Part1:Effectsoftheorbitonthegraph
YourGSIwillassignyourgrouponeofthethreefollowingsetsofgraphsshowingtheeffectsof
eccentricity,semimajoraxis,andplanetmassontheRVgraph.Circletheoneyoureassigned,andnote
thepagenumberhere:_______
Lookatthegraphsonyoupageandanswerthequestionatthebottomofthepage.Payattentiontoboth
theshapeofthecurveandtheamountofscatterofthedata.Whileyoureworking,yourGSIwillhand
outapageofdataaboutarealstar.Fillintheinformationforthefirst2questionsinpart2,andtakea
lookattheRVandtransitgraphsforyourealstar.
YourGSIwillcalloneachgrouptodescribetheeffectsonthegraph.Compareyourrealstargraphsto
whattheothergroupstellyouaboutthevariouseffectsonthegraphtoseewhatyoucandetermineabout
theorbitoftherealstar.
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Effects of eccentricity
Hereare3graphsofsimilarsystems(1Msunstarand1Mjupiterplanetorbitingat1AU),butwith
eccentricitiesof0.2,0.5and0.8.Allgraphsarefromalongitudeof0,whichmeansEarthisalignedwith
theplanetsminoraxis(seesketches,totherightofthegraphs.)
e=0.2(nearlycircular)
e=0.5(similartothesketchabove)
e=0.8(fairlyflat)
Howdoeseccentricityaffectthevelocitycurve?
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a=0.5AUPeriod=129days
a=2AUPeriod=1030days
a=10AUPeriod=11500days
Howdoesthesemimajoraxisaffectthevelocitycurve?
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M=2MJup
M=10MJup
Howdoestheplanetmassaffectthevelocitycurve?
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Part2:realdata
1. YourGSIwillassignyouarealplanet.Noteitsname_________
2. Informationaboutthestarisonther adialvelocitygraph.Recordthefollowinginformation
(dontforgetunits):
a. Starname:____________________________
b. Starmass:________
c. Starradius:_____
3. SketchtheshapeoftheRVcurve.Whatcanyousayabouttheplanetanditsorbitbasedonthe
RVgraph?
4. Determinetheperiodandamplitudeofthevelocitycurve:__________,____________
5. Lookatthetransitdata.
a. Howlongdoesthetransittake?Dontforgetunitsandshowyourwork:
b. Whatisthemaximumfluxormagnitude:
c. Whatistheminimumfluxormagnitude:
Youlldotherestoftheanalysisintheconcludingquestions
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ConcludingQuestions:
1. Determinethesemimajoraxis.Showyourwork,anddontforgetunits.__________
2. Findthevelocityoftheplanet.Showyourwork,anddontforgetunits.______
3. Findthemassoftheplanet.Showyourwork,anddontforgetunits.
4. Convertthemassoftheplanettothefollowinggrams.Showyourwork,andusescientific
notationwhenappropriate.
a. m=________grams
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5. ThemassofJupiteris1.899x1030grams.
ThemassofEarthis5.972x1027grams.
Istheplanet
biggerorsmallerinmassthanJupiter?Byhowmuch(ratio)?Isitbiggerorsmallerinmassthan
Earth?Byhowmuch(ratio)?
6. Findthediameteroftheplanet.Showyourwork,anddontforgetunits.
7. Convertthediameteroftheplanettocentimeters.Showyourwork,andusescientificnotation
whenappropriate.
a. D=__________cm
8. ThediameterofJupiteris1.398x1010cm.ThediameterofEarthis1.274x109cm.Istheplanet
biggerorsmalleraroundthanJupiter?Byhowmuch(ratio)?Isitbiggerorsmalleraroundthan
Earth?Byhowmuch(ratio)?
9. Compareyourplanetdiameterandmasses.Dotheymakesense?E.g.Planetscantbemore
massivethanthestarstheyorbititwouldntmakesensetohaveaplanetwithamasscloseto
JupiterbutadiameterclosetoEarth.Ifyouranswersdontmakesense,checkwithyour
neighborsorGSItofindoutwhatswrong.
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10. Whatistheunitofdensityusedinthetableofdensitiesintheintroduction?__________
Calculatethedensityoftheplanetinthoseunits.showyourwork.
11. IsthislikelytobeaterrestrialorJovianplanet?Why?
LastupdatedbySAM.Original:SAM,Bell
CopyrightRegentsoftheUniversityofMichigan.
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