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The distances between Solar System bodies are great and planets are really tiny if compared to the Sun. In this hands-on activity students build a scale model of the Solar System on their city-map learning how a scale model is built. They will also be guided to reflect on how the model changes if only a single characteristic of the celestial body is taken into account in the calculations.
There are 2 attachments for this activity: Worksheet editable version (teacher version with all distances and sizes to scale) and Worksheet pdf version (with dimensions and sizes to scale to be calculated).
Students will understand the scale of Solar System in terms of relatively well-known sizes and distances on Earth.
The Solar System is home to a star located at its center and to eight planets including Earth. These planets orbit around the Sun and present variations in size and composition. The Solar System is located in the Milky Way galaxy along with a vast number of stars. The great distances between the stars are almost unimaginable along with the location of the Solar System in the Universe. Compared to these distances, the planets of the Solar System are close, but compared to distances on Earth, it becomes difficult to visualize them. The distance between Pluto and the Sun is about 5.9 billion kilometers!
Sun and planets in the solar system: (teachers are encouraged to share these information while conducting the activity)
Astronomical unit (au): Is a unit of length, approximately the distance between the Earth and the Sun, astronomers use to describe the great distances in the Solar System.
In a scale model, all linear distances and sizes are enlarged or reduced by a scaling factor. The scale factor is given by; scale factor = true value/reference value
For example, when scaling the Solar System, the diameter of Earth and the reference size (in this case is a peppercorn of 2 mm) could be used as the true and reference values, respectively. In order to scale the rest of the planets, their true sizes and the scale factor calculated above are used:
scale model = true value/scale factor
Example of a scaled model of the Solar System on the city map of Munich showing the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune around the Sun (located at the city center in Marienplatz, Munich, Germany).
The activity consists of engaging students to build a reduced-scale model of the Solar System. It is very difficult to visualize the great empty space that exists between the planets and the Sun and to realize how big or small these are relative to each other. The following steps may help in the realization of the scale model:
Involve students in an introductory discussion about the Solar System:
Engage students in predicting the model:
By the end of this step, students should be able to understand that both distance and size are required to build a scale model.
Have students build a scale model based on calculations
Let students build a scale model on a city map and extend to other scenarios
Organize a walk with students to the different locations of the Solar System bodies on a city map.
Questions for the instructor to ask themselves to evaluate the student learning:
UK KS3 Maths - Ratio, proportion and rates of change: scale factorsUK GCSE Maths AQA 3.3 Ratio, proportion and rates of change: R2, R12 scale factorsUK GCSE Maths Edexcel 3.3 Ratio, proportion and rates of change: R2 scale factorsUK GCSE Maths OCR 10. Mensuration .01c) Maps and scale drawingsUK GCSE Maths and Numeracy WJEC All tiers: Geometry and Measure: scale drawingsUK GCSE Physics Edexcel 3. Waves and the Universe .4 Sizes and DistancesUK GCSE Physics OCR A P1 The Earth in the Universe P1.1.6.UK GCSE Physics OCR B P2f) Exploring our solar systemUK GCSE Physics WJEC Physics 1.7 The Solar System and its Place in an Evolving Universe a)UK GCSE Astroenomy Edexcel 2.1 Our Solar System c