Watch this video on Scientific Notation (Links to an external site.)
You can do this in groups, but submit your own report.
Our Solar System
Around 1492, Columbus thought the Earth was only 1/3 of its true size. Only recently have we been able to calculate the distances to objects in our solar system.
Obtain maps (Links to an external site.) of the SU campus. On the map you submit, you will draw a scale model of the solar system. Use the Sun as the origin of the model and place it in one corner of the map (pick a campus building). An example calculation is shown after the list of planets.
Below is a listing of the distances of the planets from the Sun in units called Astronomical Units. One Astronomical Unit is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun and is about 1.5E+08 km (93 million miles).
Walk your route, from where you placed the Sun to Neptune (or Pluto, if you are feeling nostalgic). Take a cellphone photo at the location of each planet.
Mercury–0.39 A.U.
Venus–0.72 A.U.
Earth–1 A.U.
Mars–1.52 A.U.
Jupiter–5.2 A.U.
Saturn–9.5 A.U.
Uranus–19 A.U.
Neptune–30 A.U.
[Pluto–39 A.U. – no longer consider a major planet]
Example: Let 1 cm on the map correspond to 1 A.U. then Mercury is 3.9 mm from the spot on the map marked as the Sun. Neptune would be 30 cm from the location of the Sun on the map.
What To Submit to the Dropbox:
Your map, images, and your calculations.
Links to use for this assignments:
(Watch the video) https://kcts9.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/muen-math-ee-scientificnotation/scientific-notation/
(SU campus map) https://www.seattleu.edu/media/SUCampusMap18.pdf
