 million km. 500 is between 227.9 and 778.4.

Step1: Analyze data

Check mean distance and period of revolution for each planet. Mercury (57.9 million km, 88 d), Venus (108.2, 224.7 d), Earth (149.6, 365.26 d), Mars (227.9, 687 d), Jupiter (778.4, 11.9 y), Saturn (1,426.7, 29.5 y), Uranus (2,871.0, 84.0 y), Neptune (4,498.3, 164.8 y).

Step2: Identify the relationship

As the mean distance from the Sun increases (e.g., from Mercury to Neptune), the period of revolution (time to orbit the Sun) also increases. For example, Mercury is closest and has the shortest period; Neptune is farthest and has the longest period. This follows Kepler's third law (though not calculating, the trend is clear: greater distance → longer revolution period).

Answer:

4,498.3 million kilometers

Question 2