Objective
Writing very large and
very small numbers in
standard form

DATA
Very large numbers such as:
4 504 000 000
Are not very practical to use in
calculations so we can rewrite it like
this:

4 504 000 000
4 .504 x 109
Number between 1 and 10 Power of 10

Write all of
the distances
from the sun
in standard
form

Write all of
the planets’
masses as
normal
numbers

The gravitational pull of each of the planets in the Solar System
is different and this will affect the velocity that a spacecraft
would need to be travelling to leave the planet’s surface. This
speed, known as the ESCAPE VELOCITY, depends on both the
radius of the planet, and its mass
R
GM
2
G = Gravitational Constant 0.000 000 000 0667
M = Mass of the planet (in kg)
R = Radius of the planet (in m)

DATA
Very small numbers such as:
0.000 000 000 0667
Are not very practical to use in
calculations so we can rewrite it like
this:

0.000 000 000 06 67
6.67 x 10-11
Number between 1 and 10 Power of 10

Calculate the
escape
velocity for
each of the
planets

R
GM
2 G = 0.000 000 000 0667