Pre Lab 1 – 2024 – Solar System Scaling (1)
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Solano Community College *
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010
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by DeanDanger13814
Astronomy 020 —Pre Lab 1
Scaling of the Solar System
Pre–lab Questions
1.
Round the following numbers to three significant digits and convert them to scientific notation:
a.
160 =
b.
1009 =
c.
1,100,912 =
d.
1,040,306,000,716,000 =
e.
0.017309 =
f.
0.00010145 =
g.
123,699 =
h.
0.0000000045682 =
2.
One mile is equal to 1.609 kilometers (
km
) and the average Earth-Sun distance is 93,000,000 miles Note that this distance (in any units) is defined to be one Astronomical Unit (1 A.U.). Note that 1
km
=
1000
m
and 1
m
=
100
cm
.
a.
What is the distance to the Sun in km
? Round off your answer to two significant digits. Show your work.
b.
How many centimeters (
cm)
are in one A.U.? Round off your answer to two significant digits. Show your
work.
c.
Imagine that you have just discovered Planet X, orbiting the Sun at a distance of 8,500,000,000 kilometers — eight and a half billion kilometers
. How many A.U.'s from the Sun is Planet X? Round off your answer to two significant digits. Show your work.
3.
One light-year is equal to the distance that light travels in one year. Since light travels at a speed of 300,000 km/s, this is no small distance! Considering that there are 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour, 24 hours in a day, and 365.25 days in a year, what is the distance to the star known as Barnard’s Star, located 5.96 light-years distant? Round off your answer to three significant digits. Show your work
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Astronomy
4.
Complete Table 1 below. Each object in the table is listed together with its actual diameter and actual distance from the Sun. Obtain the Relative Diameter by dividing the diameter, D
, of the object by the diameter of the Earth. Similarly, calculate the Relative Distance in A.U.'s by dividing the Distance from the Sun for the object by the Earth's distance from the Sun. Note that 1 A.U. is the average Earth-Sun distance. Table 1: Scale Model of Solar System
Actual Diameter of Sun, Planet or Dwarf Planet (km)
Actual Distance from the Sun (
10
6
km
)
Relative Diameter (
D
D
Earth
)
Relative Distance in A.U.
Sun
1392000
0
Mercur
y
4 878
57.9
Venus
12102
108
Earth
12756
149
Mars
6794
228
Jupiter
142984
778
Saturn
120536
1427
Uranus
51118
2870
Neptune
49528
4 497
Pluto
2246
5914
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Astronomy
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