Question

Astronomy table shows the mass of the planets, the sun and the moon in our solar system.

Celestial Body	Mass (Kg)
Sun	1,990,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Mercury	330,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Venus	4,870,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Earth	5,970,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Mars	642,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Jupiter	1,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Saturn	568,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Uranus	86,800,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Neptune	102,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Pluto	12,700,000,000,000,000,000,000
Moon	73,500,000,000,000,000,000,000

Mass (Kg) standard notion$ = 1.99 \times {10^{30}}kg$
Order the planets and the moon by mass, from least to greatest.

Answer 1

Hint:Here we will first convert all the mass of each of the heavenly bodies into their standard notion then we will compare their respective masses with each other finding out which of them has bigger mass values. This will make the comparison simpler as compared to the digit (zeros) counting method.

Complete step by step answer:
A standard notion or scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small to be conveniently written in decimal form. It may be referred to as scientific form or standard index form, or standard form also. Let’s convert each of the given masses of the bodies into their standard notation form.

Sun $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {1,990,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000}
\end{array}kg = 1.99 \times {10^{30}}kg$
Mercury $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {330,000,000,000,000,000,000,000}
\end{array}kg = 3.3 \times {10^{23}}kg$
Venus \[ = 4,870,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg = 4.87 \times {10^{24}}kg\]
Earth $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {5,970,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg}
\end{array} = 5.97 \times {10^{24}}kg$
Mars $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {6,420,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg}
\end{array} = 6.42 \times {10^{24}}kg$

Jupiter $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {1,900,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000}
\end{array}kg = 1.9 \times {10^{27}}kg$
Saturn $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {568,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000}
\end{array}kg = 5.68 \times {10^{26}}kg$
Uranus $ = 86,800,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg = 8.68 \times {10^{25}}kg$
Neptune $ = 102,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000kg = 1.02 \times {10^{26}}kg$
Pluto $ = \begin{array}{*{20}{l}}
  {12,700,000,000,000,000,000,000}
\end{array}kg = 1.27 \times {10^{22}}kg$
Moon $ = 73,500,000,000,000,000,000,000kg = 7.35 \times {10^{22}}kg$

Now first we will compare the exponent with each other if the exponents are the same then we will compare the coefficient in order to finalise the comparison.Now the mass of Venus, Earth and Mars have the same power. So, we will compare their coefficients.
$4.87 < 5.97 < 6.42$
So, the mass of Mars < Earth < Venus.
Now the mass of Saturn and Neptune have the same power. So, we will compare their coefficients.
$1.02 < 5.68$
So, the mass of Neptune < Saturn.
Now the mass of the Moon and Pluto have the same power. So, we will compare their coefficients.
$1.27 < 7,35$
So, the mass of Pluto < Moon.
Now by comparing we get the order of mass of all planets and Moon from least to greatest as Pluto < Moon < Mercury < Venus < Earth < Mars < Uranus < Neptune < Saturn < Jupiter < Sun.

Note:The above made comparison is done by using the standard notation, and this method of comparison is very useful and easy in comparing objects having higher numeric values compared to what we see daily. Always tend to make the coefficient of the notion in a way such that it has one digit in the unit place and at least two digits in the decimal place, this form is usually accepted in many places.