|
The nine planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. How does our Earth compare in size to the other eight planets?
What To Do
Use the Internet to learn the radii or diameters of the planets. The NASA website—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration—is a good place to begin your search. Record the data you collect.
Search Engine Keywords
diameters of planets
NASA
Materials
Use drawing software, or a compass and a sheet of grid paper, to draw the planets to scale. |
|
Complete the Activity
Draw 9 concentric circles—one to represent each planet. (Recall that concentric circles have the same center point.) Start with the largest planet, Jupiter.
To determine what length to use for each planet’s diameter, you will need to choose a scale. For example, you may use a scale such as 1 mm = 1000 km. Consider the diameter of Jupiter using this scale. Since the actual diameter of Jupiter is approximately 143,000 km, its diameter in your drawing would be 143,000 ÷ 1000 =
143 mm.
When you are ready to add the smaller planets—Pluto, Mercury, and Mars—you may find that you cannot use your compass easily. In this case, mark their diameter and draw the best circle you can.
Devise a way to label each planet with its name and diameter.
Now redraw your circles separately on other sheets of paper. Label them and cut them out. Arrange the cutout planets in order of their distance from the Sun. Note that the distance between the planets will not be to scale.
Share Your Work
With the permission of your teacher, display your work in your classroom. Ask your classmates which display best helps them compare the size of Earth to the size of the other planets.
|