Download Toilet Paper Solar System

Toilet Paper Solar System
Astronomy
Name:
Period:
Objective: To describe the relative distances of planets from our sun and their varying distances
from the sun, depending on their position in orbit.
Materials:
• One roll of toilet paper
• Felt-tip marker(s) or fluid writing utensil(s), preferably 10 colors.
• Clear tape for repairs
Procedure:
1 Draw a small dot, about half the diameter of a standard pencil eraser, near the perforations
between the first and second sheet of toilet paper. This is approximately (to scale) the size of
the Sun. The other objects in our solar system are too small to draw on this scale; we will use
large X's to represent their placement.
3 Carefully write "SUN" near the dot.
4 Using the perforations between sheets as a ruler (the first is zero), mark the placement and
names of the planets as listed in the table below.
Object
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Asteroids
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto/Charon
Location (sheets)
0.0
2.0
3.7
5.1
7.7
14
26.4
48.4
97.3
152.4
200.0
Conclusion:
1) These numbers represent average distance from the sun. Not all planets have nice, circular orbits,
however. Pluto has a minimum distance from the sun of 150 sheets while Neptune has a maximum
distance from the sun of 153 sheets. What does that mean about Neptune and Pluto’s orbits?
2) What do you notice about the first four planets compared to the last four (remember, Pluto has
been demoted, so don’t consider him in this question!)
3) There is a section called “asteroids”. What do you think might have caused that part to exist (a
reasonable answer but you don’t have to be correct!)?
Planetary Size:
Complete the following to illustrate the scale size of the planets:
1) A ratio has been created to make the sizes of planets more “digestible”. Look at the scaled radius
of Mercury.
2) For the table below, use ratios to determine the scaled radius of the remaining seven planets and
Pluto. ROUND TO THE NEAREST QUARTER CENTIMETER (.0, .25, .5, .75 answers only!)
3) Answer the questions below.
Planet
---------
Radius
(km)
---------
Mercury
2439
Venus
6052
Earth
6378
Mars
3397
Jupiter
71492
Saturn
60268
Uranus
25559
Neptune
24764
Pluto
1160
Scaled Radius
(cm)
-----------------0.5
ex:
2439 km
0.5 cm
Conclusion:
1)
What planet(s) is approximately the same size as Earth?
2)
What is the smallest planet in the solar system? The largest?
3)
Which planet is the largest, and how many times larger than Earth is it?
=
6052 km
x cm