The fact that all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction is cited as su

Question

The fact that all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction is cited as support for the nebular hypothesis. Imagine that there's a different hypothesis in which planets can be created orbiting the Sun in either direction.

Under this hypothesis, what is the probability that eight planets would end up traveling in the same direction? (Hint: It's the same probability as that of flipping a coin eight times and getting all the times the same side of the coin.)

Express your answer using two significant figures.

Explanation / Answer

There are two possibilities of rotation for a planet so for one particular orientation of a planet we have 1/2 probability.

For 8 planets having same orientation,

The probability will be (1/2)^8 = 0.00390625

Percentage Probability =0.390625 %

=0.39%

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