The Planet Mercury Travels in an Elliptical Orbit with Eccentricity $0.703$

question 116

Short Answer

The planet Mercury travels in an elliptical orbit with eccentricity $0.703$ . Its minimum distance from the Sun is $8 \times 10 ^ { 7 } \mathrm {~km}$ . If the perihelion distance from a planet to the Sun is $a ( 1 - e )$ and the aphelion distance is $a ( 1 + e )$ , find the maximum distance (in km) from Mercury to the Sun.

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Definitions:

Homo Sapiens

The species name for modern humans, characterized by a capacity for complex language, symbolic thought, and social organization.

Neandertal

A member of an extinct species of human, closely related to modern humans, that lived in Europe and parts of Asia until about 40,000 years ago.

Acheulean Tool Tradition

An archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by distinctive oval and pear-shaped hand-axes associated with early humans.

Hand Axe

A prehistoric stone tool, often bifacially flaked to a point or edge, used by early humans for chopping, cutting, and as a general utility tool.