Final answer:
To calculate the scale distance to Barnard's Star, specific details about the scale used in the solar system model are required. The model suggests that even the nearest stars would be represented by vast distances, indicating that the scale distances are immense, yet without precise scale information, the exact distance in kilometers cannot be determined. Therefore answer not mention .
Step-by-step explanation:
The question involves calculating the distance to Barnard's Star using a scale model of the solar system. Given that such a model suggests the nearest stars would be tens of thousands of kilometers away, and considering the vast distances between stars, even with a scale model, these representations would be extremely far apart.
The given scale model involves the Sun being reduced to the size of a basketball and the Earth to the size of an apple seed about 30 meters from the ball.
If the distance to the Sun is one astronomical unit (AU), we can deduce that Barnard's Star, being the second closest star to us, would be at an astronomical scale that is not easily represented on a city-wide scale.
Based on the information provided and assuming that the distances in a scale model are proportionate to real astronomical distances, the answer to the student's question would have to be an approximation.
To calculate the exact value, details about the specific scale used in the model are required, such as the distance in the model that represents one AU or one light year. Without that information, determining whether the scale distance to Barnard's Star would be 5.6 km, 56 km, 560 km, or 5600 km isn't possible.
The statement about placing representations of stars on the other side of Earth or beyond on the model represents the enormous distances involved rather than a precise measurement.
Therefore answer not mention .