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IV. Exercises · Q2
Q.

Assume that you are in another solar system and are provided with the set of data given below, consisting of the planets' semi-major axes and time periods. Can you infer the relation connecting semi-major axis and time period? | Planet (imaginary) | Time period TT (in years) | Semi-major axis aa (in AU) |\n|---|---|---|\n| Kurinji | 2 | 8 |\n| Mullai | 3 | 18 |\n| Marutham | 4 | 32 |\n| Neithal | 5 | 50 |\n| Paalai | 6 | 72 |

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Step 1. Tabulate T2T^2 and aa for each imaginary planet: Kurinji (T=2,a=8T=2,a=8): T2=4T^2=4; Mullai (T=3,a=18T=3,a=18): T2=9T^2=9; Marutham (T=4,a=32T=4,a=32): T2=16T^2=16; Neithal (T=5,a=50T=5,a=50): T2=25T^2=25; Paalai (T=6,a=72T=6,a=72): T2=36T^2=36.

Step 2. Compute the ratio T2/aT^2/a for each: 4/8=0.54/8=0.5, 9/18=0.59/18=0.5, 16/32=0.516/32=0.5, 25/50=0.525/50=0.5, 36/72=0.536/72=0.5 -- every single row gives exactly the same constant, 0.50.5.

Step 3. Since T2/aT^2/a is constant (not T2/a3T^2/a^3), the relation connecting the two quantities in this data set is T2∝aT^2\propto a, i.e. a∝T2a\propto T^2.

Step 4. This is a genuinely different relation from our own solar system's Kepler's third law (T2∝a3T^2\propto a^3) -- it shows that the exponent in such a power-law relation must always be checked directly against the data, not assumed by analogy with a different system.

✓Final answer

a∝T2a\propto T^2 (equivalently T2/a=0.5T^2/a=0.5, a constant) -- not a3∝T2a^3\propto T^2 as in Kepler's third law for our own solar system.

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