6.E.1.2 & 6.E.1.3Solar System

Discussion Question:

•Why do you think that Earth is the only planet that sustains life?

Planets: SummaryEarth

• Why do you think that Earth is the only planet that sustains life?

1)Right atmosphere2)Water3)Right temperature4)Air (Oxygen)

Our Planets• Mercury• Venus• Earth• Mars• Jupiter• Saturn• Uranus• Neptun

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My Very Excellent Mother Just Sold Us Notebooks.

Activity

• Create a saying to remember the names of the planets. • Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus

Neptune Pluto• Ex. My very eccentric mother just sent us nine pigs.

Our PlanetsWhat is a planet?

• A large body that does not give off light.

Planets Must Be Able To…

1. Orbit a sun2. Have enough

mass for it to form its own gravity and for it to shape into a sphere.

3. Massive enough to form its own orbit

Unit Vocabulary• Solar System: Our Sun and the planets that move

around it, including asteroids, meteors, and comets• Galaxy: A system of millions or billions of stars,

together with gas and dust, held together by gravity• Satellite: A man-made object placed in orbit around

the earth, the moon, or another planet in order to collect information or for communication. The moon is Earth’s only natural satellite

• Planet: a large, round object in space (such as the earth) that travels around a star (such as the sun)

• Atmosphere: A mass of gases that surround a planet or a star

Unit Vocabulary• Gravity: Movement to or toward someone

or something• Comet: An object made up of glass and

dust that develops a long, bright tail when it passes near the sun

• Meteor: A piece of rock or metal that burns and glows brightly in the sky as it falls from outer space into Earth's atmosphere

• Asteroid: Any of the small rocky objects found especially between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

The Solar System consists of the:

•Sun•Planets•Moons•Asteroids•Meteors•Comets•Dust•Gases •Primarily empty space

Solar System

Solar System• The sun is the major source of heat and light for the solar system.

• Everything in the solar system is under the direct influence of the Sun’s gravitational pull.

• Planets are the largest objects in the solar system (other than the sun) and due to the Sun’s gravitational pull, they revolve around the sun with known frequencies.

The Inner Planets

• http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/solar-system/day-on-earth.htm

• https://www.flocabulary.com/solar-system/

Mercury• Appears to be a huge

ball of iron covered by a thin layer of rock

• Has no atmosphere, so there is no wind or weather

• There is no water or air on the surface, but could possibly be underneath the surface

Venus• Atmosphere is mainly

carbon dioxide• Size and gravitational

force similar to Earth• Has no liquid water• Is the hottest planet due

heat from the light being trapped in it's atmosphere

• Surface has craters and active volcanoes

Earth• The Earth formed in

just the right place with just the right ingredients for life to flourish.

• Our planet has:• Liquid water• Breathable atmosphere

• Suitable amount of sunshine to sustain life

• Right temperature• Air (oxygen)

Earth Continued• The earth is orbited by one moon, many artificial

satellites, and debris. • Atmosphere is a layer of air, made up of many

layers and gases that surround the Earth’s surface keeping humans safe from the sun’s radiation.

Mars• The "red planet" because

it's covered with rust-like dust

• Has violent dust storms and contains the largest volcano in the solar system

• Thin atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide, it is thin so it does not trap heat. It is a very cold planet

• Has a weak gravitational pull

Outer Planets

Jupiter• The largest planet• Has thick, colorful clouds of deadly, poisonous

gases surrounding it. The quick spinning of the planet whips up the atmosphere, creating the bands around the planet

• Has many storms on the surface, most notably the big red spot which is the largest hurricane in our Solar System

• Jupiter has many moons circling around it. Four of these moons are bigger than Pluto

Saturn• The second largest planet in our

solar system and is another gas giant• Has a small rocky core covered with

liquid gas• Has many moons surrounding it• The rings are made up of millions of

ice crystals, some as big as houses and others as small as specks of dust

• Very light as it is made up of more hydrogen than helium so it is less dense

Uranus• Uranus takes 84 Earth years to

go around the sun, this means that each of its poles is in daylight for 42 years and in darkness for the next 42

• The atmosphere is mostly hydrogen but also contains large amounts of a gas called methane. Methane absorbs red light and scatters blue light so a blue-green methane haze hides the interior of the planet from view.

Neptune• Suffers the most violent

storms in the solar system

• A large, water planet with a blue hydrogen-methane atmosphere and faint rings

• Covered with thin clouds• Storms have been spotted

swirling around its surface and freezing winds that blow about ten times faster than hurricanes on Earth make it the windiest planet

Riddles

• I'm the planet that everyone calls “Red,” But really my soil is rust-colored instead. Look up and you may spot me in the sky, I'm the orange-colored dot, way up high.

