head 1.1; access; symbols; locks; strict; comment @# @; 1.1 date 2017.10.30.12.02.46; author root; state Exp; branches; next ; desc @This document (Activity 1: Relative sizes of planets and distances in Solar System (Model)) is re-created by administrator on 19 August 2017 @ 1.1 log @Initial revision @ text @{ "_id": { "$oid": "59b65b1c2c47962c1d0017a4" }, "_type": "GSystem", "access_policy": "PUBLIC", "altnames": "Activity 1: Relative sizes of planets and distances in Solar System (Model)", "annotations": [], "attribute_set": [], "author_set": [ 1 ], "collection_set": [], "comment_enabled": null, "content": "

Introduction

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In the last lesson, we saw that the planets revolve around the Sun. We also learned that the inner planets are small and solid while the outer planets are large and gaseous or made up of ice. But how big are they as compared to the size of the Earth? Let us compare the sizes of the planets and their distances from the Sun.

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\r\nActivity 1: Relative sizes of planets and distances in Solar System (Model)\u200b
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\r\nMaterial: A measuring tape, a chalk and objects given in Table 1

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Table 1: Objects showing relative sizes of planets and relative distances from the Sun

\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\r\n

\r\n\t\t\t Planet \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Object \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Relative Distance from the Sun \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Mercury \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A small bead (diameter ~ 0.4 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 45.4 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Venus \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A marble (diameter ~ 1cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 85 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Earth \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A marble (diameter ~ 1 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 117 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Mars \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A small bead (diameter ~ 0.5 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 178 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Jupiter \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A coconut (diameter 11 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 601 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Saturn \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A big orange (diameter ~ 9 to 10 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 1119 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Uranus \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Table tennis ball (diameter ~ 4 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 2250 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Neptune \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Table tennis ball (diameter ~ 4 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 3523 metres \r\n\t\t\t

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Procedure:

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Mapping the sizes: Table 1 gives a list of objects showing relative sizes of planets. If the Earth is the size of a marble of diameter 1 cm then, the biggest planet, Jupiter would be the size of a coconut of diameter around 11 cm. Gather all this material and arrange it in correct order.
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Mapping the distances: Did you put the above objects in line? Surely, they are not as close as you must have put on a large table. How spread out are they? Let us find out. Go on the school playground, a long corridor or on a quiet road. We need at least 120 metres of space in one direction.
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If the Earth is imagined to be of diameter 1 cm, then the Sun would be of diameter 109 cm. Draw a circle of diameter 109 cm on the ground. Imagine that there is a sphere of this diameter here. This is your Sun. (It is difficult to get hold of such a large sphere, so we are drawing a circle and imagining a sphere.)
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Now measure 453.9 cm from centre of the Sun. Place the small bead of diameter 0.4 cm here. In the shrunken Solar System, this is where the tiny (!) Mercury would be!
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Now, measure another 40 metres (85 metres from the centre of the Sun). Place the marble of Venus there.
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Measure 32 metres (117 metres from the centre of the Sun). Place the marble of the Earth there.
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If you have not already run out of space, place Mars, that is the bead of 0.5 cm at 178 metres from the centre of the Sun (61 metres from the Earth).
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The next planet, Jupiter, which is a coconut in our model, would be at 601 metres from the Sun, that is more than half a kilometer. You will need a good 10 minutes to walk this distance, So henceforth, only imagine where the rest of the planets are in the shrunken solar system.
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Saturn, which is an orange in our model, is more than 1 km from the Earth and a 15-minute walk away.
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Uranus, the table tennis ball, is two-and-a-quarter km, more than a 25-minute walk away. No wonder, it is hardly visible from the Earth.
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Finally Neptune is at a good three and a half km distance from Earth (about 40 minutes walk)! Imagine how big its orbit would be. Now you know why Neptune takes almost 165 years to complete one revolution around the Sun!
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Apart from the Sun and the planets, there are other smaller objects in our Solar System. Let us learn more about these objects.
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Material: A measuring tape, a chalk and objects given in Table 1
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\r\n\t\t\t Planet \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Object \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Relative Distance from the Sun \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Mercury \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A small bead (diameter ~ 0.4 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 45.4 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Venus \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A marble (diameter ~ 1cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 85 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Earth \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A marble (diameter ~ 1cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 117 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Mars \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A small bead (diameter ~ 0.5 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 178 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Jupiter \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A coconut (diameter 11 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 601 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Saturn \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t A big orange (diameter ~ 9 to 10 cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 1119 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Uranus \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Table tennis ball (diameter ~ 4cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 2250 metres \r\n\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t Neptune \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t Table tennis ball (diameter ~ 4cm) \r\n\t\t\t	\r\n\t\t\t 3523 metres \r\n\t\t\t

