Download How are the planets in the solar system alike and different?

Chapter 16: The Solar System
How are the planets in the solar system alike and different?
Concept Web
Inner
Planets
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Sun
Earth
Uranus
Mars
Neptune
Outer
Planets
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Vocabulary Word Web
Comprised of
Comprised of
Keeps objects in
Comprised of
Vocabulary
planet: a large, ball-shaped body of matter that revolves, or travels, around any star
solar system: the Sun, eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, and other objects that revolve around
the Sun
orbit: the path of any object in space that revolves around another object in space
asteroid: a small chunk of rock that orbits around the Sun
Questions students should be able to answer
What is at the center of the solar system? The Sun
What is the relationship of planets to the Sun? The planets travel in orbits at different distances around the
Sun
Lesson 1: What are the parts of the solar system?
The Sun:
 is a star – a ball of hot, glowing gases.
 is much nearer to the Earth than the other stars (There are many other stars that are far away).
 The sun is 109 times as wide as Earth and could hold one million Earths inside it.
 The sun’s temperatures are extremely hot, and energy from the Sun travels through space.
The Planets:
 Each planet revolves around the sun in a slightly oval path called an orbit
 Inner planets are those closer to the Sun
 Mercury: closest planet to the Sun
 Venus: second planet from the Sun
 Earth: the third planet from the Sun
 Mars: the fourth planet from the Sun
 Outer planets are at greater distances from the Sun.
 Jupiter: fifth planet from the Sun
 Saturn: sixth planet from the Sun
 Uranus: seventh planet from the Sun
 Neptune: eighth planet from the Sun
Asteroids
 Small chunk of rock that orbits the Sun
 Thousands of asteroids are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
Questions students should be able to answer
Why is the Sun so bright and hot? The Sun is a ball of hot, glowing gases that is close to us compared with
other stars.
Why don’t the stars at night look as bright as the Sun? Other stars are much farther away.
What takes place in the center of the Sun? Temperatures are millions of degrees, and particles join together.
If you were able to travel close to another star, how would our Sun look from there? Why? The Sun would
look like a small light because it would be very far away.
What makes up the solar system? The sun, the eight planets and their moons, and other objects such as the
asteroids make up the solar system.
How do objects in the solar system move? Objects in the solar system revolve around the Sun in oval-shaped
paths called orbits.
How does the Sun’s pull of gravity affect objects in the solar system? It holds them in their orbits.
What is found between the farthest inner planet and the closest outer planet? The asteroid belt is located
between Mars and Jupiter.
Lesson 2: What are the planets?
The Inner planets:
 all are rocky
 they are the planets closest to the sun
 Each planet has a different period of rotation, or day and length of revolution, or year
 Each planet has a unique atmosphere.
 Each has a variety of landforms
Mercury:
 Has many craters like those on our Moon
 Dry and very hot because it is the closest to the Sun
 Smallest planet
 Less than half the size of Earth
 It has no atmosphere or moons
 Rotates once in 59 Earth days
 Revolves around the Sun in 88 Earth days
Venus:
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Earth:
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Very hot
Has craters, mountains and valleys
Has an atmosphere and is covered by thick clouds that trap a lot of heat
Takes 225 Earth days to revolve around the sun
It takes 243 Earth days for Venous to rotate one time
Larger than Mercury, but a little smaller than Earth
It has no moons
Slightly larger than Venus
Takes 365 days and 6 hours for Earth to revolve around the Sun
Its day, or rotation, lasts 24 hours
It has one moon and an atmosphere
Very different from the other planets because blue water covers almost three fourths of Earth
You can see white clouds, solid land of the continents and the white ice caps in its atmosphere
Can support life because it has mild temperatures, liquid water and an atmosphere
The atmosphere contains the right amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide and absorbs most of the rays of light
that can harm living things.
Its gravity holds the atmosphere close to Earth.
The Sun is its main source of energy and provides energy for plants to grow even though about one half of the
Sun’s light that comes toward Earth does not reach Earth’s surface.
The Sunlight warms Earth. Much of the reflected light of the sun is scattered nby gases in the atmosphere whick
makes the sky look blue.
Earth’s rocky surface is broken up into plates which constantly move
Earthquakes and volcanoes often happen where the plates meet.
Mars:
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The ‘red planet’ because it has a reddish-orange surface.
It has a very thin atmosphere
It has volcanoes and deep canyons
It is about half the size of Earth.
One year on Mars is equal to 687 Earth days
A day lasts 25 Earth hours
It has no moons
The Gas Giants
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Huge and made mostly of gas
Surfaces are NOT solid
They have deep atmospheres with thick layers of clouds and strong winds
They have rings around them
Jupiter:
 The largest planet in the solar system
 Covered with thick layers of clouds that reflect sunlight.
 Has bands of clouds, strong winds and storms which makes the planet look like it does
 Has more than 60 moons, but only four are as large or larger than Earth’s moon
 Its rings are hard to see
Saturn:
 Second largest planet
 Most famous for its rings
 Its rings are made of chunks of ice and rock
 It has at least 30 moons
Uranus
 Unlike other planets because it rotates on its side (horizontal axis).
 It has 26 moons
Neptune
 Has strong winds and storms
 Looks light blue and has rings that are hard to see
 Has a t least 13 moons
A Dwarf Planet
Pluto:
 Small, cold, and rocky object
 Should have never been categorized as a planet
 Has a very unusual orbit because sometimes it is closer to the Sun than Neptune
 Its orbit is at an angle
 Smaller than Earth’s moon
Questions students should be able to answer
Which of the planets are inner planets? Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
Which inner planet has the shortest day, or time to rotate once? Earth at 24 hours
Which inner planet has the longest day, or time to rotate once? Venus at 243 Earth days to rotate once- its
Day
Which planet’s year is shorter than its day? Explain. Venus; it takes 225 Earth days to revolve once – its year –
and 243 Earth days to rotate once – its day.
Why do you think Mercury and Venus are so hot? Mercury and Venus are hot because they are close to the
Sun
What makes life on Earth possible? Mild temperatures, liquid water, and an atmosphere with the right
amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide
Why doesn’t Earth’s atmosphere float off into space? Gravity holds the atmosphere close to Earth.
What causes Earth’s sky to appear blue? Reflected sunlight scattered by gases in the atmosphere
What might happen to Earth’s surface if more clouds were in the atmosphere to reflect twice as much
sunlight? Earth’s surface wouldn’t get as warm and plants wouldn’t get as much energy to grow.
In what ways are Jupiter and Saturn alike? They are both outer planets, are gas giants, have rings and take
about 10 Earth days to rotate.
How long is one year on Jupiter? 12 Earth years
How do gas giants differ from rocky planets? Gas giants are much larger and farther apart. They are made
mostly of gas and don’t have solid surfaces, as the rocky inner
planets do. The gas giants have rings, while the inner planets do
not.
Why do you think Saturn’s rings are its most famous feature? The rings are bright and easy to see with a
telescope. No other planet has such big, easy-to-see rings.
Which of the planets are outer planets? Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are outer planets.
What small, ball-shaped object orbits the Sun and is now called a dwarf planet? Pluto
How is the rotation of Uranus different from that of other planets? It rotates on its side.
How is Pluto’s orbit different from that of the Planets? Pluto’s orbit sometimes takes it closer to the Sun than
Neptune’s orbit does; Pluto’s orbit is at an angle to the orbits of the planets.