Solar System Scale: Difference between revisions

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== Age ==
{| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; margin-left: auto; float:right"
 
| [[Astronomy]]:
Elementary School, Middle School, High School
| Planet Scale, Solar System Scale
 
|-
== Format ==
| Grade Range:
 
| [[Elementary School]], [[Middle School]], [[High School]]
Stage Show,Hands-on
|-
| Format:
| [[Hands-on]], [[Stage]]
|}


== Materials ==
== Materials ==


    Mini solar system
* Solar System Box
    Million Dot Book
* Two Sun Boards
    Marble planet-composition models
* Cord with Paper Clip Markers


== Safety Precautions ==
== Safety Precautions ==


Science Theatre demonstrators must keep the safety of themselves and their audience in mind at all times. All Science Theatre demonstrators must have read through the Safety Training page. The ST Safety Box with first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. should always be available to demonstrators. Always wear safety gloves, glasses, and a labcoat if handling chemicals; always perform potentially dangerous demonstrations at a safe distance from the audience; and always keep a very close eye on any volunteers you call from the audience. Make sure the sun doesn't fall over!
Please read the General Safety section of the [[Demonstration Safety]] page before performing this demonstration.
 
== Preparation ==
 
Be sure the sun is secure and will not fall over. Do not let kids play with sun or it could fall!


== Demonstration ==
== Demonstration ==


The purpose of this demonstration is to give a very visual representation of the relative sizes and distances to the different planets and to the closest star Proxima Centauri.
;Presentation (Stage):
 
# Set up one half of the sun and connect the string to it. Explain to the audience that they are about to see a scaled-down version of our solar system.
Start by showing the earth and simply asking what it is. Explain that it represents the scale of the earth and using that scale the kids will discover the sizes of the other planets as well as the composition and general information about the planets. Explain that the scale of the earth is so that the radius of the earth is one centimeter (meaning that the actual earth prop is two centimeters in diameter).
# Ask the audience to name the planets in order as you hang them. Be sure to give some quick facts on each planet (listed in Why This Works) Pause when you get to Mars, and explain that these four planets are the rocky planets. Have your co-presenter pull out the other half of the sun and set it up about six feet away from the first half, and emphasize the size difference.
 
# Continue to have the audience name the planets as you hang them until you have all the planets on the string. Have your co-presenter hold the sun in place, or it might fall over!
It would then follow to ask how large the sun might be if that were the size of the earth. After taking some guesses, set up the sun to show how large it truly is (over 218 cm or 7’ in diameter). Follow this by working outward away from the sun with each planet (Mercury, then Venus, etc). Be sure to ask the kids if they know which planet comes next (if they don’t know try to hint at what it might be) and explain the marble planet-composition models for each planet.
# Once you have all the planets on the string, Ask the audience if they can guess how far away the nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, would be on this scale. Allow a few guesses until you reveal that it would be about 50 miles away!
 
;Presentation (Hands-on):
Once the planets have been distributed to the kids ask if any of them know the distance to the sun. If no one knows, tell them that the earth is 93 million miles from the sun (it would be useful to write this on a board if available or to have a poster with the number written on it) use the Million Dot Book to give a more visual representation of a million. Show the rope and explain that the distance between the earth and sun is going to be represented by one foot and ask the volunteer with earth to stand at the appropriate location. Continue in the same fashion as with the planets, working outwards from Mercury to Neptune. After all the planets have been placed at their appropriate locations, have the group come back together and ask if anyone can guess how far away the closest star is at this scale. The effect may be greater if they’re simply told to go higher and higher in number before revealing it’s distance. Be sure to reiterate that the scales are NOT the same. This is easily accomplished by saying that if the scale of the planets and distances were the same, the earth would be around 770’ away from the sun, Neptune would be more than 4 miles away and Proxima Centauri would be 39,000 miles away, more than half way around the real earth! Bear in mind the age group of the kids; younger kids will get more confused if you throw too many numbers and conversions at them and won’t be as able to grasp the large numbers used in this final comparison as well.
# Set up the string of planets, and connect the string to the sun. Set the sun and the string along a wall, and have the end of the string suspended on a hook or pole.
# Allow students to come up to the string, and walk them down the length of the string so to see how big and small the planets are compared to each other. Provide some fun facts on the planets as you do so.


