ES 104 Laboratory # 2 INVESTIGATING THE SOLAR SYSTEM Introduction We have sent unmanned spacecraft through the solar system, landed robot space probes on Mars, Venus, and the Moon, have landed people on the Moon, and have sophisticated telescopes to obtain data. We know that each planet and satellite (moon) has unique physical characteristics that set them apart from one another. We also know our solar system exhibits some regular patterns. During this laboratory you will try to discover some of these patterns. Much of the numerical data about our solar system, such as planetary size or distance from the sun, is so large that you will need to work with scale models. By studying planetary data we can compare and contrast conditions on other planets and their satellites (moons) to those of earth. Goals and Objectives - Describe similarities and differences among planets of our solar system - Create scale models and make sketches that reasonably portray observations of components of the solar system - Create graphs to communicate and interpret data from a variety of sources - Use internet resources which contain current information on the solar system and cosmosName________KEY_______________________ Lab day ______Lab Time_____________________ Pre-lab Questions – Complete these questions before coming to lab. 1. Define the Astronomical Unit (AU). Distance from Earth to Sun 1 AU = 9.3 x 107 miles = 1.5 x 108 km 2. If the distance from Monmouth to Washington D.C. is 2870 miles, convert this distance to units of AUs. (Show calculations with units.) AUmiAUmi510086.39300000011.2870 3. List the planets in order of increasing distance from the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, (Pluto) 4. What are the three types of materials that make up the planets? Gases, Ices (water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia), Rocky material (including metal) 5. Which planet is the largest in the solar system? Jupiter 6. Which planet is covered in liquid water? Earth 7. Which planet is the hottest planet? VenusPart A – Scale Model of The Solar System An astronomical unit, AU, is the average distance the Earth is from the Sun. That distance is 93,000,000 miles, 8.3 light-minutes, or 150,000,000 kilometers. It is convenient to work with AUs because the real distances are in numbers that can be cumbersome to deal with. Table 1 below shows the mean distance of the planets from the Sun (orbital distance) in AUs. Alternatively, you might find the orbital distances in terms of light-minutes more illuminating (pun intended). Choose which system of units you feel more comfortable with. Your group will construct a scale model of the solar system based on average distance to the Sun. Your model must fit in the hallway (54 meters long), the classroom, or outside (weather permitting). You must decide the scale you will use for your model. Additionally, place the satellites of each planet alongside their appropriate “host” planet. Table 1: Solar System Data Planet Radius of Planet (Kilometers) Mean Distance from the Sun (AU) Radius of Planet (millionths of AU) Mean Distance from the Sun (Light-Minutes) Mercury 2439 0.39 16 3.25 Venus 6052 0.72 40 6.00 Earth 6378 1.00 42 8.33 Mars 3393 1.52 23 12.6 Jupiter 71,492 5.20 477 43.3 Saturn 60,268 9.54 402 79.5 Uranus 25,559 19.20 170 160 Neptune 24,766 30.10 165 250 Pluto * 1137 39.40 8 328 Sun 696,000 N/A 4,640 N/A *The IAU has changed the definition of "planet" so that Pluto no longer qualifies. There are now officially only eight planets in our solar system. Of course this change in terminology does not affect what's actually out there. It is much smaller than any of the official planets and now classified as a "dwarf planet". Pluto is smaller than seven of the solar system's moons (the Moon, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton). http://www.nineplanets.org/ 9-7-2006Questions: 1. What scale did you use for your distance? 2. What pattern did you notice about the spacing of the planets from the Sun? Inner planets very close to one another and to Sun Outer planets much further apart 3. Draw a sketch of your model (with spacing generally to scale) below. (sizes of planets not to scale, distance estimated to scale) 4. What general pattern did you notice about the relative sizes of the planets? Small close to Sun, Large very far away 5. Which planets have the greatest number of satellites (moons)? Note that not all of the satellites in our solar system are shown. In fact new satellites are being discovered every few years. Saturn, as of 2005, has most, not even counting its ring debris.Table 2: Parameters of the Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto* Mass (x1024 kg) 0.3302 4.869 5.975 0.6419 1,898.6 568.46 86.83 102.43 0.0125 Radius (km) 2439 6052 6378 3393 71,492 60,268 25,559 24,766 1137 Mean Density (kg/m3) 5,427 5,204 5,520 3,933 1,326 687 1,318 1,638 2,050 Orbital Distance (106 km) 57.9 108.2 149.6 227.9 778.3 1427.0 2869.6 4496.6 5913.5 Orbital Period (days) 87.969 224.7 365.25 686.98 4330.6 10,747 30,588 59,800 90,591 Rotational Period (hours) 1407.6 5832.5 23.934 24.62 9.92 10.5 17.24 16.11 153.3 Ave. Surface Temperature (Kelvins) 440 737 288 210 165 134 76 72 50 Surface Pressure 10-15 bars 92 bars 1.014 bars 0.008 bars >>100 bars >>100 bars >>100 bars >>100 bars 3 micro-bars Atmospheric Composition 98% He 2% H2 96.5% CO2, 3.5% N2 78% N2, 21% O2, 1% H2O 95.32% CO2, 2.7% N2 90% H2, 10% He 96% H2, 3% He 83% H2, 15% He 2% CH4 80% H2, 19% He 1% CH4 methane & N2 Table 3: Other useful parameters. Material Density Air 1.2 kg/m3 Water or Water-Ice 1000 kg/m3 Typical Rocks 3000 kg/m3 Metal at High Pressure 10,000 kg/m3 *see footnote page 2-3Part B – Classifying the Planets Study the solar system parameters information in Table 2. The table provides information scientists believe to be true about the planets in the solar system based on the latest technology to help them. By looking carefully at the data in this table you should be able to find some patterns, similarities, and differences among the planets in our solar system. The following questions will assist you in thinking about what is considered a pattern, similarity, and difference. You should also look over Table 3 which contains other useful parameters and investigate densities of
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