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Table 1: Objects showing relative sizes of planets and relative distances from the Sun
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Procedure:

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Mapping the sizes: Table 1 gives a list of objects showing relative sizes of planets. If the Earth is the size of a marble of diameter 1 cm then, the biggest planet, Jupiter would be the size of a coconut of diameter around 11 cm. Gather all this material and arrange it in correct order.
Mapping the distances: Did you put the above objects in line? Surely, they are not as close as you must have put on a large table. How spread out are they? Let us find out. Go on the school playground, a long corridor or on a quiet road. We need at least 120 meter space in one direction.
If the Earth is imagined to be of diameter 1 cm, then the Sun would be of diameter 109 cm. Draw a circle of diameter 109 cm on the ground. Imagine that there is a sphere of this diameter here. This is your Sun. (It is difficult to get hold of such a large sphere, so we are drawing a circle and imagining a sphere.)
Now measure 453.9 cm from centre of the Sun. Place the small bead of diameter 0.4 cm here. In the shrunken Solar System, this is where the tiny (!) Mercury would be!
Now, measure another 40 meters (85 meters from the centre of the Sun). Place the marble of Venus there.
Measure 32 meter (117 cm from the centre of the Sun). Place the marble of the Earth there.
If you have not already run out of space, place Mars, that is the bead of 0.5 cm at 178 meters from the centre of the Sun (61 meters from the Earth).
The next planet, Jupiter, which is a coconut in our model, would be at 601 meters from the Sun, that is more than half kilometer. You will need good 10 minutes to walk this distance, So henceforth, only imagine where the rest of the planets are in the shrunken solar system.
Saturn, which is an orange in our model, is more than 1 km from the Earth and a 15-minute walk away.
Uranus, the table tennis ball, is two-and-a-quarter km, more than a 25-minute walk away. No wonder, it is hardly visible from the Earth.
Finally Neptune is at a good three and a half km distance from Earth (about 40 minutes walk)! Imagine how big its orbit would be. Now you know why Neptune takes almost 165 years to complete one revolution around the Sun!

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Apart from the Sun and the planets, there are other smaller objects in our Solar System. Let us learn more about these objects.
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\r\nSatellites: When an object moves around a planet due to gravitational force between them, it is called a \u2018satellite\u2019 or a \u2018Moon\u2019 of that planet. Apart from Mercury and Venus, all other planets have satellites. The Earth has only one Moon, and Mars has two satellites. So far, we have found 67 satellites of Jupiter. Four of these are big: Ganymede is bigger than Mercury, Io and Callisto are bigger than our Moon, and Europa is slightly smaller than our Moon. Galileo Galilei was the first one to see them when he watched Jupiter through a telescope in 1610 (hence they are called the Galilean Moons). He identified them as the satellites of Jupiter. This was the first time when we learned that other planets also have satellites.
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\r\nSaturn is known to have 62 satellites (only one of them is as big as the Moon). Uranus has at least 27 satellites, and Neptune has 14. Imagine the sight of multiple Moons being visible at a time from these planets! Refer to Figure 1 for selected Moons in the solar system.

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$\"U3L2_Fig1\"$

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\r\nFigure 1: Sizes of selected satellites in the solar system as compared to the Earth
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Credit: By Originally uploaded from NASA by Bricktop; edited by Deuar, KFP, TotoBaggins - solarsystem.nasa.gov, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1641353

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\r\nArtificial Satellites: When human beings launch objects into the orbit of any planet, they are known as artificial satellites. The Earth has many artificial satellites revolving around it. Artificial satellites are useful in weather forecasting, in Tele and Radio communication and GPS (global positioning system), which is used in mobiles to determine our position. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been successfully launching satellites since 1975. A rocket is needed to carry the artificial satellite into its orbit and launch it. We have launched many artificial satellites using our own rockets from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Among them, a satellite named Astrosat was launched on September 28, 2015 to carry out research in astronomy (Figure 4 a). Artificial satellites have been launched to revolve around other planets as well. Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) is one such satellite launched by ISRO on 5 November 2013.

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