== What to Say ==
==Why This Works==


See 'Demonstration'
The purpose of this demonstration is to give a very visual representation of the relative sizes and distances to the different planets. Almost all of the students you present this to will have heard of the planets, but it might be hard for them to visualize the size of the other planets in our solar system, and the size of the earth in comparison. The table below lists the information you will need when naming the planets, as well as some interesting trivia on them.


{| class="wikitable" style="color:black; background-color:#ddd; text-align: left; margin-right: auto"
|'''Planet'''
|
*'''Length of Day'''
*'''Length of Year'''
*'''Size'''
|
*'''Scaled Size (Diameter)'''
*'''Scaled Distance (from the Sun)'''
|'''Fun Facts'''
|-
|Mercury
|
* 1 day = 172 Earth Days
* 1 Year = 88 Earth Days
* Size = ~0.4 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 0.3 in
*Scale Distance = 4.6 in
|
* Mercury spins so slowly that it only has one full day every two years.
* Temperatures on Mercury's surface have the widest temperature range, and can vary from as low as -260 F to as high as 800 F!
* Mercury has frozen water at its north and south poles!
|-
|Venus
|
*1 day = 243 Earth Days
*1 Year = 224 Earth Days
*Size = 0.95 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 3/4 in
*Scale Distance = 8.6 in
|
* Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, averaging 863 F each day!
* Venus has a toxic atmosphere made mostly of CO<sub>2</sub>, with clouds of sulfuric acid.
* The atmosphere is so dense on Venus that trying to stand on the surface would be like trying to stand while 1 k deep in an ocean!
|-
|Earth
|
*1 Day = 23 h 56 min
*1 Year = 365.25 days
*Size = 1.08 x 10<sup>12</sup> km<sup>3</sup>
|
*Scale Size = 3/4 in
*Scale Distance = 11.9 in
|
* Earth is the only inhabited planet in our solar system, and our home planet.
* Earth currently supports approximately 7.4 billion people, as well as over 1 million other kinds of animals!
* Earth also supports approximately 3 trillion trees, as well as over 500,000 other kinds of plants!
|-
|Mars
|
*1 Day = 1.02 Earth Days
*1 Year = 1.9 Earth Years
*Size = 0.53 Earths
|
*Scale Size = .42 in
*Scale Distance = 1.5 ft
|
* There are seven active spacecraft visiting Mars, with five in orbit and two on the surface.
* Mars has frozen water, and some of the spacecrafts are searching for evidence of previous life on Mars.
* Mars has seasons, but they are about twice as long as the ones we have on Earth.
|-
|Jupiter
|
*1 Day = 9 Hours 55 min
*1 Year = 11.8 Earth Years
*Size = 1,321 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 8.8 in
*Scale Distance = 5.1 ft
|
* Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system, having 2.5 times more mass than all the other planets combined!
* Jupiter has 67 known satellites, the largest being comparable in size to Mercury.
* Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has been happening for over 350 years!
|-
|Saturn
|
*1 Day = 10 h 33 min
*1 Year = 29.45 Earth Years
*Size = 763 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 7.4 in
*Scale Distance = 9.5 ft
|
* Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is bigger than Mercury and has an atmosphere. It is the biggest moon in the solar system.
* Saturn has a hexagonal cloud pattern on it's north pole, which is thought to be a standing wave pattern on the planet.
* The rings of Saturn are twice as wide as the planet, and Saturn's 62 moons help to keep the rings in place!
|-
|Uranus
|
*1 Day = 17 h 14 min
*1 Year = 84 Earth Years
*Size = 63 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 3.15 in
*Scale Distance = 19 ft
|
* Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system, with recorded temperatures as low as -371 F!
* Uranus spins sideways like a tire, unlike all the other planets in the solar system.
* Unlike the other gas giants, there is little cloud activity on Uranus, so it almost always looks the same.
|-
|Neptune
|
*1 Day = 16 h 6 min
*1 Year = 164 Earth Years
*Size = 58 Earths
|
*Scale Size = 2.88 in
*Scale Distance = 29.8 ft
|
* Neptune is 17 times more massive than Earth, but 19 times less massive than Jupiter.
* There are three large storms on Neptune: The ''Great Dark Spot'', The ''Small Dark Spot'', and ''Scooter'', a band of fast moving white clouds!
* Neptune is so far from the sun, it takes over four hours for light from the sun to reach it!
|}


