Download Name: :___________Period - East Hanover Township School District

Name:__________________________Date:___________Period:_____
TOILET PAPER SOLAR SYSTEM
LAB PARTNERS:_________________________________________
I. Introduction:
There are 8 planets in our solar system at varying distances from the Sun.
Mercury is the closest and Neptune is the farthest. We are going to reduce the
size of the solar system so that we can represent it using a roll of toilet paper. If
you thought the Earth was a long way from the Sun, you may be surprised at how
far we go to reach the outer planets.
Mercury: about 0.4 AU from the Sun, this planet is only 40% the diameter of earth, and
has no significant atmosphere.
Venus: this planet is 0.7 AU from the Sun. It is about the same size as Earth, and has an
extremely thick and toxic atmosphere.
Earth: This planet is the only planet known to be inhabited. It is 1 AU from the sun.
Mars: about 1.5 AU from the sun. Named after the roman God of war, due to its reddish
color as seen from earth. It has a thin atmosphere similar to that 35km above earth and
polar caps which vary seasonally.
Jupiter: The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter is 11 times the diameter of the
Earth. It lies 5.3 AU from the sun, and has it’s own system of rings and moons.
Saturn: This planet is best known for its extensive ring system. It orbits the sun at 9.5
AU, and is composed mostly of hydrogen and helium gas.
Uranus: Uranus is a gas giant planet, orbiting at 19.2 AU from earth. It is unusual in that
it rolls along its orbit rather than spins.
Neptune: Neptune is another blue gas giant planet, 30.1 AU from the sun. It is about 3.9
times the diameter of the earth.
Toilet Paper Solar System
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Pluto: This is the most famous dwarf planet. It was known as a planet until recently. It is
only 19% the diameter of the Earth, and orbits at 39.5 AU from the sun.
II. Pre-Activity Question:
Why is it necessary to use scale distances when dealing with large distances like
those between the planets in the solar system?
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III. Materials
Toilet paper roll
Marker
IV. Procedure
1. Cut out the planets.
2. Take one sheet of toilet paper and test the marker. After learning the best way
to write on toilet paper, throw away the test sheet.
3. Make a dot on the seam between the first two sheets of toilet paper. This is
the Sun. Write the word Sun beside the dot.
4. Use the table of distances provided to mark off the distances to each of the
planets. The number in the table is the number of sheets of toilet paper needed to
reach the orbit of each planet from the Sun, so keep a running count as you go
along.
5. Make a dot and write the appropriate planet name on toilet paper at each
distance indicated.
6. Place each image next to its planet position.
Toilet Paper Solar System
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Table 1 – Solar System Distances
Object
Average Distance
from Sun (Miles)
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Asteroid Belt
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
36 million miles
67 million miles
93 million mi.
93 million mi
142 million mi.
256 million mi.
483 million mi.
885 million mi.
1,787 million mi.
2,800 million mi.
3,699 million mi.
Average
Distance
from Sun
(AU)
Distance from
Sun
on toilet paper
0.38
0.72
1
1
1.52
2.75
5.2
9.59
19.2
30.1
39.5
2
3.7
5.1
5.1
7.7
15
26.4
48.4
97.3
152.5
200
V. Post-Activity Questions
1. What features of the Solar System does this model represent?
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2. What things does this model misrepresent?
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3. What questions came up as your group worked on your model?
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4. Are there any patterns that emerge?
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5. Why is representing the entire Solar System a difficult challenge?
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6. What are some things you need to find out to design a better model?
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Toilet Paper Solar System
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