What formulas can be used to calculate the mass of Jupiter?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the mass of Jupiter using the orbital characteristics of its moon, Europa. Participants explore various gravitational and orbital formulas, including Kepler's laws and centripetal force equations, while grappling with numerical calculations and assumptions about distances.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss using Kepler's law and centripetal force to derive the mass of Jupiter, with some expressing confusion over their calculations and assumptions about distances. Questions arise regarding the correct interpretation of variables and the arithmetic involved in applying the formulas.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing guidance on formula application and checking calculations. Some express uncertainty about their methods, while others confirm the validity of different approaches. There is no explicit consensus on a single method, but productive dialogue is ongoing.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention potential confusion regarding the distance used in calculations, whether it is from the surface or the center of Jupiter. There is also a reference to the stress of impending tests, which may influence the clarity of their reasoning.

Eternalmetal
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1. Europa was one of the moons discovered by Galileo. It has a mass of 4.9E22 kg and a period of 3.6 days and distance of 6.7E8 m. What is the mass of Jupiter?
2.
3.6 days = 311040 sec
F = G m m / r^2
F = Mv^2 / r
T^2 = (4pi^2/Gm) R^3
3. I threw the numbers into Kepler's formula and get a negative exponent answer, and at this point I am sort of lost. Somebody please put me in the right direction. And no I don't know exactly what the distance is from, but assume the obvious (whatever it may be) for the time being. Distance from the surface or from the center of Jupiter I don't know.

I spent more time dwelling over this, and used 3 formulas: v = 2pi r/t to find the velocity of the moon's orbit. Then I used Kepler's formula T^2 = 3E-19 R^3 to find the radius of Jupiter (plugging 311040 sec into T). I think used the velocity and radius I calculated to find the mass of Jupiter using the formula v = sqrt(G m/r). I derived this formula by comparing centripetal force equation with Newtons law of universal gravitation (probably a memorized formula in most cases I would assume). Doing all of this, I got a value of 1.88E28. I double-checked with wikipedia and I am off by a decimal point (according to them). I assume I am now on the right track, but could someone just assure me that I used the right logic to come to my answer?
 
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I think you just did the arithmatic wrong
Kepler's law (t/2pi)^2 = a^3 /G(M+m)

G(M+m) = 4pi^2 a^3 / t^2, where G=6.6E-11, I get the right answer (1.86E+27kg)
 
What did you use/how did you calculate the "a" value? (I am assuming you mean radius, at least that's how we learned it).
 
Yes 'a' is radius ( strictly semi-major axis of the ellipse, hence a )
You are given it as 6.7E8 m in the question!
 
Interesting, I rechecked my work plugging in 311040 for T, 4.9E22 for one of the masses, and 6.7E8 m for the radius, and did indeed get it wrong, again. I tried this time, following your formula and got it right. Sorry for my stupidity, I've just been extremely stressed out lately. I hope I don't screw up my math on my test tomorrow, although I usually am pretty good with that part of physics. Thanks for your help.

But would the method I used earlier (and got the answer slightly wrong) still work for this? Considering 4pi^2/Gm is a constant, I am assuming my logic is not flawed. However, I guess I should just stick with using one formula to find the answer, now that I can.
 
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Your formula is for the case for the mass of the moon being negligible, it's what I did first because I misread the question as Io - which is pretty small.

Remember to check units and do a quick order of magnitude estimate from the exponnets.
It's easy to miss a +/- in an exponent on a calculator.

Good luck.
 

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