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Calculate the mass of the Sun based on data for Earth’s orbit and compare the value obtained with the Sun’s actual mass.

Short Answer

Expert verified

Mass of the sun is, msun=1.9869×1030 kg.

The computed number for the Sun's mass agrees with the real value.

Step by step solution

01

Definition of Centripetal force

A centripetal force is a force exerted toward the center of a circular road that is always perpendicular to the velocity of the body.

02

Centripetal force on the earth due to revolution

The gravitational force between the two objects is given by,

Fg=Gm1m2r2

Where G is the universal gravitation constant, r is the distance between the two objects, and m1,m2are the masses of two bodies, respectively.

In angular motion, the centripetal acceleration is given,

localid="1655454943790" Fc=mac=mÓ¬2r

As the earth revolves around the sun, so there is the only force that is the gravitational force which provides centripetal force to the earth for revolution. Therefore, the centripetal force on the earth is equal to the gravitational force between the earth and the sun.

Mathematically, it can be written as,

Fg=FcGmearthmsunr2=mearthÓ¬2rmsun=Ó¬2r3G

03

Calculate the mass of the Sun

The earth completes one revolution of the sun in one year. So, the angular velocity of the earth is,

Ó¬=1 revyÓ¬=1 revy×2π r²¹»å1 r±ð±¹Ã—1 y365 d²¹²â×1 d²¹²â24â€É¾°ù×1â€É¾°ù3600 sÓ¬=1.99×10-7 rads

Distance of the sun from the earth in Table 6.2 r=1.496×1011 m.

So, the mass of the sun,

msun=1.99×10-72×1.496×101136.673×10-11msun=1.9869×1030 k²µ

Hence, the mass of the Sun based on the data from Earth’s orbit is 1.9869×1030 k²µ, which is very close to the Sun’s actual mass that is 1.9889×1030 k²µ. As a result, the computed number for the Sun's mass agrees with the real value.

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