Earth has a radius of about 6400 km, the Sun has a radius of about 7.0×10⁵ km, and a rubber ball has a radius of 6.4 cm. If you were to construct a scale model of the Solar System using the rubber ball to represent Earth, what is the radius of a ball needed to represent the Sun in your model? A) 7.0 × 10⁵ cm B) 7.0 cm C) 700 cm D) 70 cm

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the scale model size for the Sun, we use the ratio of the Sun's radius to Earth's radius and apply it to the rubber ball. The Earth's radius is 6400 km, and the rubber ball's radius representing Earth is 6.4 cm, establishing a scale of 1 cm to 1000 km. The Sun's radius is 7.0×10^5 km, so on the same scale, the Sun would be represented by a ball with a radius of 700 cm (7.0×10^5 km / 1000 km/cm = 700 cm).

Earth Has a Radius of About 6400 Km, the Sun