Question

According to the law of universal gravitation, any two objects are attracted to each other. The strength of the gravitational force depends on the masses of the objects and their distance from each other. Many stars have planets around them. If there were no gravity attracting a planet to its star, the planet's motion would carry it away from the star. However, when this motion is balanced by the gravitational attraction to the star, the planet orbits the star. Two solar systems each have a planet the same distance from the star. The planets have the same mass, but Planet A orbits a more massive star than Planet B. Which of the following statements is true about the planets? A. Planet B is more attracted to its star than Planet A. B. Planet A has a longer year than Planet B. C. Planet A orbits its star faster than Planet B. D. Planet B will keep orbiting its star longer than Planet A.

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Planet A orbits its star faster than Planet B.

Explanation:

The force of gravitational attraction depends on the masses of the bodies involved. The greater the mass, the greater the force of attraction between them.

Based on this, we can say that the gravitational force between planet A and the star it orbits is stronger than planet B and its star. That's because the star of planet A has a greater mass than the star of planet B.

Since the gravitational force between planet A and its star is greater than the gravitational force between planet B and its star, we can say that planet A will orbit its star faster than planet B will orbit its star.

Answer 2

The answer is C. Because planet A experiences a stronger gravitational field, it will have a larger acceleration due to gravity, and therefor orbit faster than planet B