SOLAR SYSTEM ACTIVITIES FOR THE CLASS ROOM

Simple Activities You Can Do:

(1) Solar System Mnemonic Phrases:

To remember the planet names in order, it is often fun to come up with a mnemonic phrase. This is a very simple activity. Some complications might be to (a) include the asteriod belt, and (b) put Pluto before Neptune, as Pluto is closer to the Sun between 1979 and 1999. Here are two examples for the planets in their standard order:

English:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

"Matilda Visits Every Monday, Just Stays Until Noon, Period."

Spanish:

Mercurio, Venus, Tierra, Marte, Júpiter, Saturno, Urano, Neptuno, Plutón

"Muchos Vaqueros Tímidos y Muchos Jinets Simples Utilizan Neuve Pistolas."

(2) Scale Solar Systems

There is a variety of ways to demonstrate the scale or size of the Solar System. Space isn't called "space" for nothing. The Solar System is suprisingly large, until you compare it with the distance to the nearest stars. For and excellent comparison of distance scales from the bottom of Earth's atmosphere to the farthest quasars, see THE SPACE ATLAS, by Heather Couper and Nigel Henbest, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1992.

There are two points to get across when describing the Solar System, (a) the distance between planets and (b) the relative sizes of the planets. Usually, it is not simple to represent both using the same scale, because the distances are so much greater than the planetary sizes.

DISTANCES BETWEEN PLANETS

The distance from the Sun out to Pluto can be shown using a cash register tape, string, or pre-measured spots on the floor. None of the planets have a circular orbit, but for this comparison people commonly use the average distance to each planet.

Robert Pappalardo, a planetary geology graduate student at Arizona State University, uses a cash register tape. The average distance from the Sun to Earth is designated by astronomers as 1 AU (Astronomical Unit). Pappalardo's tape scales 1 AU to 1 meter. The planetary distances can then be easily drawn on this tape, with Mercury located at 0.39 m from the Sun and Pluto at 39.53 m. On this scale, the nearest star would be about as far as from Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ. The Solar System data Pappalardo uses is given below. Note that the distances are given in miles, not kilometers.


Planet		Mean Dist	Mean Dist	Mean Diameter			
		From Sun	in AU		(miles)
		(millions
		of miles)


Mercury		36.0		0.39		3,031

Venus		67.1		0.72		7,521

Earth		92.9		1.00		7,926		

Mars		141.5		1.52		4,221

Jupiter		483.4		5.20		88,734

Saturn		886.7		9.54		74,566

Uranus		1,782.7		19.14		31,566

Neptune		2,794.3		30.06		30,199

Pluto		3,666.1		39.53		1,450

SIZES AND DISTANCES OF PLANETS

Mary Martin of Kiva Elementary, Scottsdale, Arizona, does an annual demonstration of both the scale distances and sizes of the planets. It is done outside in the school yard. The class invites parents and kids in other classes at the school to come out and see the show.

(Again, please note that the scale is not metric in this exercise).

The students talk about their planet and compare their sizes and distances. The chart Mary Martin uses is reproduced below. The demonstration is acted out by 10 to 25 students.

The distances to the planets and the sizes of the planets are shown on the same scale, which is 1 inch = 12,000 miles. At this scale, Jupiter is 1,111 yards from the sun and is represented by a soccer ball of diameter about 7.33 inches. Pluto is 4.73 miles away, and thus cannot be shown in a typical school yard, but its size can be represented by a small BB. At this scale, the Sun is represented as a 6-ft diameter medicine ball, and the star Betelguese (in constellation Orion) would be a ball about 1 mile in diameter.

Scale Model of the Solar System



scale: 1 inch = 12,000 miles

-----------------------------------

Object:		Diameter	Scale Diam.	Dist. from	Scale Dist.	Simulate
		(Miles):	(Inches):	Sun (mi.):	from Sun	using this
								(yards):	object:


Sun		864,000		72		0		0		6-ft medicine ball

Mercury		3,100		0.26		36 million	83		small purple bead

Venus		7,502		0.63		67 million	155		regular yellow marble

Earth		8,000		0.67		93 million	215		regular blue&white marble

  Moon		2,000	Distance from Earth= 240,000 mi= 20 inches		silver BB

Mars		4,200		0.35		141 million	326		1/3 inch red bead or marble

Jupiter		88,000		7.33		480 million	1,111		white soccer ball, decorated

Saturn		71,000		5.92		900 million	2,083		foam ball with paper or plastic rings

Uranus		32,000		2.67		1.3 billion	3,009		greenish tennis ball

Neptune		31,000		2.58		2.8 billion	6,481		blue racquet ball

Pluto		1,500		0.13		3.6 billion	8,333		BB

BETELGEUSE	800 billion	1.05 miles			a ball 1 mile in diameter!

Note that in a typical school yard you can only go out to Jupiter. Saturn is about 1.2 miles away, Uranus at 1.7 miles, Neptune is 3.68 miles, and Pluto is 4.73 miles. Ask the students to figure out how far away Betelgeuse would be!!!!!!!!!

TES 1993-1994 Curriculum Guide / K.S. Edgett