EMS EARTH SCIENCE



Planetary Measures

How big are the planets compared to the planet you live on?

Background

If you look at the sky at night, you might be able to spot some of the other planets in our solar system. Scientists distinguish between the inner planets, which are planets that are relatively close to the sun, and the outer planets, which are relatively far away. The planets you can see at night appear to be tiny, but that is only because they are so far away from Earth. How big are the other planets compared to Earth? In this activity, you will make a model to see how the other planets in our solar system compare in size to Earth.

Materials (per student)

|• |quarter |• |compass |

|• |metric ruler |• |pushpin |

|• |butcher paper or poster board |• |string |

|• |pencil | | |

Safety

| |Be sure to follow all safety procedures provided by your teacher. Find more information about the safety icon in the Safety Section. |

Procedure

|( |1. |Use a quarter to represent Earth. Trace the quarter at the center of the poster board. Label it Earth. Measure the diameter of |

| | |the circle in millimeters and record the measurement in the data table below. |

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|( |2. |The tables list the diameters of the other planets relative to the diameter of Earth. If Earth were the size of a quarter, |

| | |calculate how large Mercury would be. Record the size in the data table. |

| | |Inner Planets |

| | |Mercury |

| | |Venus |

| | |Earth |

| | |Mars |

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| | |Diameter |

| | |(Earth = 1) |

| | |0.4 |

| | |1.0 |

| | |1.0 |

| | |0.5 |

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| | |Diameter in mm |

| | |(Earth = size of quarter) |

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| | |Outer Planets |

| | |Jupiter |

| | |Saturn |

| | |Uranus |

| | |Neptune |

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| | |Diameter |

| | |(Earth = 1) |

| | |11.2 |

| | |9.4 |

| | |4.0 |

| | |3.9 |

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| | |Diameter in mm |

| | |(Earth = size of quarter) |

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|( |3. |Use a Model Use the compass to draw a circle to represent Mercury. To draw your circle, follow these instructions: Place the |

| | |point of the compass or pushpin at the center of the circle representing Earth. Then draw a circle that has the diameter you |

| | |calculated for Mercury in Step 2. CAUTION: To avoid a puncture wound, use sharp objects only as intended. |

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|( |4. |Label the new circle Mercury. |

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|( |5. |Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for each of the other planets in the tables. Note: You will have to use a pushpin, string, and pencil |

| | |to make your circles for some of the planets. Follow your teacher’s instructions. |

Analyze and Interpret Data

|1. |Analyze Data List the planets in order from largest to smallest. |

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|2. |Compare Data Consider the data you used to answer Question 1. What difference in the data do you see between the size of the inner |

| |planets relative to the size of the outer planets? |

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|3. |Use Models Why can a visual model be more useful than a table containing numbers to compare sizes of the planets? |

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|4. |Evaluate Scale Other than size, what other properties of the planets could you investigate with a model? Explain the relationship |

| |between your model and scale. |

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Name | | |Class | | |Date | | |

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