Download Name:

Name:
Lesson 2, Unit 5 Our Solar System (pgs. 342-353)
Please use page 343 to define the following terms:
Solar system:_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Planet: _________________________________________________________________
Satellite: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Asteroid: _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Comet:__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Inner Planets:
A _______________ ________________is made up of a star and all the objects
that revolve(o_ _ _ _) around that star. ____________________ between the star and
planet holds the planet in orbit around the star. Smaller objects that revolve around a
planet are referred to as _______________________. The four inner planets are
____________________, ______________________, ________________________ and
______________________.
Questions:
1) Why does Mercury’s temperature vary so drastically?
2) Why does Venus maintain a hotter temperature than Mercury?
3) How do scientists theorize that Mars once had liquid water?
Fill in the table. Use miles for distance.
INNER PLANETS
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Diameter
Dist. From sun
Year length
Weight(for 100
pound person
on Earth)
Outer Planets:
In order from the sun, the five outer planets are _________________, ______________,
___________________, ____________________, and ______________________. Read
these two pages and answer these questions about the outer planets.
1) The only planet in this group without rings is?
2) What is Saturn most noted for?
3) Which planet has the strongest winds in the solar system? How fast?
4) What is the Great Red Spot?
5) What is unique about Uranus?
OUTER PLANETS
Jupiter
Diameter
Dist. From
Sun
Length of
year
Interesting
Fact
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Asteroids and Comets:
The asteroid belt is located between Mars and __________________. Why are
asteroids not considered planets? It is because they are too ________________.
What is one hypothesis about this asteroid belt’s
origin?_______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________.
__________________ are other small rocks that travel through space and may enter
Earth’s atmosphere. When they strike the Earth’s surface they are called
________________________. A ________________ is a ball of ice, rock, and gas
that has an orbit which brings it really close to the sun on one end, and sometimes
much farther than Pluto on the other end. Which one of these objects creates shooting
stars?__________________________.
An Astronomical Unit(AU) is a measurement of distance used to ease the burden
when talking about massive distances in space. One AU is said to be the average
distance Earth is from the sun (93,000,000 miles). Choose a planet or two, and figure
out how many AUs it is from the sun and Earth.
Mnemonic devices are used to help us remember certain things. An example is Never
Eat Soggy Waffles, which helps to remember the order of cardinal directions; north,
south, east and west. Below, come up with your own, creative mnemonic device to
help you remember the order of planets moving away from the sun. Have fun, but
use it to help you get this order to memory.
If you are finished with the other three pages, use this side to draw a picture of our
solar system. Include everything you have learned about in this lesson and the last.
Make it “pop”.