The Solar System (CIE IGCSE Physics: Co-ordinated Sciences (Double Award))

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The orbit of the Earth around the Sun can be thought of as following a circular path with a circumference of 942 × 10⁶ km.

What is the approximate orbital speed of the Earth?

The radius of Jupiter's orbit is 778 × 10⁶ km. What is the time taken for light from the Sun to reach the surface of Jupiter?

The speed of light is 3 × 10⁸ m/s.

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The orbit of Venus around the Sun is treated as a circular path with an average radius of 108.2 million km. The orbital period of Venus is 225 days.

What is the orbital speed of Venus?

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The table shows some planetary data for planets in our Solar System

Planet	Orbital distance / million km	Orbital duration / days or years	Density / kg/m3	Surface Temperature/ °C	Uniform Surface Gravitational Field Strength/ N/kg
Mercury	57.9	88 days	5427	350	3.7
Venus	108.2	225 days	5243	460	8.9
Earth	149.6	365 days	5514	20	9.8
Mars	227.9	687 days	3933	–23	3.7
Jupiter	778.6	11.9 years	1326	–120	23.1
Saturn	1433.5	29.5 years	687	–180	9.0
Uranus	2872.5	75 years	1271	–210	8.7
Neptune	4495.1	165 years	1638	–220	11.0

 

What is the orbital speed of Mars?