Question

According to the nebular hypothesis, all planets orbit the Sun in the same direction because:

(a) Energy was conserved as the proto-solar nebula collapsed.
(b) As a cloud collapses, it rotates more quickly.
(c) The solar system formed out of a single spinning disk.
(d) The Sun produces tidal forces that modify the planets' orbits.
(e) All planets do whatever Earth does.

Answer 1

The planets orbit the Sun in the same direction because the solar system formed out of a single spinning disk of gas and dust, conserving angular momentum as it collapsed under gravity.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the nebular hypothesis, all planets orbit the Sun in the same direction because the solar system formed from a single spinning disk. This rotating disk was a cloud of gas and dust that began to collapse under its own gravity, and as it did so, it conserved angular momentum, which made it spin faster, much like a figure skater pulls their arms in to spin faster on the ice. As the cloud collapsed further, its rotation caused the material to form a disk where planets coalesced, all moving in the same direction as the original spin of the nebula.