What’s on the Orders of Magnitude poster
A 7-row table: Scale · Size.
Scale reference points.
- Proton — 10⁻¹⁵ m
- Atom — 10⁻¹⁰ m
- Virus — 10⁻⁷ m
- Human — 10⁰ m
- Earth — 10⁷ m
- Sun-Earth distance — 10¹¹ m
- Observable universe — 10²⁶ m
An atom is to a human roughly as a human is to the Sun-Earth distance. Both are about ten orders of magnitude.
Questions about the Orders of Magnitude poster
- What’s on the Orders of Magnitude poster?
- A 7-row table: Scale · Size. Scale reference points. Proton — 10⁻¹⁵ m; Atom — 10⁻¹⁰ m; Virus — 10⁻⁷ m; Human — 10⁰ m; Earth — 10⁷ m; Sun-Earth distance — 10¹¹ m; Observable universe — 10²⁶ m. An atom is to a human roughly as a human is to the Sun-Earth distance. Both are about ten orders of magnitude.
- Who is the Orders of Magnitude poster for?
- Orders of Magnitude belongs to the Physics section rather than to a school year, because physical science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning methods can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Orders of Magnitude poster?
- A quick estimate catches an error a calculator will happily reproduce. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Orders of Magnitude belongs on the wall where that physical science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Orders of Magnitude?
- Accuracy & Precision, Analysing Results and Dimensional Analysis sit alongside Orders of Magnitude in the Physics section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Accuracy & PrecisionAnalysing ResultsDimensional Analysis
- Is the Orders of Magnitude poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Orders of Magnitude downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Physics section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Orders of Magnitude poster print at?
- Orders of Magnitude is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Orders of Magnitude loses nothing.Printing guide
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