Question

There is still controversy about whether or not Pluto should be considered a planet. Although planets are mainly defined by their orbital path (the condition that prevented Pluto from remaining a planet), the issue of size is something to consider. The table below lists the planets, including Pluto, and their approximate diameters in meters.

Planet Approximate Diameter (m)

Mercury 4.88 × 10^6

Venus 1.21 × 10^7

Earth 1.28 × 10^7

Mars 6.79 × 10^6

Jupiter 1.43 × 10^8

Saturn 1.2 × 10^8

Uranus 5.12 × 10^7

Neptune 4.96 × 10^7

Pluto 2.3 × 10^6


a. Name the planets (including Pluto) in order from smallest to largest.


b. Comparing only diameters, about how many times larger is Jupiter than Pluto?

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

a) Pluto, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter

b) 62

Explanation:

When all the numbers are in scientific notation, as these are, the numbers with the smallest exponent are smaller. If numbers have the same exponent, the number with the smaller mantissa is smaller.

a) least-to-greatest diameter, the order is ...

Pluto, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter

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b) The ratio of diameters of Jupiter and Pluto is ...

(1.43×10^8)/(2.3×10^6) = 6.2×10^1 = 62

Jupiter's diameter is about 62 times that of Pluto.

_____

Additional comment

Your calculator or spreadsheet can work directly with numbers in scientific notation.