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Size of the Solar System

Essential Question - How far from the sun are the planets in the solar system?

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Initial Thoughts

  • Mark the Sun at one end of the paper and Pluto at the other end.
  • Mark the location of the rest of the planets where you think they are in relation to the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.

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Video on distances

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Real Distances

Now we are going to find the real distances.

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Putting it on a 100cm Ruler

If the distance from the Sun to Pluto was 100cm what would be the relative distance to each planet?

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  1. Use the following formula: Planet distance = x

600,000,000,000,000 100

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Analysis

1. What surprised you about your initial thoughts versus the actual scale of the solar system?

2. We split our solar system into two groups: the inner and outer planets. How are the planets broken down and where, in your model does that split begins

3. Aside from inner and outer planets, we have another name for these groups, based on their physical properties. What do you know about the makeup of inner planets versus outer planets that could be used to distinguish them.

4. Some planets are closer to Earth, but small, while others are larger but farther away. Which planets do you think you can see in the night sky?

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