MS-ESS1-3: Using Data to Find Solar System Scale
Also called NGSS MS-ESS1-3 · Topic: Space Systems · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on the analysis of data from Earth-based instruments, space-based telescopes, and spacecraft to determine similarities and differences among solar system objects. Examples of scale properties include the sizes of an object’s layers (such as crust and atmosphere), surface features (such as volcanoes), and orbital radius. Examples of data include statistical information, drawings and photographs, and models.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include recalling facts about properties of the planets and other solar system bodies.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What MS-ESS1-3 Means in Plain English
Middle schoolers work with real measurements from telescopes, probes and other spacecraft to compare objects in the solar system. They use tables, images and scale models to see how sizes, distances, layers and surface features differ between planets, moons and other bodies.
The skill is reading and scaling data, not memorizing planet facts. Students build on the Earth, sun and moon model (MS-ESS1-1) and use ratio reasoning from math (7.RP.A.2) to turn huge numbers into distances they can picture.
MS-ESS1-3 I Can Statements
- I can read data tables about planets, moons and the sun.
- I can use a scale factor to build a model of sizes.
- I can compare how big and how far apart solar system objects are.
MS-ESS1-3 Worked Example
A hallway scale model built from published NASA diameters and distances.
If Earth were a 1.3 centimeter bead, how big would the sun be and how far away would the moon sit?
Set It Up: A table of NASA diameters and distances, a calculator, a meter stick and a 1.3 cm bead for Earth.
- Choose a scale of 1 cm for every 10,000 km.Scale factor: 1 cm = 10,000 km
- Divide Earth's diameter, 12,756 km, by 10,000.Earth: about 1.3 cm
- Do the same for the moon (3,475 km) and the sun (1,392,700 km).Moon: 0.35 cm. Sun: about 139 cm
- Scale the Earth to moon distance, 384,400 km, and measure it with the meter stick.About 38 cm apart
- Scale the Earth to sun distance, 150 million km, and measure it along the hallway.150 m, longer than most hallways
At this scale the sun is a ball wider than a meter, the moon sits 38 cm from Earth, and the sun is 150 meters away.
Why it works: Objects in the solar system are tiny compared with the distances between them, and only a single consistent scale reveals how empty space is.
Common Mistakes with MS-ESS1-3
Mixing scales in one model
Planets drawn to one scale and placed at distances from another
Try this: Use a single scale factor for both sizes and distances, or say clearly that the model shows only one of them.
Picturing planets as close neighbors
“The planets are lined up close together, like on my poster.”
Try this: Posters squeeze distances to fit the page. Scaled data shows the gaps between planets are enormous compared with the planets themselves.
Dropping units or zeros
Writing the sun as 13.9 cm instead of 139 cm
Try this: Write units at every step and check the answer against a known fact, like the sun being about 109 Earths wide.
Where MS-ESS1-3 Fits
Practice MS-ESS1-3
Quick Check
- Jupiter is about 143,000 km across. At 1 cm per 10,000 km, how big is it?
- Why can't most classroom posters show sizes and distances at the same scale?
- Where does the data in a planet table come from?