Sizes and distances in the solar system, using a scale

Answer Key - Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

1. Read this first

   Table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), NASA values

   Earth diameter 12,756 km; average distance from the Sun in millions of km: Earth 149.6; Mars 228.0; Jupiter 778.5.

2. 1.

   In Jun's bead model, each centimeter stands for Earth's 12,756 km width. About how many meters from the Sun model does the Mars bead go?

   179 m
3. 2.

   Kira's bead model needs a soccer field or more for Jupiter. Each centimeter stands for 12,756 km. About how many meters from the Sun model does Jupiter go?

   610 m

4. Use this

   Table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), with columns Planet and Millions of km, average distance from the Sun in millions of km: Earth 149.6; Mars 228.0.

5. 3.

   On the hallway model at 10 million km per centimeter, how many centimeters apart are the Earth and Mars models? Luz rounds to the nearest whole centimeter.

   8 cm

6. Use this

   Table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), with columns Planet and Millions of km, average distance from the Sun in millions of km: Uranus 2,867.0; Neptune 4,515.0.

7. 4.

   The last stretch of Noah's hallway model runs from Uranus to Neptune, at 10 million km per centimeter. How many centimeters apart, to the nearest whole centimeter?

   165 cm
8. 5.

   Sun 1,391,400; Jupiter 142,984. A poster says the Sun is about twice as wide as Jupiter. Pia checks the NASA table. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: the Sun is about 10 times as wide as Jupiter
   • Disagree: the Sun is about 1,000 times as wide
   • Agree: the Sun is just a little bigger than Jupiter
   • Agree: Jupiter is nearly as big as a star
9. 6.

   Earth diameter 12,756 km; Neptune's average distance from the Sun 4,515.0 million km. Ren's friend says one poster can show the planets' sizes and distances at one scale, with each planet easy to see. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: the Sun would come out smaller than Earth
   • Disagree: with a 1 cm Earth, Neptune would be about 3.5 km away
   • Agree: the planets are fairly close together anyway
   • Agree: a big poster has room for both

10. Use this

    Table (NASA Planetary Fact Sheet), with columns Planet and Millions of km, average distance from the Sun in millions of km: Jupiter 778.5; Saturn 1,432.0.

11. 7.

    A video says Saturn is about twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter. Tala checks the NASA table. Which response is best?

    • Disagree: Saturn is closer to the Sun than Jupiter
    • Disagree: the gap from Jupiter is about 1,432 million km
    • Disagree: neighbors are evenly spaced, so it is a small step
    • Agree: 1,432.0 ÷ 778.5 is about 1.8, close to 2
12. 8.

    Sun 1,391,400; Earth 12,756. In Zee's model, the Sun is a ball 1 meter wide. Using the NASA table, about how wide should the Earth ball be?

    • About 1 mm, the size of a grain of sand
    • About 10 cm, the size of an orange
    • About 50 cm, half the Sun's width
    • About 1 cm, the size of a pea
13. 9.

    “Drawing of a classroom strip:” Ari's class model puts each planet 10 cm after the one before it. What is wrong with the model?

    • The Sun ball should match Jupiter's size
    • The outer planets should be much farther apart
    • The gaps should shrink farther from the Sun
    • Nothing; planets really sit about evenly spaced
14. 10.

    Earth diameter 12,756 km; Earth's average distance from the Sun 149.6 million km. Bo wants Earth as a 1 cm bead and the whole model, Sun included, on one desk. What problem will Bo run into?

    • The Sun model would come out smaller than a lamp
    • Earth would be too big to fit on the desk
    • The Sun model would be about 117 m away
    • No problem; the planets fit close together