Instructions Scientific notation is a tool that is used frequently in science, including astronomy, chemistry, biology, and more. In this activity, imagine that you are a student intern at NASA and are researching information about travel within our solar system. You will complete a series of tasks using what you know about scientific notation and what you discover about our solar system to calculate distances that astronauts may use for their next trip to space.

Part 1
Using technology or other resources, research the average distance that each planet is from the sun (in kilometers). Once you have found the distance, create a chart showing each planet's distance from the sun. The sun itself will not receive a label since it is your starting point. For example, Mercury is located an average of 57,909,000 km from the sun, so on the chart, Mercury would be labeled with a distance of 57,909,000. Use the example of the chart below to help you get started:

Planet Distance from sun (in km) Distance in scientific notation
Mercury 57,909,000