Activity
In this activity, you'll use the semimajor axis (A) and orbital period (P) for each planet in our solar system to verify Kepler's
third law. The table shows the planets' semimajor axis lengths, measured in astronomical units (AU), and the orbital
periods, measured in Earth days. Use the data in the table to answer the questions that follow.
Semimajor Axis, A Orbital Period, P
(AU) (Earth Days)
0. 39
87. 97
Mercury
Venus
0. 72
224. 70
Earth
365. 26
Mars
Jupiter
1. 00
1. 52
5. 20
9. 55
19. 22
Saturn
686. 97
4332. 59
10,759. 22
30,688. 50
60. 182. 00
Uranus
Neptune
30. 11
Part A
From the table, what type of correlation is there between the length of the semimajor axis and the orbital period?
