1. Lesson 1: Orders of Magnitude
The Standard Model
Lesson 1:
Orders of Magnitude

2. What are we learning today?
The range of orders of magnitude of length.

3. A Sense of Scale
We do not experience the extremes of scale in everyday life.
We struggle to visualise the size of a cell or the diameter of the Earth.
To help us we use scientific notation to describe them.
Powers of 10 are referred to as orders of magnitude.
Watch this video.

4. Orders of Magnitude
The order of magnitude of a number is the number of powers of ten it contains e.g. 3 x 108 has an order of magnitude of 8. E.g From small to large:
Planck length - x10-35m
Proton / Neutron - x10-15m
Wavelength of red light - 7 x10-7m
Length of classroom - 10m
Radius of earth x106m
Diameter of solar system - x1013m
Distance to edge of universe x1026m

5. Activity
This activity will allow you to develop an understanding of the order of magnitude of length from the sub-nuclear to the scale of the Universe.
Follow the instructions on p1 of your problem booklet carefully.