Session Guide No.

18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

Name: ___________________

Worksheet 1
Planetary Orbits

Materials: graphing paper, cork board, two pushpins, 20-cm string, ball pens (three colors)

Procedure:

1. Tie the ends of a 20-cm string together.

2. Place the graphing paper over the cork board.
3. Place one push pin at the center of the graphing paper. Label this point X. Make sure that the
pin is at the intersection of the lines.
4. Loop the string around the push pin. Using a pencil to keep the string tight, trace around the
pin.
5. Count the number of squares across the drawing (from edge to edge) through the pin
horizontally. Record the number of squares in Table 1.
6. Count the number of squares across the drawing through the pin vertically. Record the
number of squares in Table 1.
7. Place another pin 5 squares to the right of the first pin. Make sure that the second pin is in line
with the first.
8. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 using a ball pen with a different color. This time, trace around both
pins.
9. Move the second pin another 5 squares to the right (total of 10 squares from the first pin).
10. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 using a ball pen with a different color. Trace around both pins.
11. Move the second pin another 5 squares to the right (total of 15 squares from the first pin).
12. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 using a ball pen with a different color. Trace around both pins.

Data and Results: Number of squares

Table 1. Horizontal Vertical
One push pin
Two push pins (5 squares apart)
Two push pins (10 squares apart)
Two push pins (15 squares apart)

Analysis and Conclusion:

1. What kind of shape did you draw in Step 4?

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2. Compare the number of squares in Steps 5 and 6.
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 Session Guide No. 18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

3. Is the shape you drew in Step 8 the same as your answer in Question #1? Why/why not?
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4. Is the shape you drew in Step 10 the same as your answer in Question #1? Why/why not?
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5. What happens to the number of squares (horizontal and vertical) as the pins were moved
farther apart?
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6. Is the shape you drew in Step 12 the same as those in Steps 8 and 10? Why/why not?
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7. Suppose the pins are 20 squares apart, describe the shape of your drawing. Compare with
the shapes you drew on the graphing paper.
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 Session Guide No. 18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

Name: ___________________

Worksheet 2
Comparing the Sizes of the Sun, Moon, and Earth

Materials: chalk, string

Procedure:

A. Find an area where you can make a chalk mark on pavement or another surface.
B. Tie a piece of chalk to one end of a string that is 50 cm long.
C. Hold the other end of the string to the pavement. Have a classmate pull the string tight
and walk around you, leaving a mark on the pavement as he or she circles you.
D. Draw a circle with a 0.25-cm diameter in the middle of the large circle.

Guide Questions:

1. The small circle represents the moon, and the larger circle represents the sun. How many
times bigger is the sun compared to the moon? ________________________________
2. The actual diameter of the moon is 3,476 km. Based on your answer in Question #1, what
is the actual diameter of the sun? _________________________________________
3. The diameter of the Earth is 12,756 km. How many times bigger is Earth compared to the
moon? _____________________________________________________________
4. How many times bigger is the sun compared to Earth? ___________________________

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 Session Guide No. 18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

Name: ___________________

Worksheet 3
Comparing the Sizes of the Planets in the Solar System

Materials: ruler, string, colored pencils or pens, manila paper, scissors

Procedure:

A. The Table below shows the diameters of the planets. The last column shows the diameters
using a scale of 1 cm = 4000 km.
B. Spread out a manila paper on the floor.
C. Draw circles for each planet at its proper scale.
D. Cut the circles you constructed.
E. Write the name of the planet under the drawing.

Scale Distance
Planet Diameter (km)
(cm)
Mercury 4,878 1.2
Venus 12,104 3.0
Earth 12,756 3.2
Mars 6,794 1.7
Jupiter 143,884 36.0
Saturn 120,536 30.3
Uranus 51,118 12.8
Neptune 50,530 12.6

Guide Questions:

1. Which of the inner planets is the largest?

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2. Which of the outer planets is the smallest?
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3. How many times larger is the smallest outer planet compared to the largest inner planet?
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 Session Guide No. 18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

Name: ___________________

Worksheet 4
Comparing the Distances of the Planets from the Sun

Materials: meter stick or tape measure, colored pencils or pens, 5 meter-length of adding
machine paper

Procedure:

A. The Table below shows the mean distances of the planets from the sun. The last column
shows the distances using the following scale:
1 millimeter = 1 million kilometers
1 centimeter = 10 million kilometers
1 meter = 1000 million kilometers

Table 1. Planets of the Solar System, their distance from the Sun,
and the scale distance to be used

Distance from Sun

Planet (Millions of Scale Distance
kilometers)

Mercury 58 5.8 cm
Venus 108 10.8 cm
Earth 150 15 cm
Mars 228 22.8 cm
Jupiter 778 77.8 cm
Saturn 1427 1.4 m
Uranus 2870 2.9 m
Neptune 4497 4.5 m
Tarbuck & Lutgens. 2006. Earth Science. Prentice Hall.

B. Place the 5-meter length of adding machine paper on the floor.

C. Draw an “X” about 10 centimeters from one end of the paper. Label this mark “sun.”
D. Draw a small circle for each planet at its proper scale distance from the sun. Use a
different-colored pencil for the inner and outer planets.
E. Write the name of each planet next to its position.

Guide Questions:

1. How many times is Venus farther from the Sun than Mercury? __________
2. How many times is the Earth farther from the Sun than Venus? __________
3. How many times is Mars farther from the Sun than the Earth? __________
4. How many times is Jupiter farther from the Sun than Mars? __________
5. How many times is Saturn farther from the Sun than Jupiter? __________
6. How many times is Uranus farther from the Sun than Saturn? __________
7. How many times is Neptune farther from the Sun than Uranus? __________

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 Session Guide No. 18-19:
Comparing Relative Sizes and Distances of Planets
in the Solar System

Name: ___________________

Worksheet 5
If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel

Introduction:
A pixel is defined as a basic unit of programmable color on a computer display or in a computer
image. This appears as a single point in a graphic image. Images are displayed in graphic monitors,
such as a computer or television monitor by dividing the display screen into thousands or millions of
pixels.

If internet connection is available, access the free resource through the following link:
If the Moon Were Only 1 Pixel
By Josh Worth
http://joshworth.com/dev/pixelspace/pixelspace_solarsystem.html

1. In this simulation, why are the objects of the asteroid belt not shown?

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2. Why do illustrations of the Solar System not show the correct scale of the sizes of the planets
and their distances from each other?

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