== Why It Is ==
This demonstration uses two separate size scales, simply because a single size scale would either make the orbits too big or the planets too small.
* For the distances of the planets from the sun, we are using a scale where the earth is around one foot from the sun. This scale helps students to see not only how close we really are to our sun in an astronomical sense, but also shows how far away some of the other planets are. If we were to use the correct size scale with this distance scale, the earth with be about the size of a speck of dust, and the sun around the size of a basketball!
* For the size of planets, we have a scale which puts the earth at three quarters of an inch in diameter. This is pretty small, and for one main reason: the sun. Our sun isn't a big star, but stars are extremely large astronomical bodies in the universe. With an earth this small, our sun is about ''seven feet'' in diameter! If we used the correct distance scale with this size scale, then our earth would be about 770 feet away from the sun, and Proxima Centauri would be 39,000 miles away!


== Life Examples ==
==Additional Information==
* This demonstration pairs well with the [[Planetary Compositions]] demonstration.
* This demonstration is a part of the [[Astronomy Show]].

Latest revision as of 14:15, 9 June 2016

Astronomy: Planet Scale, Solar System Scale
Grade Range: Elementary School, Middle School, High School
Format: Hands-on, Stage

Materials

  • Solar System Box
  • Two Sun Boards
  • Cord with Paper Clip Markers

Safety Precautions

Please read the General Safety section of the Demonstration Safety page before performing this demonstration.

Demonstration

Presentation (Stage)
  1. Set up one half of the sun and connect the string to it. Explain to the audience that they are about to see a scaled-down version of our solar system.
  2. Ask the audience to name the planets in order as you hang them. Be sure to give some quick facts on each planet (listed in Why This Works) Pause when you get to Mars, and explain that these four planets are the rocky planets. Have your co-presenter pull out the other half of the sun and set it up about six feet away from the first half, and emphasize the size difference.
  3. Continue to have the audience name the planets as you hang them until you have all the planets on the string. Have your co-presenter hold the sun in place, or it might fall over!
  4. Once you have all the planets on the string, Ask the audience if they can guess how far away the nearest neighboring star, Proxima Centauri, would be on this scale. Allow a few guesses until you reveal that it would be about 50 miles away!
Presentation (Hands-on)
  1. Set up the string of planets, and connect the string to the sun. Set the sun and the string along a wall, and have the end of the string suspended on a hook or pole.
  2. Allow students to come up to the string, and walk them down the length of the string so to see how big and small the planets are compared to each other. Provide some fun facts on the planets as you do so.

Why This Works

The purpose of this demonstration is to give a very visual representation of the relative sizes and distances to the different planets. Almost all of the students you present this to will have heard of the planets, but it might be hard for them to visualize the size of the other planets in our solar system, and the size of the earth in comparison. The table below lists the information you will need when naming the planets, as well as some interesting trivia on them.

