Solar System to Scale

Which planet in our solar system is closest to the Sun?

• Earth
• Jupiter
• Mercury
• Saturn

Which definition accurately describes the Astronomical Unit (AU)?

• The average distance between the planets. 
• The average distance between Earth and Mars.
• The average distance between the Earth and the Sun. 
• The average size of the Earth compared to the Sun. 

A student made a model of how the Earth, Moon, and Sun orbit. She used ping-pong balls
to represent each one. She painted each one a different color. Then, she placed the Moon
and Earth close together and the Sun much further away.What is one limitation of the student's model?

• She used the same size balls.
• She made earth orbit the sun.
• She moved the Sun away from the Earth and Moon.

How do the sizes of the inner planets compare to the sizes of the outer planets?

• The inner planets are larger.
• The outer planets are smaller.
• There is no size difference between the inner and outer planets.
• The inner planets are smaller.

Describe how the distances between the orbits of the inner planets compare to the distances between the orbits of the outer planets.

• The distances between orbits of the outer planets are much smaller.
• The distances between orbits of the outer planets are much larger.
• The distances between orbits of the inner planets are much larger.
• There is no difference between the distances of the orbits of the inner planets and the outer planets.

How many times larger is the diameter of the planet Jupiter compared to the diameter of the Earth?

• roughly 3x larger
• roughly 7x larger
• roughly 12x larger
• roughly 17x larger

True or False
The planets are all equally distanced from each other.

• True
• False

What planet is eighth in the Solar System?

• Uranus
• Jupiter
• Neptune
• Mars

Earth's nearest neighboring planets are _____.

• Venus and Mars
• Mars and Jupiter
• Mercury and Venus
• Mercury and Jupiter

This shows 

• Size difference between the planets accurately
• Distance between the planets accurately
• All choices