• What planet am I?• Mars

• With over 63 moons, you might say I have a lot. Look with a telescope to see my big, red spot. The spot is a wind storm, swirling around. High in the night sky is where I can be found.

• What planet am I?• Jupiter

Riddles

• I'm blue and green and a little brown. I'm a small planet with life all around. They call me the third rock from the sun. I don't have many moons - just one.

• What planet am I?• Earth

• No matter how hard you look, you'll never find me, Unless you have a telescope to help you see. I was once called a planet, but not any more. Now I'm just a “Dwarf Planet,” but too important to ignore.

• What planet am I?• Pluto

Riddles

• Look very close to the sun and you'll spot, A tiny, cratered planet that's very hot . I have no moons but I orbit the sun very fast . Can you guess my name at last?

• What planet am I?• Mercury

• I'm yellow and cloudy and super hot. Look low in the sky, I'm easy to spot. People call me the “Evening Star” From planet Earth, I'm not very far.

• What planet am I?• Venus

Riddles

• Named for the Roman god of the Sea, Look past Saturn and Uranus for me. I had a black spot that was a huge storm. Now it's all gone, but I'll still never be warm.

• What planet am I?• Neptune

• I'm a giant gas planet out in space, There are bands or stripes all over my face. When it comes to size, I'm number two, I have bright rings. That's an easy clue.

• What planet am I?• Saturn

Riddles

• A gas planet that's off in the distance, Only recently they found my rings in existence. I'm blue and cold and far away, People say I'm funny because I spin sideways.

• What planet am I?• Uranus

Asteroid• Asteroids are small, airless rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be called planets.

• In total, the mass of all the asteroids is less than that of Earth's moon. But despite their size, asteroids can be dangerous. Many have hit Earth in the past, and more will crash into our planet in the future. That's one reason scientists study asteroids and are eager to learn more about their numbers, orbits and physical characteristics.

Asteroid Belt• The vast majority of asteroids

in the solar system are found in a region of the solar system out beyond Mars. They form the Asteroid Belt.

• The Asteroid Belt is located in an area of space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

• Asteroid Belt objects are made of rock and stone. Some are solid objects, while others are orbiting “rubble piles”.

• The Asteroid Belt contains billions and billions of asteroids.

• Gravitational influences can move asteroids out of the Belt

• There was a theory once that if you combined all the asteroids they would make up the missing “Fifth” rocky planet. Planetary scientists estimate that if you could put all that material together that exists there today, it would make a tiny world smaller than Earth’s moon.

Meteors• A meteoroid is a small

rock or particle of debris in our solar system.

• They range in size from dust to around 10 meters in diameter (larger objects are usually referred to as asteroids).

• A meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is known as a meteor.

• A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth’s atmosphere and colliding with the Earth’s surface is known as a meteorite.

Comets• Comets are big chunks of

ice, rock and gas. • They are dirty snowballs

of leftovers from the beginning of our solar system.

• Comets orbit the Sun like planets. Most comets orbit way out beyond the orbit of Pluto. It can take a comet hundreds or even millions of years to go once around the Sun.

• When close enough to the Sun they display a visible coma (a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to solar radiation) and sometimes a tail.

Placement/ revolution

• http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/issedukit/en/activities/flash/start_toolbar.html#c1_p13_02.swf

Activity

• We will be making a booklet today. The cover should say “Planet Booklet”and your name. Each page represents a different planet (including pluto).

• This project is your test for this unit so it will be put in as a classwork and test grade!

Pages

• Cover Page with your name

• Sun• Mercury• Venus• Earth• Mars

• Jupiter• Saturn• Uranus• Neptune• Comet/Meteor/

Asteroid• Solar System –

back page (capture our interest)

Each planet needs these facts:

• Distance from sun• Period of rotation

(including if it is prograde or retrograde)

• Period of revolution• What atmosphere is

like• Diameter

• Surface temperature• Interesting fact• How many moons the

planet has • What it is known for (ex.

Earth is the only planet to sustain life)

• Spacecraft visited? If so, which one?

• Any other important facts

For booklet• http://tea`ch.fcps.net/trt8/SolarSystem/Planets.ht

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Journal Entry

• You are visiting a planet of your choice. Write postcard to someone of your choice. Describe the weather, the view, the gravity, and anything else you may want to include.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/nasacity/index2.htm

Google “nasa city” and click on the first link

Complete the spinoff challenge by clicking on different objects. In the last 5 minutes of class I will come by and see

how many you have found. Also, I would like a paragraph response on what you have learned.

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/space_level2/activity/problems_space.html

Write a letter from a space station orbiting Earth. You should describe the station, your mission, and your day-to-day life.

Space Exploration Timeline• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/spa

ce/space-exploration/

• http://www.seasky.org/space-exploration/space-timeline-menu.html