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All of the planets are different, with their own features or characteristics. They’re
made of different things, they have different orbits around the Sun and are different
distances from the Sun.
Find a picture of each of the planets to paste in the space provided.
Mercury
Mercury is rocky and covered in a fine soil. It has lots
of craters because it has no atmosphere, and matter
from space crashes into its surface easily. There is
evidence of ice at its north pole but there is no liquid
water. Mercury has no moons. It is the fastest moving
planet and is only 60 million km away from the Sun.
It completes its orbit in 88 Earth days. Mercury’s
diameter is 4879km wide and has an average
temperature of 167°C.
Venus
Venus has a bare, rocky surface with many volcanoes,
mountains and canyons. Its thick atmosphere is made
of carbon dioxide (CO2). This atmosphere traps the
Sun’s rays and this makes it the hottest planet in our
Solar System. It has very strong winds blowing in
the atmosphere. There is no water, and Venus has
no moon. Venus is 108 million km from the Sun and
completes its orbit in 225 Earth days. Its diameter is 12
104km and it has an average temperature of 464°C.
Earth
Our home planet is a rocky planet covered in soil
and water. Our atmosphere has Oxygen (O2) (which
animals take in) and Carbon dioxide (CO2) (which
plants take in). Earth looks blue from space because of
all the water on its surface – hence its name “The Blue
Planet”. Earth is the only planet in our Solar System
that supports life. It has one moon and is 150 million
km from the Sun. Earth’s orbit takes 365 days and it
has an average temperature of 15°C. Earth’s diameter
is 12 756km wide.
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
GRADE 6
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
The planets of the Solar System
GRADE 6
Mars is called “The Red Planet” because of its red
appearance due to all of the red dust that covers
its rocky surface. Mars has volcanic mountains, the
most famous of which is Olympus Mons, which is
28km high! Mars is a cold and windy planet with
many dusty windstorms in its atmosphere, which is
very thin. There is evidence of water on Mars such as
the dried riverbeds and ice at the planet’s north and
south poles. Mars has two moons. It has a diameter of
6792km wide and an average temperature of -65°C. Mars is 228 million km from the
Sun and orbits the Sun in about 687 Earth days.
Jupiter
Jupiter is known as a gas planet as it is made of
Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He). Jupiter is massive
with a diameter that is 11 times the size of Earth’s
diameter! It is actually big enough to fit all of the
other planets inside of it, and is thus the biggest
planet in our Solar System. Jupiter has a streaky
appearance because of the strong winds that are
blowing the gases in an east to west direction. One
of the interesting features on Jupiter is its “Giant
Red Spot” – a hurricane or storm of swirling gases.
Jupiter has 3 dark rings around it, which are made
of dust and it has 67 moons. Jupiter is 779 million km from the Sun and orbits the
Sun in almost 12 Earth years! Its diameter is 142 984km wide and it has an average
temperature of -110°C.
Saturn
Saturn is also a gas planet made of Hydrogen and Helium. It is a very light planet.
It has seven rings that are made of gas and of ice. The yellow bands on the planet’s
surface are made by the fast winds blowing though the gaseous atmosphere. Saturn
has 62 moons. It is the last planet we can see with the naked eye from Earth, but
its rings can only be seen through a telescope. Saturn is 1434 million km from the
Sun and orbits the Sun in 29, 5 Earth years. Its diameter in 120 536km wide and its
average temperature is -140°C.
Uranus
Uranus is a frozen gas planet made of Hydrogen, Helium and Methane (which gives
it its blue-green colour). Uranus’ axis is tilted so that it looks like the planet is lying
on its side. Due to this, it is the only planet that rotates on its side. It has 9 dark rings
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
Mars
Neptune
Neptune is very similar to Uranus as it is also made from frozen Hydrogen, Helium
and Methane, and it also has a blue-green colour. It has incredibly fast winds which
has earned it the title of the “windiest planet”. Neptune has 14 moons and 6 dark
rings – we have not yet discovered what these rings are made of. Neptune is 4495
million km away from the Sun and has an orbit of approximately 165 Earth years (It
has only orbited once since its discovery in 1846). Its diameter is 49 528km wide and
its average temperature is -200°C.
