Solar System Scale Quick Check
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Question
The table shows the diameters of paper circles used to represent the planets.
Scale Sizes of the Planets
Planet Diameter (km) Diameter (cm)
Mercury 4,800 0.48
Venus 12,100 1.21
Earth 12,800 1.28
Mars 6,700 0.67
Jupiter 143,000 14.3
Saturn 120,000 12.0
Uranus 51,100 5.11
Neptune 50,000 5.0
What is the scale used in the table?
(1 point)
Responses
1 km = 1,000 cm
1 km = 1,000 cm
1 cm = 10,000 km
1 cm = 10,000 km
1 cm = 1,000 km
1 cm = 1,000 km
1 km = 10,000 cm
1 km = 10,000 cm
The scale used in the table is: 1 cm = 10,000 km
To determine the scale used in the table, we need to compare the diameters of the planets in kilometers to the corresponding diameters in centimeters.
Looking at the table, we see that the diameter of Mercury is 4,800 kilometers and its diameter is listed as 0.48 centimeters. Similarly, the diameter of Venus is 12,100 kilometers and its diameter is listed as 1.21 centimeters.
If we divide the diameter in kilometers by the diameter in centimeters for each planet, we can determine the scale. Let's do the calculation for Mercury:
4,800 km / 0.48 cm = 10,000 km/cm
We can see that for Mercury, the scale is 10,000 km/cm.
Now let's repeat this calculation for Venus:
12,100 km / 1.21 cm = 10,000 km/cm
Again, we find that the scale for Venus is 10,000 km/cm.
Since both Mercury and Venus have the same scale, we can conclude that the scale used in the table is:
1 cm = 10,000 km
Therefore, the correct response is:
1 cm = 10,000 km
1 km = 10,000 cm