37.4k views
0 votes
Use the information in this activity and the other activities on planets to calculate how many times more massive (in Earth masses) Jupiter is than the other planets combined.

A. Jupiter's mass / Sum of other planets' masses
B. Sum of other planets' masses / Jupiter's mass
C. Jupiter's mass * Sum of other planets' masses
D. Incorrect calculation method.

1 Answer

7 votes

Final Answer:

The correct calculation method to determine how many times more massive Jupiter is than the other planets combined is:

**A. Jupiter's mass / Sum of other planets' masses**

Step-by-step explanation:

To find out how many times more massive Jupiter is than the other planets combined, we use the ratio of Jupiter's mass to the sum of the masses of the other planets. Let \( M_J \) represent Jupiter's mass, and \( M_{\text{other}} \) represent the sum of the masses of the other planets.

The formula for the ratio is:

\[ \text{Ratio} = \frac{M_J}{M_{\text{other}}} \]

This ratio will give us how many times Jupiter's mass is compared to the combined mass of the other planets.

It is important to note that using the reciprocal of this ratio (\( \frac{M_{\text{other}}}{M_J} \)) would give us the inverse relationship, which is not what we are trying to determine in this context.

For example, if Jupiter's mass is 318 times that of Earth (one Earth mass), and the sum of the masses of the other planets is, say, 20 Earth masses, then:

\[ \text{Ratio} = \frac{318}{20} = 15.9 \]

This means Jupiter is approximately 15.9 times more massive than the other planets combined. Therefore, option A is the correct calculation method in this context.

User Quasimondo
by
8.7k points