Intergalactic Planetary

The Process

The process we took in this project was making five different models of the solar system. The first model we made was of the solar system. We were to draw what draw the solar system with no research only the things we knew previously. For example the order of the planets, what they looked like, and any other things like asteroid belts. The second model we got to use our chrome books and research about the solar system and get to know the details more. The second model was more an updated first model and had the correct information and more facts included. For model three we chose two different planets and had to calculate the force of gravity and gravity by using equation solving. The first two models did not include any equation solving and the last models started to get more in depth. The two planets we chose were Mars and Jupiter because they are two very different planets. Mars is a rocky planet and Jupiter is a gas planet. For the fourth model we had to come up with a phenomenon that we believe is true to our solar system. For example our phenomenon was that the planets distance from the sun and orbital time directly relates to their orbital velocity. "Planet X" was also introduced in model four. Planet X is a new found planet and we were given two out of the three factors of our phenomenon and had to figure out the missing one. We asked for the distance from sun and the orbital velocity and then had to figure out what the orbital time of Planet X was. We then included a graph of our information, an explanation, the limitations, predictions, unanswered questions, and modifications that we made. Our final model was model five and it included two parts, "a" and "b". Model five consists of predictions we made from looking at a data tables. One of our predictions was we can predict the acceleration due to gravity of a planet using the mass of the planet and its radius. For model B we had to calculate the orbital period and my weight on Planet X, Planet Y, and Earth.

Reflection

This was a very interesting project and I feel like I learned a lot more about space then I knew before coming into the unit and our process. I really liked working in twos for this project. I felt like we worked better and more efficiently with a smaller group than a bigger one because there are less distractions and less people to talk to. Sadie and I worked very well together and we didn't get distracted or off task very much. I believe that I could have acted as a leader more than I did and Sadie was more of a leader in this project. We did a very good job on paying attention to the task and finishing our work on time and if we did not finish all of our work in class one of us would bring the project home and finish it. It would be most of the time because I had better handwriting. Overall this was a very interesting project and I really enjoyed the subject because there is so much that we still do not know about space.