Solar System on a Map - Part 3
Overview
This activity has three parts that can be used separately or in combination.
What's the Point?
To model the relative scale of the planets and their orbits.
Materials
- Paper planet circles from Part 1
- Local maps (or copies of maps) with a scale, extending to 40 miles from your geographic location
- Distances from Table 3 – Mapping Distances from Our Sun
- Colored pencils
- Protractor, ruler, or string
Activity
12. Acquire or photocopy maps (with scales) showing your geographic location and up to 40 miles away.
13. Ask the children to estimate how much space would be needed to position the planets properly at the scale used in Part 1. How far would Earth be from our Sun? Pluto?
Estimating is a way to engage the children. Reassure them that this estimate is just guessing and that you are not expecting anyone to know the answer. You may need to remind the children that scale involves showing size and distance relationships accurately. In this activity, they will map the distances of the planets from the Sun if they were the size of the paper cutouts in Part 1.
14. Explain that the planets in Part 1 are 100 million times smaller than the actual planets — it would take 100 million of the Part 1 "Earths" placed side-by-side, for example, to equal the actual diameter of Earth.
15. Provide children with distances listed in the Distances From Our Sun chart.
16. Have children locate themselves on the map and place a yellow dot at that location — this is our Sun.
17. Invite them to use the map scale to mark how far away each planet needs to be placed to represent its correct orbit. Use a protractor (or string) to draw circular paths for each planet, using your location as the center (i.e., the Sun).
Table 3. Mapping Distances from Our Sun
Planet |
Planet Diameters (reduced by a factor of 100 million) |
Average Distance from the Sun (kilometers) |
Scaled Distance from Sun (reduced by a factor of 100 million) |
Mercury |
5 cm |
57,909,000 |
580 m (0.4 miles) |
Venus |
12 cm |
108,200,000 |
1,080 m (0.7 miles) |
Earth |
13 cm |
149,600,000 |
1,500 m (0.9 miles) |
Mars |
7 cm |
227,940,000 |
2,280 m (1.4 miles) |
Jupiter |
143 cm |
778,400,000 |
7,780 m (4.8 miles) |
Saturn |
120 cm |
1,423,600,000 |
14,240 m (8.8 miles) |
Uranus |
51 cm |
2,867,000,000 |
28,670 m (17.6 miles) |
Neptune |
49 cm |
4,488,400,000 |
44,880 m (27.6 miles) |
Pluto |
2 cm |
5,909,600,000 |
59,100 m (36.4 miles) |
October 5, 2009
