- Practical exercise 1 Making models of the objects of the Solar System
- Practical exercise 2 Model the motion of Earth around the Sun
- Practical exercise 3 What are the distances of planets from the Sun?
- Practical exercise 4 What are the planets’ sizes?
- Practical exercise 5 When observing from Earth, why can we see the tilting of Saturn’s rings?
- Practical exercise 6 Model the motion of Uranus around the Sun and describe how seasons change for var-ious hypothetical positions of an observer on the „surface“ of Uranus.
Practical exercise 3: What are the distances of planets from the Sun?
Aids:
• models of the Sun and planets (see section a), calculator, charts, chalk
Instructions:
1. You can also use practical exercises from section b), especially exercises 4, 5 and 6, in this section as well.
2. Estimate mutual distances of Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Place the models of the Sun and Earth on the table in such a way that their pedestals touch each other. Try to distribute the models of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn in such a way that they are in the same distance ratio as the Earth’s model from the Sun. Then check in the charts if your estimates of the planets’ positions are correct. Adjust the distances of the planets.
3. Place the model of the Sun on one edge and the model of Mars on the other edge of the table. Place Mercury, Venus, Earth between the Sun and Mars in such a way that they are in the same distance ratio as the Mars model from the Sun. Then check in the charts if your estimates of the planets’ positions are correct. Adjust the distances of the planets.