Question

gravity keeps earth, the other planets, and everything else in the solar system in orbit around the sun. the sun contains over 99% of the solar system’s matter, making it much more massive than jupiter, saturn, and all other objects in the solar system combined! the sun’s gravity is strong enough to keep all these objects in orbit around it and hold the entire solar system together.

image of a solar system model with the sun and several planets

the planets orbit the sun in this model of the solar system. if this model were shown to scale, several planets would be too small to see compared to the sun!

select the true statements.

• if the planets suddenly lost all their forward motions, they would most likely fly off into space in straight paths in different directions.
• if the planets were suddenly unaffected by the sun’s gravity, they would most likely crash into the sun.
• the sun’s gravitational pull balances all the planets’ forward motions, keeping them in orbit around it.
• the sun is much more massive than any of the planets or other objects in the solar system.

Explanation:

• Analizar cada afirmación:
• 1ª afirmación: Si los planetas pierden su movimiento hacia adelante, la gravedad del Sol los atraería hacia él, no los haría volar al espacio. Entonces, esta es falsa.
• 2ª afirmación: Si no hubiera gravedad solar, los planetas continuarían su movimiento hacia adelante en línea recta (ley de inercia), no chocarían con el Sol. Entonces, esta es falsa.
• 3ª afirmación: La gravedad del Sol equilibra el movimiento hacia adelante de los planetas, manteniéndolos en órbita (esto es cómo funciona la órbita: la fuerza centrífuga del movimiento y la fuerza gravitacional se equilibran). Entonces, esta es verdadera.
• 4ª afirmación: El texto dice que el Sol contiene más del 99% de la materia del sistema solar, por lo que es mucho más masivo que cualquier planeta u objeto. Entonces, esta es verdadera.

Answer:

1. The Sun’s gravitational pull balances all the planets’ forward motions, keeping them in orbit around it.
2. The Sun is much more massive than any of the planets or other objects in the solar system.