Ticker Tape Model of the Solar System

How many planets are in our Solar System and what are their names? How far apart are they? What are the differences between them? This activity will help answer some of these questions, while providing the opportunity for you to ask your own.

Procedure:

1. Place a large sticker at one end of the tape and a small sticker on the other end of the tape. Label the large sticker the "Sun" and the small sticker "Pluto & Kuiper Belt."
2. Fold the tape in half, crease it, unfold it and lay it flat. Place a large sticker at the halfway point (the crease). Label the sticker "Uranus."
3. Fold the tape back in half and then in half again. Place large stickers at the quarter mark (label as "Saturn") and at the 3/4 mark (label as "Neptune").
4. Fold back into quarters then in half one more time (this will give you eighths). Unfold and lay flat again. Place a large sticker and label it "Jupiter" at the 1/8 mark (between the Sun and Saturn).
5. Fold the Sun to Jupiter to mark the 1/16th spot. Place a small sticker on this crease and label "Asteroid Belt and Ceres."
6. At this point, things start to get a little crowded and folding is tough to get precise distances. Fold the remaining 1/16th (the Sun to the Asteroid Belt) in half and crease it at the 1/32 spot. Place a small sticker on both sides of the crease. Label the one closer to the Sun "Earth" and the other "Mars."
7. Place two small stickers between the Sun and Earth, pretty much dividing the space into thirds. Label the sticker closer to the Sun "Mercury" and the other "Venus."

Congratulations! You now carry a distance-scaled model of our Solar System that can fit in your pocket!

Wrap-up Questions:

1. Are there any surprises? Look how empty the outer Solar System (between the Asteroid Belt/Ceres and Pluto/Kuiper Belt) is and how crowded the inner Solar System (between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt/Ceres) is. Why do you think this is? Think about the physical properties of the planets.
2. Looking at your model of the Solar System, why do you think tiny Venus can outshine giant Jupiter at night?
3. On this scale, where would the nearest star be (other than the Sun). Hint: the nearest star is Proxima Centauri and is about 4.2 light years (or 265,607 AU) away.
4. Our scale model of our Solar System shrinks the distance between the Sun and Pluto from 39.5 AU to 1 meter. How much smaller is our scale model than the actual Solar System?
5. There are five dwarf planets in our Solar System, including Pluto and Ceres. The others are Haumea, Makemake, and Eris (with more being discovered). On the scale of our model Solar System, where would the other three dwarf planets lie?
6. Sedna is the name for an object discovered in 2003 believed to lie in the Oort Cloud. On our scale model of our Solar System, where would Sedna lie?
7. Can you think of any phrases to remember the order of the order of all the planets? One example is "My Very Eager Mother Carefully Just Served Us Nine Pies while Humming and Making Extras."