Download Your Life on Other Planets Lab

GEOLOGY
UNIT 1
NAME ______________________
PER _______ DATE ___________
Your Life on Other Planets Lab
Part One: How Old are You on Other Planets?
Introduction
Your birthday is actually a celebration of a trip made by Earth around the Sun one time. For each trip
around our star, called an orbit or revolution, we “age” one year…or at least this is how we humans
express it. Your goal is to compare orbit timeframe of the other planets to Earth’s 365 day orbit. In turn,
you will be able to calculate your current “age” on each of the planets in our solar system.
Activity
1. Figure out your age in Earth DAYS. Your age ______ x 365 = ________________ Earth Days Old
2. For the terrestrial planets, divide your age in Earth days by the number of Earth days in a planet’s
year. The answer is your current age on that particular planet. Show your math and record your
answer in the table below.
Example for Mercury…
Ms. Cline is 28 years old on Earth.
28 x 365 = 10,220 Earth Days Old
10,220 / 88 (Earth days in Mercury’s year) = 116 Years Old on Mercury!
Terrestrial Planets Approximate
(Inner 4)
Length of Year
Mercury
88 Earth Days
Venus
225 Earth Days
Earth
365 Earth Days
Mars
687 Earth Days
Calculation
Your
“New” Age
3. For the jovian gas planets, find the number of Earth days in each planet’s year. Next, divide your age
in Earth days by the number of Earth days in a planet’s year. The answer is your current age on that
particular planet. Show your math and record your answer in the table below.
Example for Jupiter…
Ms. Cline is 28 years old on Earth.
12 Earth Years x 365 Earth Days per Year = 4,380 Earth Days in One Jupiter Year
10,220 (Days Old on Earth) / 4,380 = 2 Years Old on Jupiter!
Jovian Gas
Approximate
Planets (Outer 4) Length of Year
Jupiter
12 Earth Years
Saturn
29 Earth Years
Uranus
84 Earth Years
Neptune
165 Earth Years
Pluto
(dwarf planet)
248 Earth Years
Calculation
Your
“New” Age
Discussion Questions
1. Summarize the relationship between orbit duration and “age” (demonstrated by your results).
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2. We now know that planets have different distances to travel around the Sun, but what about their
speed? Explain the relationship between planetary speed and distance from the Sun.
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Part Two: Gravity and Your Weight on Around the Solar System
Introduction
Our weight is provided by gravity. It is the Earth’s pull on all the parts of our body that gives us our
sense of weight. The Earth’s pull is very democratic for all of us. All of us have different weights,
because we have different amounts of stuff (mass) in our bodies for the Earth to pull. Other worlds have
different gravity pulls on their surfaces. The more mass a planet has, the more gravity it has. In turn,
planets that have more mass than Earth will have more gravity than Earth. For example, on the sandy
surface of Mars, each of us would only feel 38% of the pull we feel on Earth. So a teenager weighing
100 lbs. on Earth would weight only 38 lbs. on Mars! Figuring out the pull of gravity on different worlds
can be a fun way to imagine what life might be like in other regions of our solar system.
Activity
1. In order to simplify things, the force of gravity for each location has already been calculated
for you. Determine your weight at each location by multiplying your current weight on Earth
by the force of gravity and record your results in the table below.
Location
Gravity
Surface
Sun
28
Super-Heated Gas
Mercury
0.38
Rocky, solid
Venus
0.87
Rocky, solid
Earth’s Moon
0.17
Rocky, solid
Mars
0.38
Rocky and dusty, solid
Jupiter
2.5
Gas
Europa
0.13
Icy, solid
Saturn
1.08
Gas
Titan
0.14
Solid, a few lakes
Uranus
0.91
Gas
Neptune
1.2
Gas
Pluto
0.07
Icy, solid
(a moon of Jupiter)
(a moon of Saturn)
(dwarf planet)
Calculation
Your “New”
Weight (lbs.)
2. You will now determine how far you can jump at these locations in the solar system. First, you must
find out how far you can jump on Earth. To do this, place a piece of tape on the floor as a starting
line. Standing at the line, jump forward off of both feet as far as you can. No running start! Have a
partner mark where your feet first landed, not where you end up. Measure the distance and record in
the table below. Repeat this step three times to calculate an average jump distance.
Jump #1
Jump #2
Jump #3
Average Jump Distance
3. Lastly, use your data to determine how your jump would be affected by gravity at other locations
around our solar system. To do this, take your average jump distance that you calculated and divide it
by the force of gravity. Record your results in the table below.
Location
Gravity
Sun
28
Mercury
0.38
Venus
0.87
Earth’s Moon
0.17
Mars
0.38
Jupiter
2.5
Europa
0.13
(a moon of Jupiter)
Saturn
1.08
Titan
0.14
(a moon of Saturn)
Uranus
0.91
Neptune
1.2
Pluto
0.07
(dwarf planet)
Calculation
Your “New” Jump
Discussion Questions
1. Summarize the relationship between the force of gravity and weight (demonstrated by your results).
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2. We now know that planets have different forces or gravity that would affect our weight, but how
would this affect our movement? Explain the relationship between gravity and jump distance.
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3. Based on your results, explain how running on Venus would feel compared to running on Earth.
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