Exploring Scientific Notation OBJECTIVE TO USE SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

Exploring Scientific Notation OBJECTIVE: TO USE SCIENTIFIC NOTATION TO WRITE DISTANCES OF THE PLANETS FROM THE SUN AND EARTH.

In this activity, you and your partner will use the distances of the nine planets in our solar system from the sun and earth. You will use scientific notation to write these distances.

INSTRUCTIONS • Use the distances of all nine planets in our solar system from the sun. Write down each distance in decimal form and scientific notation. • Make a diagram that shows these distances. The diagram should be drawn to scale. • Create a poster with the information and pictures.

DISTANCES OF PLANETS TO SUN & EARTH Mercury Saturn • Closest to sun: 46 million km • Closest to sun: 1. 35 billion km • Closest to Earth: 77. 3 million km • Closest to Earth: 1. 2 billion km Venus • Closest to sun: 107 million km • Closest to Earth: 40 million km Uranus • Closest to sun: 2. 75 billion km • Closest to Earth: 2. 57 billion km Earth Neptune • • Closest to sun: 4. 45 billion km Mars • Closest to Earth: 4. 3 billion km • Closest to sun: 205 million km Pluto • Closest to Earth: 65 million km • Closest to sun: 4. 44 billion km • Closest to Earth: 4. 28 billion km Closest to sun: 147 million km Jupiter • Closest to sun: 741 million km • Closest to Earth: 588 million km

ANALYZING THE RESULTS 1. How much farther is Pluto from the sun than Mercury? Write your answer in scientific notation. 2. How many times farther is Pluto from the sun than Mercury? Write your answer in scientific notation. 3. How many times Earth's distance from the sun is Jupiter? Write your answer in scientific notation.