SME
Grade 8 Science · Problem type
The planets to scale
Use this for “Why do the sun and moon look about the same size?” and “How many Earths wide is Jupiter?”
Explore
Four small rocky inner planets, four giant outer ones.
Assumptions
•
Every planet, the moon and the sun’s edge are drawn to one scale by size. Their distances apart are not to scale.
•
The sun is about 109 Earths across; Jupiter 11; the moon about a quarter of Earth.
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Related lessons
Gravity and orbits in the solar system
Main lesson
Your weight on other worlds
Use this for “A 50 kg student weighs 490 N on Earth. What would she weigh on the moon?”
Farther out, longer year
Use this for “Mars is 1.5 times as far from the sun as Earth. How long is its year?”
Why the moon changes shape
Use this for “Why does the moon look like a crescent some nights and a full circle on others?”
Solar eclipse or lunar eclipse?
Use this for “Why don’t we see an eclipse every month?” and “Which eclipse happens at full moon?”