Planet
  • Length of Day
  • Length of Year
  • Size
  • Scaled Size (Diameter)
  • Scaled Distance (from the Sun)
 Fun Facts
Mercury
  • 1 day = 172 Earth Days
  • 1 Year = 88 Earth Days
  • Size = ~0.4 Earths
  • Scale Size = 0.3 in
  • Scale Distance = 4.6 in
  • Mercury spins so slowly that it only has one full day every two years.
  • Temperatures on Mercury's surface have the widest temperature range, and can vary from as low as -260 F to as high as 800 F!
  • Mercury has frozen water at its north and south poles!
Venus
  • 1 day = 243 Earth Days
  • 1 Year = 224 Earth Days
  • Size = 0.95 Earths
  • Scale Size = 3/4 in
  • Scale Distance = 8.6 in
  • Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, averaging 863 F each day!
  • Venus has a toxic atmosphere made mostly of CO2, with clouds of sulfuric acid.
  • The atmosphere is so dense on Venus that trying to stand on the surface would be like trying to stand while 1 k deep in an ocean!
Earth
  • 1 Day = 23 h 56 min
  • 1 Year = 365.25 days
  • Size = 1.08 x 1012 km3
  • Scale Size = 3/4 in
  • Scale Distance = 11.9 in
  • Earth is the only inhabited planet in our solar system, and our home planet.
  • Earth currently supports approximately 7.4 billion people, as well as over 1 million other kinds of animals!
  • Earth also supports approximately 3 trillion trees, as well as over 500,000 other kinds of plants!
Mars
  • 1 Day = 1.02 Earth Days
  • 1 Year = 1.9 Earth Years
  • Size = 0.53 Earths
  • Scale Size = .42 in
  • Scale Distance = 1.5 ft
  • There are seven active spacecraft visiting Mars, with five in orbit and two on the surface.
  • Mars has frozen water, and some of the spacecrafts are searching for evidence of previous life on Mars.
  • Mars has seasons, but they are about twice as long as the ones we have on Earth.
Jupiter
  • 1 Day = 9 Hours 55 min
  • 1 Year = 11.8 Earth Years
  • Size = 1,321 Earths
  • Scale Size = 8.8 in
  • Scale Distance = 5.1 ft
  • Jupiter is the most massive planet in our solar system, having 2.5 times more mass than all the other planets combined!
  • Jupiter has 67 known satellites, the largest being comparable in size to Mercury.
  • Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm that has been happening for over 350 years!
Saturn
  • 1 Day = 10 h 33 min
  • 1 Year = 29.45 Earth Years
  • Size = 763 Earths
  • Scale Size = 7.4 in
  • Scale Distance = 9.5 ft
  • Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is bigger than Mercury and has an atmosphere. It is the biggest moon in the solar system.
  • Saturn has a hexagonal cloud pattern on it's north pole, which is thought to be a standing wave pattern on the planet.
  • The rings of Saturn are twice as wide as the planet, and Saturn's 62 moons help to keep the rings in place!
Uranus
  • 1 Day = 17 h 14 min
  • 1 Year = 84 Earth Years
  • Size = 63 Earths
  • Scale Size = 3.15 in
  • Scale Distance = 19 ft
  • Uranus is the coldest planet in the solar system, with recorded temperatures as low as -371 F!
  • Uranus spins sideways like a tire, unlike all the other planets in the solar system.
  • Unlike the other gas giants, there is little cloud activity on Uranus, so it almost always looks the same.
Neptune
  • 1 Day = 16 h 6 min
  • 1 Year = 164 Earth Years
  • Size = 58 Earths
  • Scale Size = 2.88 in
  • Scale Distance = 29.8 ft
  • Neptune is 17 times more massive than Earth, but 19 times less massive than Jupiter.
  • There are three large storms on Neptune: The Great Dark Spot, The Small Dark Spot, and Scooter, a band of fast moving white clouds!
  • Neptune is so far from the sun, it takes over four hours for light from the sun to reach it!

This demonstration uses two separate size scales, simply because a single size scale would either make the orbits too big or the planets too small.

  • For the distances of the planets from the sun, we are using a scale where the earth is around one foot from the sun. This scale helps students to see not only how close we really are to our sun in an astronomical sense, but also shows how far away some of the other planets are. If we were to use the correct size scale with this distance scale, the earth with be about the size of a speck of dust, and the sun around the size of a basketball!
  • For the size of planets, we have a scale which puts the earth at three quarters of an inch in diameter. This is pretty small, and for one main reason: the sun. Our sun isn't a big star, but stars are extremely large astronomical bodies in the universe. With an earth this small, our sun is about seven feet in diameter! If we used the correct distance scale with this size scale, then our earth would be about 770 feet away from the sun, and Proxima Centauri would be 39,000 miles away!

Additional Information

Retrieved from "https://sciencetheatre.kaedon.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Solar_System_Scale&oldid=292"