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Model of The Solar System

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138 views

Model of The Solar System

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api-744777383
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Piner High School STEM Certificate

Level 1

Rex Patangan

Math Modeling Club - Model of the Solar System

4 October 2023

What our group did to find out the scaled-down version of the planets and the distances

of each planet from each other was: First, to figure out the scaled-down versions of our planets,

we found the actual size of each planet’s diameter in miles. Second, we scaled it down and

decided that every 3000 miles was going to be equal to one inch. Third, we started figuring out

the distance of each planet from one another. After discovering the distance from each planet, we

scaled it down to 100,000,000 miles per inch. Lastly, we put all our information together and

used the material provided to create our model of the solar system.

We decided to use these forms of measurement because they seemed to be the simplest.

3000 miles per inch was the simplest measurement for the planets because anything under 3000

would give us measurements that were a bit too large for some planets, while anything above

3000 would leave some planets too small (decimals) and too hard to draw out. For the distance,

we decided to make it 100,000,000 per inch because it was the most logical form of

measurement that we could find and it was the best choice for the scale down.

Each person in our group picked a planet to research, and after doing that, we all

collectively decided that we should scale it down to 3000 miles per inch. After finding out the
scaled-down sizes of each planet, Lucero started working on actually drawing out and cutting the

planets. While she was doing that, Rex and Erik started working on finding and scaling down the

distances from each planet. While they were doing that, Derek and Valeria were working on the

write-up together. After finding out the distances from the planets, Lucero started using our data

to “bring the solar system to life.”.

Reflection:

Modeling the solar system was very enjoyable to me, considering I take Space Science

and I very much enjoy taking it. I think the most important part is how you plan your steps. You

have to factor in all the calculations, time management, research, and modeling out the planets

all in the time frame given. In only 1 hour, we were able to accomplish our goal, but I felt that if

we had more time, our model could have been better. Math can be incorporated into almost

every step we take in solving problems, and this is interesting because it made me realize how

important math is to everyday life and the importance of learning it. Modeling the solar system

also made me realize how big space is, and we are like a speck of dust compared to how vast our

universe is. I think using math to solve problems like this could be a career path in the future.

Not only to solve problems like this but math in general. Many careers use math, and excelling in

math can only help me in the future. Some questions I have are: Did modeling our solar system

scale down have any role in going into space or launching satellites? What is the most accurate

way to scale down the solar system? What careers are similar to this?
Related Article:

Bennett, Jeffrey. “Voyage Scale Model Solar System.” JeffreyBennett.com, 19 April 2023,

https://www.jeffreybennett.com/model-solar-systems/voyage-scale-model-solar-system/

The Voyage scale model solar system in Washington, D.C., portrays the sun and the

planets, with the distance between them all on the same scale of 1 to 10 billion. This scale gives

visitors a sense of how vast our solar system is. The exhibit has a set of 8-foot-tall steel stations

at either end and a station for asteroids and comets, and both are on the scale of 1 to 10 billion.

There is also a three-dimensional representation of the scaled-down object. The exhibit stretches

along Jefferson Drive, and you will find Pluto on the outside of the Smithsonian Castle. You can

walk from the Sun to Pluto in minutes, but the distance to a nearby star system, Alpha Centauri,

is almost 2,500 miles, which is almost the distance from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco.

I thought that this model of the solar system was a great representation of how things can be

scaled down. It shows how our solar system and space are vast. The distance from Alpha

Centauri to the Sun just shows how big space is. I chose this article because it relates a lot to the

mode my group created. This model had more space for the solar system to be represented, as

my group's model had to scale it down to classroom size. I think this model is a better

representation of the solar system, as you have to walk down to see how far apart the planets are.

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