Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it is difficult to overcome the challenges of keeping the scale of the planets and the scale of the distance between planets with the limited resources they are given. The lesson leads directly into the next lesson in the two-part series.

Concepts

scale, scale models, scale factors

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Relate scale models to maps in geography, architecture, and musical scales where the sequence of tones have relative ratios to each other

Classroom Considerations

• Provide plenty of paper, including large paper, to demonstrate the impossibility of the task
• Bring in as many scale models as possible, including but not limited to scale models of the solar system
• The lesson leads directly into the next lesson in the two-part series

Pros

• Provides a science overview
• Includes assessment criteria

Cons

• None

Common Core

HSG-SRT.A.1.b