Lab #1b - Solar System Distance
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Cypress College *
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105
Subject
Geology
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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3
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1-1
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Lab 1: Solar System Distance Lab
Introduction:
Space is so large that it is difficult to understand its size.
To help you grasp interplanetary
distances you will make scale model of our planetary system.
This will help you to understand
some of the problems that astronomers face in exploring our own solar system and beyond.
The
distances in our solar system are so large that astronomers have created a new unit for distance
called an astronomical unit. An astronomical unit is 149,597,870.7 km (93 million miles!) which
is the distance from the earth to the sun.
Directions:
1.
Convert each of the planets distances from the sun shown on the chart below into meters
for our scale model (this should be surprisingly easy). Our scale will be 14,000 km in
real distance equals 1 cm on the model.
2.
Convert each of the planets and the sun’s diameters from the chart below into centimeters
for our scale model using the same scale that you used in the conversion from #2.
Planet
Distance to Sun
(km)
Scale distance in meters
1. Mercury
57,910,000
2. Venus
108,000,000
3. Earth
190,000,000
4. Mars
228,000,000
Asteroid Belt
(This is where the
Dwarf Planet Ceres is
located)
414,000,000
5. Jupiter
778,000,000
6. Saturn
1,427,000,000
7. Uranus
2,869,000,000
8. Neptune
4,497,000,000
Dwarf Planet
Pluto
5,913,000,000
Dwarf Planet
Sedna
13,500,000,000
1-2
Planet
Diameter in
km
Scaled Diameter 14,000km
=
1
cm
Sun
1,400,000
Mercury
4,800
Venus
12,105
Earth
13,000
Mars
6,900
Jupiter
140,000
Saturn
120,000
Neptune
53,000
Uranus
50,000
Pluto
2,274
Sedna
1,800
3.
Using Google Earth and the ruler tool, generate a scale model of the solar system based
on the measurements you calculated above. Take a screen shot of your model and submit
along with this assignment.
Questions:
1.
Looking at your model of the solar system what do you think most of the solar system is
made of?
2.
The speed of light is exactly 299,792,458 meters/second.
The distance between the sun
and Uranus is 2.8 billion kilometers.
How long does it take for sun rays to shine on ur…
uh… Uranus.
(Assume the light is traveling through a vacuum, therefore, there is no
resistance from other matter).
Time = _________________
1-3
3.
Have you ever noticed that the Moon and the Sun appear to be the same size as viewed
from the Earth?
How can this be?
After all, the Moon’s diameter is only about 3,476 km
across !!!
(Hint:
Why is it that the Earth is the only planet in our solar system that can
have a total solar eclipse?)
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