Figuring for Yourself
How long would material take to go around if the solar nebula in Example 14.1 became the size of Earth’s orbit?
Consider the differentiated meteorites. We think the irons are from the cores, the stony-irons are from the interfaces between mantles and cores, and the stones are from the mantles of their differentiated parent bodies. If these parent bodies were like Earth, what fraction of the meteorites would you expect to consist of irons, stony-irons, and stones? Is this consistent with the observed numbers of each? (Hint: You will need to look up what percent of the volume of Earth is taken up by its core, mantle, and crust.)
Estimate the maximum height of the mountains on a hypothetical planet similar to Earth but with twice the surface gravity of our planet.