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Solar System Paper Model
- 1. Solar System Model Putting the Solar System in Perspective
- 2. Introduction • We are going to make a paper model of our solar system. • The model will help us to see the distance of the planets from the Sun and from each other. • The model is not exact, but will still give you an idea about how close or far the solar system’s objects are from each other. • We will make the rough draft together, and then you can go back and draw/color the planets to make it look nice.
- 3. The Paper • Using register tape, paper, or sentence strips measure a piece about the length of your school desk, or 48”. • It can be shorter, but not shorter than 36”. • If the paper curls up, run it along the edge/corner of the table to try to straighten it out and keep it from curling. • Fold the paper in half to make it more manageable. fold
- 4. Center of the Solar System • We will make the center of our solar system on the left, and the outer part of our solar system on the right. • Draw a semicircle for the Sun at the left edge of your paper. • Label it “the SUN”. foldthe Sun
- 5. Outer “End” of the Solar System • If the Sun goes on the left, what is going to go on the opposite end of our model (the paper)? foldthe Sun ?
- 6. Outer “End” of the Solar System • If the Sun goes on the left, what is going to go on the opposite end of our model (the paper)? • You might have said Pluto, or maybe Haumea, Makemake, or Eris. All of those dwarf planets are in a place called the Kuiper Belt (pronounced Kai-per). We will include Pluto because it is on the INNER edge of the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a HUGE area of ice and dust and is where comets come from. We will put dots for the ice and dust. For this model, we are not including Haumea, Makemake, or Eris. foldthe Sun Pluto Kuiper Belt
- 7. Center Fold • What planet or solar system object do you think should go on the center fold? Pluto Kuiper Belt ?
- 8. Center Fold • What planet or solar system object do you think should go on the center fold? • Some of you might have said the Asteroid Belt, because it is the “middle” object. But the correct answer is URANUS! • Write the label Uranus – don’t worry about the drawing of the planet yet. Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus
- 9. 3/4th Fold • Fold the paper back in half • Fold in half again. Now you have 3 folds and 4 sections. • What planet or object goes on the 3/4rd fold? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 ?
- 10. 3/4th Fold • Fold the paper back in half • Fold in half again. Now you have 3 folds and 4 sections. • What planet or object goes on the 3/4rd fold? • Neptune Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 Neptune
- 11. 1/4th Folds • Look at the first fold in between Uranus and the Sun. What planet goes on the 1/4th fold? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 Neptune ?
- 12. 1/4th Folds • Look at the first fold in between Uranus and the Sun. What planet goes on the 1/4th fold? • Saturn! Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn
- 13. Stopping Point • What observations or wonderings do you have so far? • What are your thoughts?
- 14. 1/8th Fold • Fold your Sun up to meet Saturn. • What planet or object goes on the new fold? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 ?
- 15. 1/8th Fold • Fold your Sun up to meet Saturn. • What planet or object goes on the new fold? • Jupiter – Wait! There isn’t much room left, and we aren’t done yet? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter
- 16. 1/16th Fold • Fold the Sun up to meet Jupiter. • What planet or object goes on this new fold? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter 1/16 ?
- 17. 1/16th Fold • Fold the Sun up to meet Jupiter. • What planet or object goes on this new fold? • The Asteroid Belt – you can also put Ceres, since this dwarf planet is in the Asteroid Belt. The asteroid belt is an area of rocky chunks and debris that revolves around the Sun in an orbit. Scientists think it is either left over chunks that didn’t form a planet OR that it is what is left from a planet that was broken up. Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter 1/16 Asteroid Belt and Ceres
- 18. The Rest of the Planets • Now you have to fit the rest! • What planets need to fit here and what order? Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter 1/16 Asteroid Belt Asteroid Belt Ceres ?
- 19. The Rest of the Planets • Now you have to fit the rest! • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are all in this small area on your paper between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt! Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter 1/16 Asteroid Belt Mercury Venus Earth Mars Asteroid Belt Ceres
- 20. The Rest of the Planets with Photos • Here are the planets with the correct colors. Pluto Kuiper BeltUranus 1/4 3/4 NeptuneSaturn 1/8 Jupiter 1/16 Asteroid Belt Mercury Venus Earth Mars Asteroid Belt Ceres
- 21. Inner Planets • All of the inner planets (the planets between the Sun and the Asteroid Belt) are made up of rock (the “terrestrial” planets). They are closer together, smaller, and have fewer moons than the outer planets. Credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute
- 22. Outer Planets • All of the outer planets (the planets between the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt) are made up of gas (the “gas giants” planets). They are larger, have many moons, and are farther apart from each other than the terrestrial planets. Credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute
- 23. Inner and Outer Planet Formation Why did our solar system form this way – with small rocky, planets close to the Sun and large, gas planets farther away? • Any thoughts or guesses?
- 24. Inner and Outer Planet Formation • Actually, we don’t really know the answer to this. We have some guesses that the denser rocky materials held together closer to the sun and formed rocky planets, but that gases were thrown out into deeper space, and then collected into what we call the gas giants. • This made sense until astronomers were able to see some planets in other solar systems that do not follow this same pattern. Why did our solar system form this way – with small rocky, planets close to the Sun and large, gas planets farther away?
- 25. Consider the following…. • Consider this: Pluto is about 3,670,000,000 billion miles from the Sun. Eris is 9,000,000,000 billion miles from the Sun. In order to include Eris – the farthest dwarf planet that scientists have officially named right now. • What would you have to do to our model to show the whole space between the Sun and Eris?
- 26. Consider the following…. • What would you have to do to our model? • We have to tape on another piece of paper that is as long as or longer than the one we already have! Kuiper Belt Eris Pluto 3,670,000,000 9,000,000,000
Editor's Notes
- For this activity, you can use register tape, but it does curl and can be tricky for kids to uncurl. An alternative would be to cut strips of white paper or use two sentence strips taped together. Register tape works well for the actual drawing and labeling, so if you want to use it, I would recommend cutting it for them first. Also, to uncurl it, it can be run along the edge of a table with the backside of the curl against the table. Like curling ribbon we use to wrap presents – we run the ribbon along one side to get it to curl. But if you want to uncurl the ribbon, you can run the scissors along the opposite side and it will take out the curl. Hope that makes sense!
- The diagram does not show the dots for ice and dust – just Pluto, which is on the inner edge of the Kuiper Belt.
- The diagram does not show the dots for ice and dust – just Pluto, which is on the inner edge of the Kuiper Belt.
- The next set of questions could be done as a whole class or in small groups or partner talk. They could also be asked individually.
- Instead of refolding the entire paper to make eighths, instead, just have them fold the Sun end to meet with the 1/4th fold where Saturn is. This will still give them 1/8th and the place to put Jupiter.
- Instead of refolding the entire paper to make eighths, instead, just have them fold the Sun end to meet with the 1/4th fold where Saturn is. This will still give them 1/8th and the place to put Jupiter.
- Like you did when you folded the Sun end to meet with Saturn, fold the Sun to meet Jupiter to get the 1/16th fold.
- Like you did when you folded the Sun end to meet with Saturn, fold the Sun to meet Jupiter to get the 1/16th fold.
- Scientists think that