Earth is the planet we live on and the one with water and life
as we know it. It is the third largest planet of the nine that
orbit the sun. The planets provide a lot of interesting numbers for
measurement and computation. We will first examine the distance and
size of the planets. Then we will study weight and age if we were
to travel to different planets. The main purpose of this page is to
learn scientific notation. For additional information about
the subject, click here to go
to the 'Powers Quiz' page.
How far are the planets from the Sun?
|
Planets
|
Distance from
Sun in km
|
Approx.
diameter in km
|
| Mercury |
5.8 x
107 |
4, 840 |
| Venus |
1.03 x
108 |
12, 200 |
| Earth |
1.55 x
108 |
12, 756 |
| Mars |
2.28 x
108 |
6, 787 |
| Jupiter |
7.78 x
108 |
142, 200 |
| Saturn |
1.427 x
109 |
120, 600 |
| Uranus |
2.87 x
109 |
51, 300 |
| Neptune |
4.497 x
109 |
49, 100 |
| Pluto |
5.9 x
109 |
2, 300 |
Light travels at 300,000 km/second. How much time will it take
to send a radio wave from Pluto to the Sun. (assume radio waves
travel at the speed of light).
 
5,900,000,000 / 300,000 = 19,666.7 seconds / 60
= 327.8 minutes / 60
= 5.46 hours
John traveled in a Boeing 747 at 1,200 km/hr. About how
long will it take him to go around the Earth once?
Estimate the Answer:
 Less
than 20 hours
Between 20 and 30 hours
 More
than 30 hours
 
|
