16.3b The Solar System

Enhancement Lesson

16.3 Vocabulary

Planet – any of the 8 primary bodies orbiting the sun; a similar body orbiting another star.

16.3 Vocabulary

Solar System – the sun and all the objects that orbit around it.

16.3 Vocabulary

Asteroid – a small rocky object that orbits the sun, usually in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

16.3 Vocabulary

Nebular model – a model that describes the sun and the solar system forming together out of a cloud of gas and dust.

16.3 Vocabulary

Phases – the different apparent shapes of the moon or a planet due to the relative positions of the sun, Earth, and the moon or planet.

16.3 Vocabulary

Eclipse – an event that occurs when one object passes into the shadow of another object.

16.3 Vocabulary

Eclipse – an event that occurs when one object passes into the shadow of another object.

16.3 Properties of Planets

Planet

Average surface

temperature (°C)

Number of

moons

Presence of

rings Atmosphere

Mercury 350 0 No Essentially none

Venus 460 0 No Thick: carbon dioxide, sulfuric acid

Earth 20 1 No Nitrogen, oxygen

Mars -23 2 No Thin: carbon dioxide

Jupiter -120 16 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane

Saturn -180 18 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane

Uranus -210 20 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane

Neptune -220 8 Yes Very thin: nitrogen and methane

16.3 The Inner Planets

Inner Planets – (Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars) characterised by solid, rocky surfaces and are relatively small.

16.3 The Inner Planets

Mercury – surface temperature can go as hot as 397°C enough to melt a tin can, and can drop to -170°C on the dark side. Spins slowly at 3 times every 2 orbit years.

16.3 The Inner Planets

Venus – atmosphere is thick composed mostly of co2 and with high levels of sulfuric acid which is corrosive. Pressure is more than 90 times that of the earth. Atmosphere prevents radiation to escape creating a greenhouse effect keeping surface temperature very high.

16.3 The Inner Planets

Earth – the third planet out from the sun and has ideal conditions for living creatures. It also has an atmosphere rich with oxygen and carbon dioxide and moderate temperature.

16.3 The Inner Planets

Mars – the Martian volcano Olympus Mons is the largest mountain in the solar system with base larger than the entire state of Louisiana and almost 3 times the height of Mount Everest. Polar icecaps contain some water that used to flow across the surface. Has a thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide.

16.3 The Inner Planets

Asteroid – small rocky objects ranging in diameter from 3 km to 700 km. Asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter and divides the inner and outer planets.

16.3 The Outer Planets

The outer Planets – All of them are much larger than the inner planets, have thick gaseous atmospheres and for this they are called the gas giants. They have no solid surface.

16.3 The Outer Planets

Jupiter – big enough to hold 1300 Earths. If it were only 80 times more massive than it, it would have sufficient pressure and temperature to sustain nuclear fusion to be a star. It has a thin band of rings and moons orbiting around it.

16.3 The Outer Planets

Saturn – has system of rings composed of tiny particles of dust, rock and ice. It has many moons. Competing gravitational forces from Saturn and its moons hold the particles in place around the planet.

16.3 The Outer Planets

Uranus – has very thick, gaseous atmosphere that contains a lot of methane, that gives it a bluish color. It has 20 known moons and have faint rings.

16.3 The Outer Planets

Neptune – like Uranus, it has very thick, gaseous atmosphere and also contains a lot of methane, that gives it a bluish color. It has 8 known moons and have faint rings.

16.3 Solar and Lunar Eclipse

Solar Eclipse