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SOL 4.7 & 4.8 - Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Changes
Study Guide
Planets
1. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are Terrestrial planets
2. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are gas giants
3. Sequence of planets based on position from sun-Mercury is closest, Venus is 2nd, Earth is
3rd, Mars is 4th, Jupiter is 5th, Saturn is 6th, Uranus is 7th, and Neptune is 8th Memory
Jogger: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos
4. Sequence of Planets from largest to smallest: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth,
Venus, Mars, and Mercury Memory Jogger: Jealous Sisters Usually Never Eat Very Many
Marshmallows
5. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have rings
6. Pluto is considered a “dwarf planet” and is smaller than seven moons in our solar system
7. Inner Planets Include: Earth, Mercury, Venus, and Mars
Moon Phases
Revolution and Rotation
1. The Earth completes one revolution around the sun every 365 days (one per year).
2. The moon revolves around the Earth about once every 29 days (one per month).
3. The Earth completes on rotation on its axis every 24 hours (one per day).
4. Rotation is the spinning motion of an object. (like a top).
5. Revolution is the circling motion of an object.
Seasons
1. Earth experiences seasons because of its axial tilt and its revolution around the sun.
2. The northern half of the Earth experiences the opposite season than the southern half of the
Earth.
3. Locations closets to the equator stay hot or warm all year long.
Characteristics of the Earth
1. The Earth is one of the eight planets that revolve around the sun.
2. The Earth is the third planet from the sun and one of the four terrestrial inner planets.
3. The Earth is about 150 million kilometers from the sun.
4. The Earth is geologically active with a surface that is constantly changing.
5. The Earth has large amounts of life-supporting water and an oxygen-rich atmosphere.
6. The Earth’s protective atmosphere blocks out most of the sun’s damaging rays.
Characteristics of the Moon
1. The surface of the moon is rocky with craters and mountains.
2. The moon is about one-quarter the diameter of the Earth and one-eightieth of its mass.
3. The moon has extreme temperatures, virtually no atmosphere, no water, and no life.
4. When the moon’s face appears to increase in size, it is waxing.
5. When the moon’s face appears to decrease in size, it is waning.
Characteristics of the Sun
1. The sun is an average-sized yellow star.
2. The sun is about 110 times the diameter of the Earth.
3. The sun is approximately 4.6 billion years old.
4. The sun is very hot and made of gases (hydrogen and helium)
Earth-Centered (Geocentric) Model of the Solar System
1. Aristotle (384-322 BC)
 Greek philosopher and scientist
 Believed in an earth-centered universe
 Thought the heavens moved naturally and endless in a complex circular motion
2. Ptolemy
 Astronomer and mathematician
 Believed the earth was stationary and was the center of the universe
 Tried to solve the problem of retrograde movement of Mars
Sun-Centered (Heliocentric) Model of the Solar System
1. Copernicus
 Believed in a sun-centered universe (Heliocentric)
 Earth orbits the sun in a circular motion
2. Galileo
 Built a telescope and discovered mountains and craters on the moon
 Observed the phases of Venus and Sun Spots
 Discovered Jupiter’s moon (4 largest)
 Upheld Copernicus’s sun-centered theory
3.Our Solar System is part of the Milky Way Galaxy
Missions to the Moon
1.
2.
3.
4.
1963-1972 by NASA
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 16, 17 landed humans on the surface of the moon
Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon
The six missions that landed on the moon returned a wealth of data and 400 kg of lunar
samples.
Our understanding of the sun, moon, and the solar system continues to change with new
scientific discoveries