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Download Size of Sun and Size of Planets
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Name ________________________ period _____ Comparing the Sun and the Planets Our Sun is the largest body in the Solar System but it is still considered an average- sized star. It is over 93 million miles away from the earth. It’s light takes about 8 minutes to reach the earth. Without its heat and light there would be no life on our planet. The Sun has the most gravity in our Solar System but each planet has its own gravity and the amount is determined by its size. The bigger the planet, the greater the gravity it has. Size of Sun and Size of Planets Materials: Bulletin board display What To Do: Observe the bulletin board your teacher has prepared showing the planet sizes. Questions: 1. Which planet is the largest? _______________________________ 2. Which planet is the smallest? ______________________________ 3. Which two pairs of planets are about the same size? ____________ and ___________ AND ______________ and _______________ Your teacher will fold the earth model in half so you can see the diameter. 4. How many earths do you think would fit across the diameter of Jupiter? ________ Your teacher will have a volunteer measure it. 5. How many earths fit across the diameter of Jupiter? __________________ 6. How many earths fit across the diameter of Saturn? __________________ 7. How many earths fit across the diameter of Neptune? _________________ Your teacher will show you how much bigger the sun is than the planets with a piece of string or some meter sticks. 8. The sun’s diameter on the same scale as these planets will be 11 meters across. The earth’s diameter is 5 cm. How many earths can fit across the sun? Do the math below. How Close are the Planets? Materials: calculator, toothpick (one per planet) modeling clay, tape, scissors, ruler 25 cm Sun What To Do: 1. Using the diameters of the planets in kilometers, calculate the scale sizes of the planets in centimeters using the chart below. 2. Fill in the chart below. 3. Your teacher will assign your group a planet. 4. Get enough clay to form a sphere the size of your planet. 5. On a small strip of paper, write the name of your planet and attach it to your planet to label it. 6. Take your planet where your teacher has set up the sun and the scale for the solar system. 7. One person in your group should stand with the planet where indicated and everyone else should stand back and observe how the planets are arranged. Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto (Dwarf planet) Diameter (km) 4,878 12,104 12,756 6,787 142,800 120,00 51,200 48,600 Scale ratio 5568 5568 5568 5568 5568 5568 5568 5568 2,300 5568 Scale Diameter (mm) Questions: 1. Which planets are close together? _____________________________________ 2. Which planets are far apart? _________________________________________ 3. Which planets are large? ____________________________________________ 4. Which planets are small? _____________________________________________ How Does Gravity on Earth Compare with other Planets? Materials: Chart, calculator What To Do: 1. Use the chart below to determine the weight of a person who weighs 85 pounds on each planet in our solar system. Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto (Dwarf planet) Gravity at Surface .38g .91g 1.0g .38g 2.53g 1.07g .91g 1.16g X X X X X X X X 85 85 85 85 85 85 85 85 0.05g X 85 Weight on Earth Weight on Planet Questions: 1. On which planet would you weigh the most? _______________________ 2. Why do you think this is true? ______________________________________ 3. On which planet(s) would you weigh the least? __________________________ 4. Why do you think this is true? _______________________________________ Conclusion: (largest, Mercury, Jupiter, Earth, Uranus, Sun, gravity, size, Saturn, Mars) The ______ is the largest body in our Solar System. _________ is the largest planet in our Solar System. _________ is the smallest planet in our solar system. Venus is about the same size as _________. Neptune is about the same size as ___________. Earth and __________ are close together while Jupiter and _________ are far apart. The amount of _________ a planet has is determined by its __________. Things will weigh the most on Jupiter because it is the _________ planet.