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    Lab 1 - Solar System Scaling

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    Jacob Altmiller
    This document provides instructions for a lab activity to create a scaled model of the solar system. Students are asked to choose an object in their home to represent the sun based on the length of a room. They then use this scale factor to calculate the sizes and distances that various household objects would need to be to model the planets. Students also use maps to show where the planetary orbits would be located if the sun was placed at the center of their community college.

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    Lab 1 - Solar System Scaling

    Uploaded by

    Jacob Altmiller
    150 views6 pages
    This document provides instructions for a lab activity to create a scaled model of the solar system. Students are asked to choose an object in their home to represent the sun based on the length of a room. They then use this scale factor to calculate the sizes and distances that various household objects would need to be to model the planets. Students also use maps to show where the planetary orbits would be located if the sun was placed at the center of their community college.

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    solar scaling lab

    Original Title

    Lab 1 — Solar System Scaling

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    This document provides instructions for a lab activity to create a scaled model of the solar system. Students are asked to choose an object in their home to represent the sun based on the length of a room. They then use this scale factor to calculate the sizes and distances that various household objects would need to be to model the planets. Students also use maps to show where the planetary orbits would be located if the sun was placed at the center of their community college.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    150 views6 pages

    Lab 1 - Solar System Scaling

    Uploaded by

    Jacob Altmiller
    This document provides instructions for a lab activity to create a scaled model of the solar system. Students are asked to choose an object in their home to represent the sun based on the length of a room. They then use this scale factor to calculate the sizes and distances that various household objects would need to be to model the planets. Students also use maps to show where the planetary orbits would be located if the sun was placed at the center of their community college.

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    You are on page 1of 6

    Name: __________________

    Lab 1 - Scaling the Solar System


    Lab Partner: __________________

    Pre-lab Exercises: Scaling and the Solar System


    Show all of your work as well as the answers below. If you need extra
    space, use the reverse side, or add scratch paper and staple it to the pre-lab
    sheets.

    1. Round the following numbers to three significant digits and convert


    them to scientific notation:

    160 =

    1009 =

    1,100,912 =

    1,040,306,000,716,000 =

    0.017309 =

    0.00010145 =

    123,699 =

    0.0000000045682 =

    2. (a) Since one mile is equal to 1.609 kilometers, how far away is the Sun in
    kilometers if the average Earth-Sun distance is 93,000,000 miles? Note that
    this distance (in any units) is defined to be one Astronomical Unit (1 A.U.).

    (b) How many cm are in one A.U.?

    (c) Imagine that you have just discovered Planet X, orbiting the Sun at a
    distance of 500,000,000 kilometers. How many A.U.'s from the Sun is
    Planet X? Round off your answer to two significant digits (i.e., 2.4).

    -9-
    3. One light-year is equal to the distance that light travels in one year.
    Since light travels at a speed of 300,000 km/s, this is no small distance!

    Using this information, and the facts that there are 60 seconds per
    minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and 365 days in a year,
    determine the distance to the nearest star system (Alpha Centauri) in
    kilometers. By the way, Alpha Centauri is 4.3 light-years away.

    4. Using the given distances and diameters of objects in the solar system,
    complete Table 1 of the lab. Each object in the table is listed together with
    its actual diameter and actual distance from the Sun.

    Obtain the Relative Diameter by dividing the diameter, D, of the


    object by the diameter of the Earth. Similarly, calculate the Relative
    Distance in A.U.'s by dividing the Distance from the Sun for the object by
    the Earth's distance from the Sun. Recall that 1 A.U. is the average Earth-
    Sun distance. Also note the following:

    1 km = 1000 m = 100,000 cm
    1 m = 100 cm

    -10-
    Table 1. Planetary Data

    Diameter Distance Relative Relative


    from the Diameter Distance in
    (km) Sun (D/DEarth) A.U.'s
    (106 km)

    Sun 1,392,000 0 0.0

    Mercury 4,878 57.9

    Venus 12,102 108

    Earth 12,756 149 1.0 1.0

    Mars 6,794 228

    Jupiter 142,984 778

    Saturn 120,536 1427

    Uranus 51,118 2870

    Neptune 49,528 4497

    Pluto 2,246 5914

    Show all relative diameters and distances to only two significant digits!

    -11-
    Astronomy 020 —Lab 1
    Scaling of the Solar System
    Purpose
    1. To create a scaled model of the solar system with objects from around your house.
    2. To get some experience with scientific notation and large values common in astronomy.
    3. To get some experience converting between metric unit order-of-magnitude prefixes.
    Equipment
    • Calculator
    • Computer
    • Measuring tape
    Summary of the Lab

    In this lab you will set a scale for the solar system starting with a scaled size of the Sun. This will
    allow you to see first-hand how much smaller the planets are from the sun and how most of the
    mass of the solar system is inside the Sun.

    You then will use Goggle Maps or a similar mapping service and find out how big your scaled
    solar system would be if you set the Sun down in the middle of Solano Community College. This
    size of the solar system represents the orbits of the planets.
    Experimental Procedure (see the accompanying directions video for more
    details and guidance)

    1. Before you proceed, complete the Pre-Lab on the previous pages.


    2. Chose a room in your home and measure the diagonal length of the room and set that
    length as the diameter of scale model of the Sun — imagine that a large spherical model
    of the Sun is occupying the entire room that you have chosen.
    3. Answer the questions and complete the tasks below, many of which require calculations
    similar to those in the Pre-Lab.
    What to Turn In

    Please type or carefully handwrite your answers to the following questions or directions on a
    separate sheet(s) of paper. Include diagrams and pictures where instructed.

    1. Based on the diagonal room length that your measured, what is the Scale Factor (SF) of
    !"#$% '()$
    your model solar system. !" =
    *+,-*% '()$
    2. Complete the table on the last page of this lab. You should be able to find objects in your
    home that are the right lengths for your models. The objects need not be spheres and just
    need to be as long on one side as the diameter of the planet that you are modeling.
    3. Using the orbital distance of planets as listed in the table on the last page of this lab,
    show how large each planet’s orbit would be on an overlay to a satellite image centered
    on Solano Community College.
    4. Based on the scale of your model, calculate how fast you would need to walk in order to
    be walking at the scaled speed of light. Show your work for this calculation.
    5. Based on the scale of your model, calculate how far the nearest star (Alpha Centauri)
    would be. If your model was to represent our solar system and this nearest star, would
    your model fit on Earth?
    6. Based on the scale of your model, calculate how large you would be? Would your scled
    size be larger or smaller than an atom?

    Las Positas College Page 2 Physics


    Table 2. Scale Model "Solar System"

    Actual Actual Scaled Scaled Measured Comments


    Diameter Distance Diameter Distance to Diameter (What objects did
    from of Planet Planet of Selected you use and how
    the Sun Object well did they match
    (km) (106 km) (cm) (m) (cm) the required scaled
    size?)

    Sun 1,392,000 0 0.00

    Mercury 4,878 57.9

    Venus 12,102 108

    Earth 12,756 149

    Mars 6,794 228

    Jupiter 142,984 778

    Saturn 120,536 1427

    Uranus 51,118 2870

    Neptune 49,528 4497

    Pluto 2,246 5914

    Show all scaled diameters and distances to only three significant digits!

    -8-

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