The Mass of Saturn Analysis
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The Following Information is Provided to the Student
Question: What is the mass of Saturn?
Purpose: To use period-radius data for the moons of Saturn in order to determine the mass of Saturn.
A complete lab write-up includes a Title, a Purpose, a Data section, and a Conclusion/Discussion of Results. The Data section should include the provided sheet. At least one sample calculation should be shown; treatment of the units and conversions to kg should be clear. The Conclusion/Discussion should answer the question posed in the Purpose and describe the manner in which the evidence supports the conclusion which is made.
Scoring Ruberic
| CG9. | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| _____ | Included, labeled and organized all parts of the lab report. | _____ / _____ |
| _____ | Data section includes the provided table with the last column completed; at least one sample calculation is clearly shown and labeled; conversion from km and days to kg is clearly demonstrated. | |
| _____ | Conclusion/Discussion answers the question posed in the Purpose and describes the supporting evidence. |
Lab Details
Materials Required
Calculator; the provided table of data for Jupiter's moons.
Description of Procedure
Students receive data for the period of the moons orbiting Saturn and their mean distance from the Saturn. The data is analyzed in order to determine the average value of T2/R3 for all the moons. Kepler's third law equation (T2/R3 = 4•π2/G/Msaturn) is then used to determine the mass of Saturn.
Alternative Materials and Procedure
Many alternative (or additional) data analysis exercises can be done. Data for the moons of other planets are readily available on the internet. Those who are looking for a more authentic exercise which not only involves the analysis of data but also the collection of data might investigate Project CLEA (https://public.gettysburg.edu/~marschal/clea/CLEAhome.html).
Safety Concerns
There is always a higher than usual level of risk associated with working in a science lab. Teachers should be aware of this and take the necessary precautions to insure that working environment is as safe as possible. Student horseplay (especially the use of meter sticks as swords) and off-task behaviors should not be tolerated.
Suggestions, Precautions, Notes
- To accomplish the purpose of this lab, students will need to know the equation which relates the T2/R3 ratio of a satellite to the mass of the object which the satellite is orbiting.
- The last column in the provided table is blank in order for students to calculate the ration of T2/R3 for all the moons of Saturn's.
- Perhaps the biggest difficulty with this lab will be the treatment of units. The distance will have to be converted to meters, and the period will have to be converted to seconds.
- Some interesting information about the moons of Saturn is available online. For instance, see Wikipedia's Moons of Saturn.
Links
Connections to The Physics Classroom Tutorial:
The following reading is a suitable accompaniment to this lab:
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/circles/u6l4a.cfm
Connections to Minds on Physics Internet Modules:
Sublevel 10 of the Circular and Satellite Motion module is a suitable accompaniment to this lab:
https://www.physicsclassroom.com/minds-on/circular-and-satellite-motion