Lesson 8: Earth, Moon, Mars Scaling
Overview
In this lesson, students use ratio and proportion concepts to better comprehend the size of the Universe by building a scale model of the Earth, Moon, and Mars using balloons.
Standards Addressed
NGSS DCI
- B: The solar system contains many varied objects held together by gravity.
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts
- Patterns
- Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
- RP.A.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities.
- RP.A.2: Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
- RP.A.2.B: Identify the constant of proportionality (unit rate) in tables, graphs, equations, diagrams, and verbal descriptions of proportional relationships.
Materials
- Balloons (4 per group)
- Meterstick (1 per group)
- Ruler (1 per group)
- Calculator (1 per group)
- Tape (can be shared)
Lesson Sequence
- Administer the Scaling Preassessment.
- Divide students into groups and distribute Student Sheets and balloons.
- Groups should all have four different colored balloons to represent the Earth, Moon, Mars, and Phobos.
- Tell students that the Earth balloon should have a diameter of 20 centimeters. Ask students to inflate their Earth balloons to inflate their model to this scale.
- Ask students to look at their Student Sheets and to calculate the size that the Moon and Mars should be using the same scale as the Earth model. Have students inflate their Mars and Moon balloons.
- Ask students if they would also like to inflate a balloon to represent Phobos. (They will find out that this will not work since Phobos would be about the same size as a grain of sand using this scale model).
- Ask students to determine how far apart the Earth and Moon should be at this same scale, and how far apart the Earth and Mars should be.
- Compare the size of the Mars model with the Earth and Moon models and ask students to demonstrate their model distances.
- Ask students to communicate how they determined all celestial diameters and distances.
Adapted from NASA’s Earth, Moon and Mars Balloons Lesson http://www.nasaexplores.com/
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