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Student Sheet
Name___________________________
Title: That’s Why They Call it Space
Introduction: Understanding the size and distances in the solar system is very difficult. This
activity will help you create and visualize a model solar system. Models are made by shrinking a
large thing down by using a ratio. For example, you might want to make a model of an airplane,
1/100th the size of a real airplane. You would divide every part by 100 to know how big it
should be to fit in the model. Because the size of planets and the spaces between them is so
large, the ratio is very large. A kilometer may be shrunk down to a 1/10,000,000 th size for the
model to fit on a football field! This requires a lot of math and a good calculator, or does it?
Materials: a ball for the sun, index cards, markers, metersticks, popsicle sticks or wooden
skewers, glue or tape. Computer/group, meterstick
Procedures:
1. Choose one of the balls your teacher has provided. Measure its diameter and write it here:
______________mm or cm.
2. Open this website on your computer: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/
3. Put the diameter of your ball in the green box. If you measured in centimeters, multiply by
10 first.
4. Fill in the metric measurements on your data table. Include the diameter of each planet
and the radius of the orbit (which will be it’s distance from the sun).
5. Create planet cards for each planet. You will need to draw the planet to the correct size
(using diameter) and write the name also. We will not include Pluto in this model.
6. Glue or tape the card to a stick.
7. Use the “meter” step your teacher has provided and have a group member learn to step a
meter at a time.
8. Go into large space, a football field, long street or other area your teacher identifies.
9. Place the “sun” on one end of the area and step off or measure the distance to other
planets. Push the stick for each planet into the ground and continue to measure and walk
until all the planets are placed.
Prediction: If the sun is the size of a marble, how far way will Neptune be?
Data:
Solar System Model
Body
Diameter (km) Scaled Diameter (mm) Orbit Radius (km) Scaled Orbit (m)
Sun
1,391,900
Mercury
4,866
57,950,000
Venus
12,106
108,110,000
Earth
12,742
149,570,000
Mars
6,760
227,840,000
Jupiter
142,984
778,140,000
Saturn
116,438
1,427,000,000
Uranus
46,940
2,870,300,000
Neptune
45,432
4,499,900,000
Analysis
1. What is the relative amount of matter (in the bodies of the planets and sun) compared to
the amount of space in the solar system?
2. Describe the pattern in the way the planets are spaced.
3. Look at the solar system models other groups have built. How are they alike?
Different?
4. If you stand near Neptune and look back at the sun, how much light and heat do you think
you would get there?
5. The Voyager I and II spacecraft were launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets. Voyager
II reached Neptune in 1989. How many kilometers per day did it have to travel? Neptune is
4,499,900,000 km away.