THE SOLAR SYSTEMArlette Lopez

ETCV 411

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Solar System Planets

Click on a planet (or red dot) for facts on each one.

The SunThe star of the solar system is a huge ball of hot, glowing gases. At about 333,000 times the mass of Earth, the sun contains about 99.8 percent of all the mass in the solar system. Heat and light from this average-size star travel a mean distance of 92.96 million miles (149.6 million kilometers) to reach Earth and support all life on our planet.

Mercury

Because Mercury orbits so close to the sun, its heavily cratered surface can reach 801˚ F (427˚ C). But without much of an atmosphere to trap the heat, nighttime temperatures on Mercury can plummet to -279˚F (-173˚C).

Stats• Distance from the sun 35,983,095 miles (57,909,178 kilometers)• Length of year 88 days• Length of day 1,407 hours 30 minutes

VenusStats• Distance from the sun 67,237,910 miles (108,208,927 kilometers)• Length of year 225 days • Length of day

5,832 hours

Venus’s reflective cloud cover makes it one of the brightest objects in the night sky. These clouds kept astronomers from seeing the planet’s surface until 1991-92, when the Magellan orbiter used radar to create a highly detailed map.

EarthThe only planet known to support life, Earth, out home planet, is a complex system of air, water, and land. Its blue expanse of ocean, its thin yet dynamic veil of atmosphere, and its brown and green jigsaw of continents all give Earth a vitality unknown anywhere else in the universe.

Stats• Distance from the sun 92,955,820 miles (149,597,891 kilometers)• Length of year 365 days, 6 hours, 16 minutes• Length of day 23 hours, 56 minutes• Min/Max Temperature -126˚F (-87.8˚C) to 136˚F (57.8˚C)

Mars

Mars is know as the Red Planet. This rocky planet’s surface has seen volcanoes, meteor impacts, shifting tectonic plates, and huge dust storms. Its seasonal temperature fluctuations are visible in its ever growing and receding polar ice caps.

Stats• Distance from the sun 141,633, 260 miles (227,936,640 kilometers)• Length of year 687 days• Length of day 24 hours, 27 minutes

Jupiter

Jupiter is know as The Giant.

Jupiter is the Solar System’s largest planet. Its mainly hydrogen and helium atmosphere resembles that of our sun. Some scientists even refer to the planet as a failed star, although it would need to be many times larger to have become a sun.

Jupiter has 63 known moons, most less than 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter. The 4 largest of its moons are: lo, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto.

Stats• Distance from the sun 483,682,810

miles (778, 412,020 kilometers)• Length of year 4,331 days• Length of day 9 hours, 56 minutes• Average Temperature -235˚F (-148˚C)

Saturn

Saturn is know as the Ringed Planed.

Like the other gas giants, Saturn is made of mostly hydrogen and helium. Fast winds in the upper atmosphere combined with rising heat cause the planet’s yellow and gold banding.

Saturn has 52 named moons. Six of its main moons are: Janus, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Titan.

Stats• Distance from the sun 885,904,700 miles (1,426,725,400 kilometers)• Length of year 10,759 days• Length of day 10 hours, 39 minutes

UranusUranus is known as the Blue Planet.

Uranus spins on an axis that often points directly at the sun. This odd alignment is thought to be the result of a collision with some other body, possibly a planet-size object, early in its history. Its bright blue-green color comes from methane gas in its atmosphere.

There are 27 known moons on Uranus. Most of Uranus’s small moons , as small as 8 to 10 miles (12 to 16 kilometers)across, were spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope. Five of its moons would include: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Umberon, and Titania.

Stats• Distance from the sun 1,783,939,400 miles (2,870,972,170 km)• Length of year 30,687 days• Length of day 17 hours, 15 minutes

NeptuneNeptune is known as the Outer-most Planet.

Like Uranus, Neptune gets its bright blue coloring from methane gas in its atmosphere. Hurricane-like storms, similar to Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, regularly move across Neptune’s turbulent surface.

Neptune has 13 moons, six of which were discovered by Voyager2. Two of its moons include: Nereid and Triton.

Stats• Distance from the sun 2,795,084,800 miles (4,498,252,900 km)• Length of year

60,190 days• Length of day 16 hours, 7 minutes

PlutoPluto is known as the Celestial Snowballs.

About 30 percent smaller than Earth’s moon, Pluto is now considered a dwarf planet, a class of orbiting bodies that includes Eris, Ceres, and perhaps nearly a dozen other bodies. Pluto orbits the Kuiper belt, a region of the solar system extending beyond the planetsand thought to be the origin of many comets.

Pluto has 3 known moons, Hydra, Nix, and Pluto’s companion moon, Charon.

Stats• Distance from the sun 3,670,055,000 miles (5,906,380,000 km)• Length of year 90,553 days

• Length of day 153 hours, 18 minutes

Teacher Instructions

This activity is aligned with content, technology, and information literacy standards. It is designed as an activity to gain knowledge on planets.

AZ Science Standards

AZ Technology Standards

Info. Literacy Standards

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NETS•S

AZ 3rd Grade State Standards

Strand 6: Earth and Space ScienceConcept 2: Objects in the Sky

PO: No Performance objectives at this grade level.

AZ Technology Standards

Standard 3: Technology Productivity Tools

Students use technology tools to enhance learning to increase productivity and creativity and to construct technology-enhanced models, prepare publications and produce other creative works.

3T-F3. Use prescribed technology tools for publishing and presenting information.

PO2: Create a multimedia product with support from teachers, family, or student partners (e.g., slide show, hyperstack, video)

NETS●S

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers:

a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.