Download Activity – Scale Drawing of the Solar System

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Activity – Scale Drawing of the Solar System - SOLUTIONS
Astronomical Units: The distance from the sun to the Earth, 1.49 108 km, is defined as
an Astronomical Unit (AU).
Therefore:
1 AU = 1.49 108 km
The following table shows the distances of planets from the sun, in metric units.
How to converting from kilometers to AU
Example: Mercury
581
.
10 7 km
1 AU
= 0.39 AU
149
.
108 km
Instructions:
4) Using the conversion factor above, calculate the distances of planets from the sun
in Astronomical Units (AU).
5) Using an appropriate scale of your choice (i.e. 1 cm = 1 AU).
6) Using the back of this sheet, sketch part of the orbits of the major planets to scale
with respect to distance. Use a dotted line to represent the orbits. Hint: to fit
your scale, you might have to position the Sun at the corner of the sheet.
Planet
Distance from Sun
(km)
Distance from Sun
(AU)
Distance on paper
(cm)
Mercury
5.81 107 km
0.39
0.39
Venus
1.08 108 km
0.72
0.72
Earth
1.49 108 km
1
1
Mars
2.28 108 km
1.53
1.53
Jupiter
7.78 108 km
5.2
5.2
Saturn
1.42 109 km
9.5
9.5
Uranus
2.87 109 km
19.2
19.2
Neptune
4.49 109 km
30.1
30.1