Rosalinda wants to calculate the mass of earth using kepler’s laws or newton’s universal law of gravitation. which data would allow her to find the mass of earth?
the mass of the sun and the orbital period of the moon
the moon’s orbital period and distance from earth
earth’s distance from the sun and the moon’s orbital period
earth’s orbital period and distance from the sun

The correct answer is Earth's orbital period and distance from the Sun.

Explanation: Rosalinda can use Kepler's Laws to determine the mass of the Earth. Third law of Kepler is the most convenient for this purpose.

Expression for Kepler's Third Law is:

Where,

P =  orbital period determined in days

k = Gaussian Gravitational constant with value 0.01720209895

= Mass of the sun which is known to us which is

= Mass of Earth which has to be determined

a = Semi major axis which is the distance of Earth from the sun.

Hence, Earth's orbital period and its distance from the sun is useful in determining the mass of Earth.