The Earth Science students are making a human scale model of the solar system out on the school playground. The school itself represents the Sun. In the model 1 AU = 100 meters (the length of a football field). How far from the school will the student representing Mars stand?
Responses
A 50 meters50 meters
B 105 meters105 meters
C 150 meters150 meters
D 1500 meters1500 meters
The distance from the school to Mars can be calculated by multiplying the distance from the school to the Sun (represented by the school itself) by the ratio of the distance between Mars and the Sun in actual miles to 1 AU.
The average distance from Mars to the Sun is about 142 million miles. Converting this to AU, we divide by 93 million miles per AU to get about 1.53 AU.
So, the distance from the school to Mars would be 1.53 AU multiplied by 100 meters per AU, which equals 153 meters.
Therefore, the closest option is C) 150 meters.