Download Characteristics Cards KEY

Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
Characteristics Cards KEY
Note: Some numeric values may differ depending on the research source used. Accept reasonable differences.
Name: Sun
Name: Mercury
Period of Rotation: The apparent rotation of the star, as
viewed from Earth, at its equator is about 25–28 days.
Period of Rotation: 58.6 days
Period of Revolution: It takes the solar system about
Period of Revolution: 87.9 days
225–250 million years to complete one orbit of the
galaxy.
17
st
Orbit: 26,000 light-years (2.47954 X 10 km) from the
Orbit: 1 from the Sun; 58,000,000 km
center of the Milky Way
Location: Close to the inner rim of Orion Arm in the
Location: 0.387 AU; 58 million km (36 million miles)
Milky Way galaxy
30
22
Size/Mass: 1.989 x 10 kg
Size/Mass: 33 X 10 kg
Atmosphere: Mostly hydrogen which extends past the
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
orbit of Pluto
Physical Properties: Composed of hydrogen that
Atmosphere: It has a very thin, almost undetectable
changes to helium during nuclear fusion. Energy
atmosphere composed of sodium and potassium gas.
produced in the core powers the Sun and produces
Physical Properties: Close to the Sun; very cold at night
essentially all the heat and light received on Earth.
and very hot during the day; craters
Name: Venus
Number of Moons: 0
Period of Rotation: 243.1 days
Period of Revolution: 224.7 days
nd
Orbit: 2 from the Sun
Location: 0.723 AU; 108 million km (67.24 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 487 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Carbon dioxide with minor amounts of
nitrogen and trace amounts of nitrogen, helium, neon,
and argon
Physical Properties: About the same size of Earth; thick
cloud cover traps much of the Sun's heat causing the
hottest average temperature of all the planets
Name: Earth
Number of Moons: 1
Period of Rotation: 23 hours 53 minutes
Period of Revolution: 365.3 days
rd
Orbit: 3 from the Sun
Location:1 AU; 150 million km (92.9 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 598 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Nitrogen and oxygen and minor amounts
carbon dioxide, ozone, argon, and helium
Name: Mars
Number of Moons: 2
Name: Jupiter
Number of Moons: Has 62 moons, 50 official, and 12
unofficial
Period of Rotation: 9 hours 55 minutes
Period of Revolution: 4,332.9 days
th
Orbit: 5 from the Sun
Location: 5.203 AU; 778 million km (483.88 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 190,000 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Mainly helium and hydrogen with trace
amounts of water, ammonia, methane, and other
carbon compounds
Temperature:
Physical Properties: Has a red spot where a giant storm
has been raging for at least 300 years; has no solid
surface; has a faint ring; under its atmosphere there is
a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water
Period of Rotation: 24 hours 37 minutes
Period of Revolution: 686.9 days
th
Orbit: 4 from the Sun
Location:1.524 AU; 228 million km (141.71 million miles)
22
Size/Mass: 64.2 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Terrestrial
Atmosphere: Thin layer of mainly carbon dioxide;
nitrogen, argon, and small traces of oxygen and water
vapor also present
Temperature:
Physical Properties: Has much higher mountains and far
deeper canyons than the Earth; temperature ranges
similar to earth; may have frozen water at poles
©2012, TESCCC
Physical Properties: Has atmosphere and temperature
ranges which allow life; has liquid water
11/01/2012
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Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
Name: Saturn
Number of Moons: Has 53 official moons and 9 unofficial
moons.
Period of Rotation: 10 hours 13 minutes
Period of Revolution: 10,759.2 days
th
Orbit: 6 from the Sun
Location: 9.539 AU; 14.29 million km (887.14 million
miles)
22
Size/Mass: 56, 900 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Thick atmosphere of hydrogen and helium;
methane and ammonia also present
Physical Properties: Atmosphere of methane and helium;
no solid surface; first planet discovered to have rings.
The sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes an
ocean of liquid chemicals.
