Question

This asteroid's motion is affected by many different massive objects. The asteroid belt is the circumstellar disc in the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. Rank the following in order of increasing influence: Show calculations; remember G=kM*m/d*d   where d is the distance bewtween obejects of mass M and mass m.

• the Sun,
• Mars,
• Jupiter, and
• other asteroids.  

Hint: Calculate the mass and distance as in gravitational forces. Explain your answer clearly and specify the main determining factors that you based your ranking on.

Answer 1

The main asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

In the asteroid motion the main determining factor

for each body is the mass of the body.

As the mass of the Sun>Jupiter>Mars>other asteroids.

Hence the increasing influence order to asteroid motion is given by

Sun > Jupiter > Mars > other asteroids