Week 7: Solar System

What did you do in lab Today?

-In our lab section for this week, we reviewed some things we learned last week, and then we focused on how far the first four planets are from the sun. We did a scale model of the first four planets compared to the sun. We had to convert the distance from kilometers to meters for our classroom scale. Then, we had to convert the sizes of the planets to fit in our scale as well. My group had trial and error when converting the sizes of our planets compared to the sun, but we were close by the end of our class time. We learned that the sun is a lot bigger than we think. We also learned about how big other stars are compared to the sun in our solar system. In a short video, we made the realization of how big the universe really is. 

What was the big question?

- The big question that we talked about in our lab section was: How big is the solar system? We tried to answer this question by doing our scale model and converting the distances of the planets from the sun and the sizes of our planets. We came to the conclusion that our solar system is a lot bigger than we originally thought it was.

What did you learn in Thursday's discussion?

- Something that I learned in our discussion is how the moon came to be in Earth's orbit. I learned that there was a big planet-like thing that hit Earth, and that is why it is tilted. When the planet-like thing hit Earth and tilted it, then part of that planet-like thing became the moon and was pulled into Earth's orbit, but it is not secure there. The moon is moving away from the Earth. I also learned that the different sides of the moon look different because there is a thinner layer on the side of the moon that we always see because of the heat that the Earth gives off onto the moon. The "dark side" of the moon has a thicker layer because it is able to cool down faster. 

What did you learn in the press book?

-Something that I learned is that the first four planets from the sun are all rocky planets because they all have solid surfaces. The last four planets from the sun are gaseous planets because they are composed of gases. The gas planets have more gravity than the planets that are closer to the sun. Pluto, which was originally thought of as a planet, was determined not to be a planet after scientists realized that Pluto does not fill the third requirement of its orbit around the sun, making it a dwarf planet. 

What was most helpful?

- What was most helpful in our textbook reading for this week was the video that talked about the size comparison of the planets in our solar system throughout the Iowa campus. This was very helpful because it helped me see how far the planets really are from the sun, and it helped because I knew where the different locations they were talking about throughout Iowa's campus. 

What do you need more information on?

-Something I need more information on is what Pluto's orbit around the sun actually looks like compared to the other planets. 

Questions, Comments, Concerns?

-What would a perfect scale model look like with sizes and distances if it was done in our class?