To Scale: THE SOLAR SYSTEM

If Earth were represented by a marble, what would best represent the Moon and its distance from Earth?

• A pinhead, placed a few inches away

• A pea, placed right next to it

• A grain of sand, placed a few feet away

• Another marble, placed a few yards away

What is a common distortion in most visual representations of the solar system?

• The planets are shown too large relative to the distances between them

• The Sun is depicted as being much smaller than its actual size

• The orbits are incorrectly shaped, appearing as perfect circles

• The number of planets is often misrepresented

In a scale model of the solar system where Earth is the size of a marble, what is the approximate diameter of the Sun?

• 1.5 centimeters

• 1.5 meters

• 15 meters

• 150 meters

What is the approximate distance from the Sun to Neptune in this scale model?

• 5.6 kilometers

• 1.7 kilometers

• 0.92 kilometers

• 3.4 kilometers

Where are most asteroids in our solar system found?

What is the problem with most scale models of the solar system? Select 2

• They cannot accurately represent the vast distances and size differences between celestial bodies.
• They often use outdated scientific data for representation.
• They are too big to include any details of the planets.

• They focus only on the planets and ignore other celestial objects.

You are making a model using five balls below to show objects in our solar system. Compare the sizes of the balls and use the word bank to identify and label each one.

e

a

b

c

d

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Earth