Question

1. why do planets orbit? why dont they fly off into space? 5) what do you notice about the distance from the sun of each planet and the time it takes to orbit the sun?

Explanation:

For the first question, planets orbit due to gravitational force between the planet and the Sun. This force provides the centripetal force needed to keep the planet in a curved path instead of flying off into space. For the second question, generally, the farther a planet is from the Sun, the longer the orbital period because the gravitational - pull is weaker at greater distances and the planet has to travel a longer path.

Answer:

1. Planets orbit because of the gravitational force between the planet and the Sun which provides centripetal force to keep it in orbit instead of flying off.
2. Generally, the farther a planet is from the Sun, the longer the time it takes to orbit the Sun as the gravitational pull is weaker and the path is longer.