THE UNIVERSE IS A REALLY BIG PLACE.
Learning Objectives
Gain an intuitive feel for different measures of distance
Convert between various units of balance
Understand scientific notation
Create scale models of solar system and galaxy using a familiar reference scale
As we begin our study of the natural sciences, you’ll find that our universe is indeed a really big place. The distances between planets are unimaginably large, and the distance to the nearest star system is even larger. The activities that follow ask you to carefully create several scale models and use them to reason about the size and scale of the universe.
PART A. CONVERTING BETWEEN UNITS
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THE UNIVERSE IS A REALLY BIG PLACE.
Instead of miles, astronomers use a standard of measure that is used internationally, the kilometer (km). Therefore, it will be useful for you to begin to think of distances in these terms.
Using your calculator, you can convert between miles and kilometers using the relationship that 1.609 kilometers = 1 mile. For example:
15.0 miles x (1.609 km / 1 mile) = 24.1 km or about 24 km
Note that we keep only three “significant” figures in the final answer. This is because there were only three figures in the initial value 15.0 miles.
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When dealing with very large numbers, you can easily enter them into your calculator using scientific notation. Scientific notation is a kind of shorthand used by scientists. There is a special button on most scientific calculators that does this for you. For example, 93,000,000 is typically written in scientific notation as 93×106 and can easily be entered into your calculator as 93 EXP 6 or possibly as 93 EE 6 or 93 EE X 6. In other words, the EXP or similar calculator key does the X10 operation for you.
If you need a review of scientific notation Khan Academy (khanacademy.org) has some excellent free lessons on the subject.
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PART B: SCALE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
To better appreciate the unimaginable distances between objects in our solar system, it is useful to construct a scale model that depicts these distances in a more familiar context. We will use a scale factors to convert distances between objects within the solar system to a distance that appropriately fits our scale model. A scale factor is simply “the desired size you would like for your model” divided by the “actual size” of the thing being modeled.
scale factor = desired size / actual size
In this activity, we will construct a scale model of our solar system to fit on a 100-yard football field. The size of our solar system is roughly equivalent to the average distance between the Sun and Pluto, about 40 AU. The scale factor for our football field-sized scale model will be:
scale factor = (desired size of the scale model)/(actual distance between Sun & Plato) = 100yards/40 AU
scale factor = 100 yards/50 AU
scale factor = 2.0 yards per AU or 2.0 yards/AU
Then you will calculate the distance between the Sun and each of the planets using your scale factor. For example, Mercury is 0.4 AU from the Sun. Therefore, the distance between the Sun and Mercury on the football field would be:
Distance between Sun and Mercury = 0.4 AU x 2.0 yards / AU = 0.8 yards
PLANET | Approximate Distance from Sun (in AU) | Distance from Sun (Located on the Goal Line) in yards unit |
Mercury | 0.4 | 0.4 AU x 2.0 yards/AU = 0.8 yards |
Venus | 0.7 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Earth | 1.0 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Mars | 1.5 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Jupiter | 5.2 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Saturn | 9.5 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Uranus | 19.2 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Neptune | 30.1 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
Pluto* | 39.5 | Click or tap here to enter text. |
THE UNIVERSE IS A REALLY BIG PLACE.
* Pluto has been classified as a planetoid / dwarf planet.
OR INSERT IMAGE OF YOUR SCALE MODEL BELOW
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TOTAL POINTS = 44
THE UNIVERSE IS A REALLY BIG PLACE.