Directions: Follow the steps below to find the numerical values for a scale model of the distances in our solar system.

Step 1: Convert the following distances from kilometers to milimeters to make them an appropriate size to work with in class. For our purposes, we are going to create a scale where 1mm represents 5,000,000km. Use the following formula to convert the distances:

(Distance in km) = (5,000,000 km); the next step would be to cross multiply
X in mm 1 mm

(Distance in km)(1 mm) = (5,000,000 km) (X mm); then solve for X

(Distance in km)(1 mm) = X mm
(5,000,000 km)

Object in Our Solar System
Distance from Sun
(in km)
Scaled Distance
(in mm)
Distance in mm Between Planets
Sun
Starting Point
Starting Point
Starting Point
Mercury
58,000,000

Venus
110,000,000

Earth and Moon
150,000,000

Mars
230,000,000

Asteroid Belt
Spread out between Mars and Jupiter

Jupiter
780,000,000

Saturn
1,400,000,000

Uranus
2,900,000,000
Neptune
4,500,000,000