A student creates a scale model of planets where 1 centimeter (cm) is equal to 10,000 kilometers (km). In this model, which planet would have a diameter of approximately 12 cm?
A:Jupiter
B:Mars
C:Earth
D:Saturn
To figure out which planet would have a diameter of approximately 12 cm in the scale model, we need to calculate the actual diameter of each planet and then find the corresponding measurement in the model.
The actual diameter of each planet is as follows:
A: Jupiter – 139,820 km
B: Mars – 6,779 km
C: Earth – 12,742 km
D: Saturn – 116,460 km
Using the scale of 1 cm = 10,000 km, we can find the diameter in the scale model for each planet:
A: Jupiter – 139,820 km / 10,000 km/cm = 13.982 cm
B: Mars – 6,779 km / 10,000 km/cm = 0.678 cm
C: Earth – 12,742 km / 10,000 km/cm = 1.2742 cm
D: Saturn – 116,460 km / 10,000 km/cm = 11.646 cm
Based on these calculations, the planet that would have a diameter of approximately 12 cm in the scale model is Earth (C).