alleryStart learning →Kepler's third law relates the squares of the periods to which quantity?
AThe squares of the orbital speeds
BThe masses of the two planets
CThe cubes of the average distances
DThe squares of the average distances
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. The cubes of the average distances
1. Kepler's third law compares any two planets going round the Sun.
2. It sets the ratio of the squares of their periods equal to the ratio of the cubes of their distances.
3. So a planet further out has a longer year, and the law fixes exactly how much longer.
4. Using squares of distance instead of cubes would give the wrong period for every planet but one.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation", section Kepler's Third Law_
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