Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Planet Nine wikipedia , lookup
Earth's rotation wikipedia , lookup
Heliosphere wikipedia , lookup
Definition of planet wikipedia , lookup
Planets beyond Neptune wikipedia , lookup
Standard solar model wikipedia , lookup
History of Solar System formation and evolution hypotheses wikipedia , lookup
Late Heavy Bombardment wikipedia , lookup
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 Page 1 of 4 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? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 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 Page 2 of 4 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? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 2. What things does this model misrepresent? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. What questions came up as your group worked on your model? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Toilet Paper Solar System Page 3 of 4 4. Are there any patterns that emerge? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 5. Why is representing the entire Solar System a difficult challenge? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 6. What are some things you need to find out to design a better model? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Toilet Paper Solar System Page 4 of 4