Equatorial diameter of mercury

Materials produced by the University of Tennessee GK-12 Earth Projectfunded by the National Science Foundation GK-12 Program under grant #DGE-0538420.SOLAR SYSTEM SCALE LABBy Sarah Deane, with input from other Fellows in theUniversity of Tennessee GK-12 Earth ProjectThis lab is designed to demonstrate to students the vastness of the universe. A model solar system can be easily constructed on school grounds. In this outdoor lab, students walk between planets answering a series of questions from a worksheet. The solar system is scaled down so that the Sun is the size of a standard 9.5-inch basketball (scale is approximately 1 inch = 91,000 miles).See chart below. The lab works well with other introductory lessons on the solar system. The scaled planets are mounted on dowel rods that have information cards and pictures attached. Information and pictures are available from: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfmActual Equatorial Diameter**ActualDistanceto Sun**Scaled #1 Equatorial DiameterScaled #1 Distance to SunSun864,400 mi0 mi9.5 in0 ftMercury3,032 mi35,983,095 mi0.033 in33 ftVenus7,520 mi67,237,910 mi0.083 in62 ftEarth7,926 mi92,955,820 mi0.087 in85 ftMars4,222 mi141,633,260 mi0.046 in130 ftJupiter88,846 mi483,682,810 mi0.976 in443 ftSaturn74,898 mi885,904,700 mi0.823 in811 ftUranus*31,764 mi1,783,939,400 mi0.349 in1,634 ftNeptune*30,776 mi2,795,084,800 mi0.338 in2,560 ftPluto*1,430 mi3,760,050,000 mi0.016 in3,443 ft*Please note that while Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are listed in the chart, these planets are not used in this exercise because of size constraints.**All distances were found at: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfmMaterialsSun: 9.5-inch (standard size) basketballMercury: <2 salt grainsVenus: slightly less than head of a pinEarth: head of a pinMars: sand grainJupiter: Make with Play-Doh®or similarSaturn: Make with Play-Doh®or similar7 dowel rods (or up to 10 depending on available space*)Long (outdoor reel-style) measuring tapeInformation cards & optional photosStudent worksheet
Materials produced by the University of Tennessee GK-12 Earth Projectfunded by the National Science Foundation GK-12 Program under grant #DGE-0538420.Set-Up1. Mount the “planets” on the top of the dowel rods. 2. Tape the information cards and the pictures onto the dowel rods.3. On school grounds, determine the best location for your Sun-basketball. Depending on the size of the area available, you may wish to have the planets in a single file line, or spread out in positions that resemble orbiting paths.4. Measure out the distance from the Sun to each planet (orfrom planet to planet) as listed in the chart.5. Insert the dowel rods into the ground at the appropriate sites, so that each stands vertically.6. Your solar system model is now lab-ready!Information CardsEARTHEquatorial diameter = 7,926miActual distance from Sun = 92,955,820 miIf the Sun is scaled down to 9.5inches in diameter, the Earth is about the size of the head of a pin:0.087inches in diameter85feet from the Sun*Approximately 1.3millionEarths could fit inside the Sun.In Greek mythology, Earth (or Gaia) was married to Uranus.Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Earth