Sun-Earth Calculations
Imagine
this: the Sun's mass is 330,330 times the Earth's.
The Sun and Earth Size Comparison
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Compared
to Earth, the Sun is enormous!
These images of the Earth and the
Sun are not at the same scale. The Earth would only look like a tiny dot
compared to this picture of the Sun!
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An object at the Sun's surface would
weigh 28 times as much as it does on Earth's surface!
Quiz:
- How much would you weigh at the
Sun's surface? (your weight x 28)
- How does this number compare
with the weight of a car on Earth? (Cars and trucks weigh 2,000 pounds or
more.)
Diameter
The Sun is
1,391,000 kilometers (862,400 miles) in diameter, or "around." Earth is 12,742
kilometers (7,900 miles) in diameter.
Quiz:
- How many times greater is the
Sun's diameter than the Earth's? (862,400 ÷ 7,900)
- Take a measuring tape and see
how many inches your wrist is, in diameter. Let's say it's 6 inches. Can
you think of an item that is 109 times larger in diameter than your wrist?
(6 x 109 = 654 inches . . . 654 ÷ 12 = 54.5 feet . . . measure
the four walls in the room and add the four measurements; do they total
more, or less, than 54.5 feet? Is your wrist's diameter proportional to
the room the way the Earth's diameter is proportional to the Sun?
Let's Visualize
Let's say a
penny represents the size of the Earth. Let's go outside on a paved playground
or parking lot (make sure it's safe!) and draw a circle to represent the size
of the Sun compared to this Earth-penny. The length of the string has been
calculated for you. You'll need at least two people to do this.
Materials:
·
yardstick
and ruler
·
ball
of string or twine
·
piece
of chalk
·
150
pennies
Instructions:
1. Cut a length of string 60 inches long.
2. Tie a piece of chalk to one end.
3. Measure 41 inches from the chalk and make a mark.
4. In an open area, one person should hold the marked point of the
string against the floor or ground while another student takes the chalk end
with the string taut and draws a circle all the way around, like a life-sized
compass.
5. When you have finished drawing the circle, estimate how many
pennies it would take to make a line all the way across the middle of the
circle. Now place pennies down until the line is complete.
How many pennies
did you guess? How many did it take?
Do you have
new appreciation for the size of the Sun, now? Does it make your trip home or
to the store seem quite a bit shorter? Hope so. Everything's relative . . .
under the Sun.
By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • After School
Treats 010 • © 2006
