Worksheet
Student Name: ______________________________________________________
Tabulating Data
In the space provided below construct a table that clearly summarises and sequences the numerical data provided in the following passage.
In studying the Solar System, scientists have often made comparisons between the planets. These comparisons traditionally involved observations using a telescope. However, more recent comparisons involve a range of detailed measurements made using other technologies.
One such measurement is of the average distance of a planet from the Sun. Because these distances are so large this measurement is given using units called Astronomical Units. The average distance of the Earth from the Sun is stated as 1.0 Astronomical Unit (AU) and the average distance from the Sun to all other planets is compared to this.
Astronomers are also interested in the speed at which a planet orbits the sun. The Earth’s average orbital speed has been calculated at 30 kilometres per second (km/s). By comparison, Earth’s closest neighbour, Venus, is 0.7 AU from the Sun and orbits the Sun at 35 km/s. Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun in our Solar System, is only 0.4 AU from the Sun and has an orbital speed of 48 km/s.
As we move out from the Earth the average distance of planets from the Sun in astronomical units increases rapidly with Mars at 1.5 AU, Jupiter at 5.2 AU and Saturn at 9.6 AU. As the average distance of planets from the Sun increases their average orbital speed tends to decrease. This is why the orbital speeds of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are 24.0, 13.0 and 10.0 km/s respectively.