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Solar System Scaled Down:
Lesson on Proportions
by
Marie Caldwell and Karyn Carson
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Materials
- 10 pr. scissors
- several rolls of masking
tape
- measuring tapes or meter
sticks
- magic markers
- scale model of Earth, moon
and Sun where 400,000km = 1 meter
- table of distances and diameters
of planets and Sun (enough copies for all students)
- scale model of solar system
where 400,000km = 1 mm
- calculator
Objectives
- To construct a scale model
of the solar system using one scale for diameters of the planets and
distances from those planets to the sun.
Procedure
- To construct a scale model
of the solar system using one scale for diameters of the planets and
distances from those planets to the Sun.
- Let students know that the
objective is for them to make a scale model of the solar system using
one scale.
- Introduce scale of Earth
and moon, (write this information on the board) where:
400,000km =
1 m
Diameter of Earth = 12,760 km
Diameter of Moon = 2,127 km
Ask the students to figure out how big the Earth and the moon would
be using the scale.
- Now ask students to guess
how big and how far away the sun would be using this scale. Where would
it be in the room? Use follow up questions to find where they think
it would be.
- Write the diameter of the
Sun and the distance from the Earth to the Sun on the board:
Diameter of
Sun = 1,399, 858 km
Distance from Earth to Sun = 150,000,000 km
Tell the students to figure out, using the scale, how big and how far
away the sun would be.
- Ask students to make educated
guesses about how far away 375 meters is. "Is it in this room?", "Could
it fit in this building?", etc.
- Go outside to show 375 meters
and sun. (already set up at end of block.)
- Go inside and pass out table
of measurements. Split class in half (or into groups of 10, depending
on number of students), Ask students to come up with their own scale
models of the solar system. Emphasize the fact that their planets must
be visible and also made to scale. Let students know that they are free
to go outside, in the hall (be quiet), or where ever they need to.
- Be there to answer questions
or help.
- Have students demonstrate
models.
Wrap Up
- Show model of solar system
(400,000 km = 1 mm). Point out that this model would not have satisfied
our requirements because the planets are too small to draw.
- Ask students to think about
and verbalize the point of the lesson. What did they get from it? (Ratio
and proportion, get a more true sense of the solar system and where
me are in it.) Did they think it was fun? Do they think middle school
kids would like it?
| Planets |
Distance from Sun (km) |
Distance from Sun (AU*) |
Diameter (km) |
Scale distance from Sun |
Scale diameter |
| Mercury |
58,000,000 |
0.39 |
4900 |
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| Venus |
108,000,000 |
0.72 |
12,000 |
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| Earth |
150,000,000 |
1.00 |
12,760 |
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| Mars |
228,000,000 |
1.52 |
6,800 |
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| Jupiter |
778,000,000 |
5.20 |
143,000 |
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| Saturn |
1,427,000,000 |
9.54 |
120,000 |
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| Uranus |
2,871,000,000 |
19.00 |
52,000 |
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| Neptune |
4,497,000,000 |
30.30 |
50,000 |
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| Pluto |
5,913,000,000 |
39.50 |
2,300 |
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| SUN |
-- |
-- |
1,399,830 |
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