The Asteroid Belt
In the space between the four rocky planets and the gas/ice planets, there is a “belt”
of asteroids orbiting the Sun. These asteroids are big pieces of rock – some are as big
as 1000km in diameter, others are only the size of a car.
Activity
Copy and complete this table in your class workbook and use the information in this
worksheet to complete it.
Planet
What
is it
made
of?
Diameter Number Number Average Distance Length
(km)
of rings of moons surface from the of year
temp.
Sun
(°C)
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
GRADE 6
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
and 2 bright rings as well as 27 moons that we know about. Uranus is 2873 million
km from the Sun and orbits the Sun every 84 Earth years. Uranus orbits the Sun in
the opposite direction to all of the other planets. Its diameter is 51 118km wide and
its average temperature is -195°C.
GRADE 6
1) Which planet is the closest to the Sun and which is the farthest from the Sun?
_________________________________________________________________
2) Which is the smallest planet and which is the largest?
________________________________________________________________
3) Which planet is almost the same size as Earth?
_________________________________________________________________
4) Which of the outer planets are made of frozen gas?
_________________________________________________________________
5) How does the temperature of the planets relate to the distance of the planet
from the Sun?
_________________________________________________________________
6) Which planet is famous for the highest volcano in our Solar System?
_________________________________________________________________
7) Which of the rocky planets have NO evidence of water?
_________________________________________________________________
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
Answer these questions on the above information:
GRADE 6
Here are some pictures of the planets:
Most were taken from http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm
Mercury
Mars
Venus
Earth
Jupiter
Saturn
UranusNeptune
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
Answer sheet
GRADE 6
Copy and complete this table in your class workbook and use the information in this
worksheet to complete it.
Planet
What is Diameter
it made
(km)
of?
Number
of rings
Number of Average
moons
surface
temp.
Mercury
Rock
4879km
0
0
(°C)
167°C
Venus
Rock
12104km
0
0
464°C
Earth
Rock
12756km
0
1
15°C
Mars
Rock
6792km
0
2
-65°C
Jupiter
Gas
142984km 3
67
-110°C
Saturn
Gas
120536km 7
62
-140°C
Uranus
Gas/Ice 51118km
11
27
-195°C
Neptune
Gas/Ice 49528km
6
14
-200°C
Distance
from the
Sun
Length of
year
60
million
km
108
million
km
150
million
km
228
million
km
779
million
km
1434
million
km
2873
million
km
4495
million
km
88 Earth
days
225 Earth
days
365 Earth
days
687 Earth
days
12 Earth
years
29,5 Earth
years
84 Earth
years
165 Earth
years
A good resource to have a look at is this site: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/
factsheet/index.html (for all the updated measurements).
Answer these questions about the above information:
1) Which planet is the closest to the Sun and which is the farthest from the Sun?
Mercury is the closest and Neptune is the farthest.
2) Which is the smallest planet and which is the largest?
The smallest planet is Mercury and the largest is Jupiter.
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
Activity
GRADE 6
Venus is almost as large as Earth.
4) Which of the outer planets are made of frozen gas?
Uranus and Neptune are made of frozen gases.
5) How does the Temperature of the planets relate to the distance of the planet from
the Sun?
The closer the planet is to the Sun the hotter it is.
(Note that the presence of an atmosphere and what gases that atmosphere
contains also play a role in the temperature of the planet. For example, Mercury
is much closer to the Sun than Venus is, but Venus’s atmosphere is thick and full
of CO2 which traps the rays from the Sun. This makes the average temperature of
Venus much higher than Mercury’s.)
6) Which planet is famous for the highest volcano in our Solar System?
Mars is famous for Olympus Mons which is 28km high!
7) Which of the rocky planets has NO evidence of water?
Venus has no evidence of water.
(A good higher-order-thinking question to ask is WHY?) The reason is probably that if there was water at any point on the planet of Venus, it probably evaporated very quickly due to the high temperatures!)
© e-classroom 2014 www.e-classroom.co.za
Grade 6 Natural Science and Technology; Planet Earth and Beyond; Technology: Systems and Control: The Solar System: Sun, Planets and Asteroids (2)
3) Which planet is almost the same size as Earth?