Solar System Scale Quick Check

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Question
Suppose a student develops a scale model of the planets. Which two planets should be the closest in diameter on the model?



Comparison of Planet Size

Planet Diameter (km)
Mercury 4,800
Venus 12,100
Earth 12,800
Mars 6,700
Jupiter 143,000
Saturn 120,000
Uranus 51,100
Neptune 50,000(1 point)
Responses

Mercury and Neptune
Mercury and Neptune

Earth and Venus
Earth and Venus

Uranus and Saturn
Uranus and Saturn

Mars and Jupiter

Mars and Jupiter

To determine which two planets should be the closest in diameter on the scale model, we need to compare the diameters of the planets and select the two planets with the smallest difference.

From the given list, the diameters are as follows:
- Mercury: 4,800 km
- Venus: 12,100 km
- Earth: 12,800 km
- Mars: 6,700 km
- Jupiter: 143,000 km
- Saturn: 120,000 km
- Uranus: 51,100 km
- Neptune: 50,000 km

By comparing the numbers, we see that the two planets with the closest diameters are Mercury and Mars, with a difference of 1,900 km. Hence, the correct answer is:
- Mercury and Mars.