A Comet Is Observed to Return to the Vicinity of the Sun

question 290

Multiple Choice

A comet is observed to return to the vicinity of the Sun on a long elliptical orbit with a period of 31.7 years. What is the semimajor axis of the orbit?

• A) 31.7 au
• B) 178.5 au
• C) 10 au
• D) 1000 au

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Definitions:

Anticodon AAA

Refers to a three-nucleotide sequence on tRNA that is complementary to a specific mRNA codon, in this case, the AAA codon.

Codon

A sequence of three nucleotides in messenger RNA (mRNA) that specifies the addition of a specific amino acid to a growing polypeptide chain during protein synthesis.

AUG

The codon for methionine in messenger RNA (mRNA), serving as the initiation signal for translation in protein synthesis.

UAA

A stop codon in the genetic code that signals the end of a protein-coding sequence in mRNA transcription.