Name: Uranus
Number of Moons: 21
Period of Rotation: 17.2 hours
Period of Revolution: 30,684 days
th
Orbit: 7 from the Sun
Location: 19.18AU; 2,871million km (1,783.98 million
miles)
22
Size/Mass: 8,690 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Mainly of hydrogen and minor amounts of
helium and methane
Physical Properties: Spins on its side; has a large rocky
core; almost identical to the planet Neptune; has dark
rings; cold
Name: Neptune
Number of Moons: 13
Period of Rotation: 16 hours 17 minutes
Period of Revolution: 60,190 days
th
Orbit: 8 from the Sun
Location:30.06 AU; 4,504 million km (2,796.46 million
miles)
22
Size/Mass:10, 280 X 10 kg
Terrestrial or Gas Giant: Gas giant
Atmosphere: Mainly hydrogen and helium; small
amounts of methane
Physical Properties: Has six rings; has a storm called
The Great Dark Spot; has faint rings; cold
Galilean Moons: Students may have to perform specific searches for orbital periods.
Name: Io
Name: Callisto
Name: Ganymede
Distance from Planet:
Distance from Planet:
Distance from Planet:
421,600 km
1,070,000 km
670,900 km
th
th
th
Location: 5 from Jupiter
Location: 8 from Jupiter
Location: 7 from Jupiter
Orbital Period of
Orbital Period of
Orbital Period of
Revolution: 1.769 days
Revolution: 16.689 days
Revolution: 7.154 days
Other Characteristics:
Other Characteristics:
Other Characteristics:
nd
Active volcanism; sulfur,
2 largest moon; cratered Largest moon in solar
iron, and rocky material;
surface; ice; thin
system; ice; grooved
rd
3 largest moon
atmosphere
terrain on cratered surface
©2012, TESCCC
11/01/2012
Name: Europo
Distance from Planet:
670,900 km
th
Location: 6 from Jupiter
Orbital Period of
Revolution: 3.551 days
Other Characteristics:
th
4 largest moon; ice; may
have ocean under surface
of ice; smallest moon; has
phases like Earth’s moon
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Grade 6
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
Name: Meteors
General Location/Path: Most likely source for most
meteors is the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.
A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-size particle of debris
in the solar system. The visible path of a meteoroid that
enters Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor, or a
shooting star or falling star. If a meteoroid reaches the
ground and survives impact, then it is called a
meteorite. Many meteors appearing seconds or
minutes apart are called a meteor shower.
Name: Asteroids
General Location/Path: Four sets of asteroids fields: the
main belt, Trojans, scattered disc, and Kuiper belt. The
asteroid field, known as the main belt, is a large
collection of objects that are in orbit between Jupiter
and Mars.
Physical Properties: Interplanetary space is littered with
rocks tens of meters in diameter or less. These are
asteroids that have been pulled into a planets
gravitational field and either burn up or impact on a
planet or moon surface. Most meteors are tiny specks
of dust and rapidly burn up in the atmosphere. Some
are larger and produce spectacular fireballs that are
very bright. Meteors are common; you can usually
observe a few per hour on any clear night, but fireballs
are rare.
Physical Properties: Asteroids are thought to be the
result of the Big Bang; large asteroids collide and
destroy each other until they are elliptical and other
odd shaped, pock-marked rocky objects.
Name: Comets
General Location/Path: Disc-like belt of icy bodies just
beyond Neptune, where comets pushed by gravity into
orbits bringing them closer to the Sun; become shortperiod comets; take less than 200 years to orbit the
Sun. Long-period comets come from a region called
the Oort Cloud and can take as long as 30 million years
to complete one trip around the Sun.
Physical Properties: Has a tiny frozen nucleus which
contains icy chunks and frozen gases with bits of
embedded rock and dust, or it may have a small rocky
core.
A comet warms up as it nears the Sun and develops an
atmosphere, or coma. The Sun's heat causes ices on
the nucleus surface to change to gases so that the
coma gets larger. The pressure of sunlight and solar
wind blows the coma materials away from the Sun,
forming a long and, sometimes, bright tail.
©2012, TESCCC
11/01/2012
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