Student Names: ____________________________________________________________________

Scale Model of Solar System:

distances
Today we will be modelling the distances between the planets in our solar system.

You will need to bring outside with you;

- A calculator
- A few pen/s pencils
- Labels of the planets (prepared in the first step)
- A measuring tape

Each group will need nine “planets” and a “sun” .

1. Make labels for each of the planets in our solar system by writing them on
paper. Use sticky tape to attach one label to each “planetary” group member
2. Label the circles Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune.
3. Have one person position themself as the “sun” in an area with plenty of
space available.
4. Have your friends position themselves the following distances from you.
(Note that some of the measurements are in centimeters rather than meters.
A centimeter is 1/100 of a meter, just like a cent is 1/100 of a dollar).

Planet Distance AU Model Distance from “Sun”

Mercury .38 38 centimeters

Venus .72 72 centimeters

Earth 1.0 1.0 meter

Mars 1.5 1.5 meters

Jupiter 5.2 5.2 meters

Saturn 9.5 9.5 meters

Uranus 19.2 19.2 meters

Neptune 30.1 30.1 meters

Pluto 39.5 39.5 meters

A note on scale
Please have one group member read this aloud (though not too loud – there are
other classes around!

The scale we have used here is that one “AU”, or “astronomical unit”, is equivalent
to one metre.
One “AU” is one astronomical unit, which is equivalent to 149.6 million kilometers.
It is set by definition as the distance at which the Earth orbits the sun. The actual
distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits the Sun, as the
orbit is slightly elliptical.

The SI (standard scientific notation) unit for an AU, which is a distance

measurement, is in metres. One AU is 149 597 870 700 m

Recall that when we are presenting a scale, as it is a comparison of values with

the same unit, it has no unit. It is commonly presented in written form either as a
ratio (e.g. 600:1) or as a multiple (600x).
In visual form a reference line of a set length may be drawn, to represent a specific
distance in the diagram, which will be labelled. This can be measured with a ruler
and is usually 1 cm or 10 cm.

For you to do
Please use the information above to answer the question.
1. What is the scale that has been used for this activity?

2. Research the terms “heliocentric” and “geocentric”. Give a definition for each
below.

3. Which model type out of the above do you expect we use in our classroom?
Why?
Scale Model of Solar System:
planetary size
For the second part of this activity, we will be making models of each of the planets
of the appropriate diameter, so that their sizes are equivalent.

First, we need to compare the diameter of the Earth to that of the other planets.
Remember that diameter is the length of a straight line going through the middle of a
circle. The Earth’s diameter is 12,750 km. We can divide the diameter of the Earth
into the diameters of all the planets, to get a relative comparison.

The Sun, with a diameter of 1,393,000 km, is over a million times bigger than Earth
and would be too big to draw on a piece of paper for this activity.

You will need;

- A ruler
- A few pen/s pencils
- Coloured pencils / textas (optional)
- A compass to draw neat circles (if available)
- Some A4 paper (a few sheets)

Diameter in Relative Diameter

Planet Size in cm
kilometers Compared to Earth

Mercury 4800 0.376 0.4 cm

Venus 12100 0.949 0.9 cm

Earth 12750 1.00 1 cm

Mars 6800 0.533 0.5 cm

Jupiter 142800 11.2 11 cm

Saturn 120660 9.46 9 cm

Uranus 51800 4.06 4 cm

Neptune 49500 3.88 3 cm

Pluto 2376 0.186 0.2 cm

Instructions: to make planets
1. Grab a piece of A4 paper
2. Use a ruler to draw a line for the diameter. Start with drawing the relative
diameters of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
3. Draw circles around the diameter to create a to-scale planet. (all 9)
4. Label the planets, so you don’t forget which is which when you are cutting
them out. For tiny planets, you might have to use an abbreviation.
5. Cut your planets out. Lay them out in order (but don’t worry about the
distances between them)

Results
When you build the scale model of solar system distances, you will undoubtedly
notice that some of your friends will be much closer together than others. Some of
your friends will have to stand quite close to each other, while others will be far
enough away to have a hard time hearing you! When you compare the sizes of the
planets, Jupiter and Saturn will seem gigantic compared to the others.

Why?
The inner planets of the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) are
relatively close to the Sun and each other, while the outer planets are relatively
distant from each other and the Sun. The material that makes up the solar system is
not distributed evenly. The Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune make up the
bulk of the material in the solar system. Our own planet is tiny in comparison!

Please use the information above to answer the questions.

1. What is the scale that has been used for this activity?

2. If we DID want to represent the sun on paper, what would be the diameter of
this paper?

3. I have included “Pluto” in this activity. You may have heard that pluto is not
technically a planet, and that’s true – it’s classified as a planetoid. Do some
research about Pluto’s reclassification as a planetoid. (This was debated at
the time, and is still debated now in some circles).
Do you agree with the reclassification of pluto as a planetoid? Discuss briefly.
Going Further
Do you want to make a scale model of the solar system where both the distances
and diameters are proportional to reality? This table expresses the diameters in A.U,
so the size of the planet is proportional to its distance from the Sun. Remember that
we set 1 AU, the distance between the Earth and Sun, as equal to 1 meter.

Diameter in Relative Diameter

Planet
kilometers In AU (meters)

Mercury 4800 3.2 x 10-5

Venus 12100 8.1 x 10-5

Earth 12750 8.5 x 10-5

Mars 6800 4.5 x 10-5

Jupiter 142800 9.5 x 10-4

Saturn 120660 8.0 x 10-4

Uranus 51800 3.5 x 10-4

Neptune 49500 3.3 x 10-4

The column on the right shows how small our planets would need to be if we wanted
to represent them using the same scale as the first activity, 1 AU = 1 m.
(Challenge point: in the space below, draw a diagram of a geocentric model of
the solar system).
Challenge: for you to do
Your challenge is to use the information in this booklet to calculate how far apart we
would have to stand using our paper planets from the second activity, so that if you
held your paper planets this distance apart, you would have a “to scale” model of the
solar system as a whole.

Distance from
Size of paper
Compared to

Distance AU
Diameter in

planet (cm)
kilometers

Diameter
Relative

Sun (m)
Earth

Planet

Mercury 4800 .376 .4 cm .38

Venus 12100 .949 .9 cm .72

Earth 12750 1.00 1 cm 1.0

Mars 6800 .533 .5 cm 1.5

Jupiter 142800 11.2 11 cm 5.2

Saturn 120660 9.46 9 cm 9.5

Uranus 51800 4.06 4 cm 19.2

Neptune 49500 3.88 3 cm 30.1

Pluto 2376 0.186 0.2 cm 39.5

When you have finished this, go on Google Maps to look at Pennant Hills High
school. Find the longest boundary of the school and measure it. If you can,
measure the whole circumference around the school (you may want to use a piece
of string).
How many times would we need to circuit the school in order to show our solar
system to scale?