Girls in Engineering, Mathematics, and Science GEMS Student Activity HONEY, I SHRUNK THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Solar System Predictions How big each of the planets would be if the sun was the size of the fitness ball? For each planet in the solar system, select one of these as a representation of their size in relationship to each other: basketball, bowling ball, soccer ball, tennis ball, golf ball, marble, miniature marshmallows, poppy seeds, circle-shaped cereal, popcorn kernels, dried peas, black peppercorn, lemon, grapes, coffee bean, or hazelnut Planet Objects Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto dwarf planet
Measuring Distances by Parallax Method Step 1 Measure the baseline with the tape measure Use a protractor to measure two angles at the left and right ends of the baseline Record the measurements: Baseline: cm Angle 1: Angle 2: Step 2 Draw a scale model of your measurements Use 1 cm in your scale model to represent 10 cm in actual baseline (1 cm = 10 cm) Draw the baseline near the bottom of your paper Using a protractor, construct the 2 angles you measured at the left and right ends of the baseline Step 3 Extend the sides of the triangle until they meet The angle formed at the top of the triangle is called the parallax What is its measurement? Step 4 To find the distance to the object, measure the line between the right angle and the parallax angle Distance on your scale model: cm Step 5 Use your scale (1 cm = 10 cm) to convert this to an actual distance: cm Step 6 Measure the actual distance to the object How does your measured distance (from Step 6) compare to the distance determined in Step 5? What are some sources of error?
September 13, 2014
Calculating Scale of the Clay Model Step 1 Let s find the scaling ratio for the model The diameter of the Sun: 1,391,900 km The diameter of the fitness ball: cm Step 2 To find the scale of the model, we want to know how many kilometers in the solar system will be represented by 1 centimeter in our clay model Congratulations! Now we know how many kilometers are represented by 1 cm on our clay model
PLANET DATA SHEET INNER PLANETS Calculating Scale of the Clay Model Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Diameter in km 4,878 km 12,104 km 12,755 km 6,790 km Scale Diameter in cm Distance from Sun km 58,000,000 km 108,000,000 km 150,000,000 km 228,000,000 km Scale Distance in m 1 m = 100 cm
PLANET DATA SHEET OUTER PLANETS Calculating Scale of the Clay Model Planet Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Diameter in km 142,796 km 120,660 km 51,118 km 49,528 km 2,300 km Scale Diameter in cm Distance from Sun km 778,000,000 km 1,429,000,000 km 2,875,000,000 km 4,504,000,000 km 5,900,000,000 km Scale Distance in m 1 m = 100 cm
Mapping Planetary Distances Germain Arena
Think About It! 1 What did you notice about the size of the planets? 2 What did you notice about the distance between the planets? 3 Did the scale model look the way you had expected? How was it different than you pictured? 4 Do you think it would be easy to make a model that would fit inside the classroom? Why or why not? 5 What is challenging about making a scale model for both size and distance?