Understanding the Solar System

Workshop (5 days)

By: Stephanie Brace, Lexi Sharos, Charity Jones, and Jennifer Parks

Subject: Science (Astronomy)

Objective: Students will understand the importance of the solar system by learning and memorizing the nine planets along with how the sun plays a key role in our “solar” system. Students will also learn the similarities of the earth and the moon, along with historical facts about how each planet was discovered. Students will also learn the appearance (features) of each planet. Along with learning all the information about the solar system, students will also practice their communication skills.

Materials:

Handouts (provided)

Computers (Internet)

Styrofoam Balls (various sizes)

Paint (variety of colors)

Floral Wire

Medium Size Box

Construction Paper (Blue, Black, Red)

Toothpicks

Glitter Paint (Silver)

Glue

Scissors

Schedule:

Day 1: Introduce the eight planets to the class. Ask what the students already know about planets. Have a brief class discussion about the planets. Hand out the “Introduction to the Solar System” sheet for students to follow along with; then explain to the students about the solar system (found on handout). Send out a letter to parents explaining what their children will learn in class this week (solar system) along with explaining the fifth day’s project.

Day 2: Review the eight planets with students. Give students a quiz on the names of the eight planets. Explain to the students that they will be doing research on the internet for the first three planets, which are Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Students will be divided into groups of five. Students will need to find ten facts online, in their groups. Give students a handout explaining today’s activity along with room to write down facts. Students will have twenty minutes to complete their research. After they have obtained ten facts, they will be called on by the teacher to present their facts to the class. Each student is required to participate in this presentation.

Day 3: Have an in-class discussion on what the students learned from previous day. Give students handout for the day. Explain to the students that they will be doing what they did the previous day, but they will be researching the next three planets, which are Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Students will be spending twenty minutes, in their group of five, researching on the internet ten facts about the three planets. After research is complete, students will present their facts to the class. Each student is required to participate in this presentation.

Day 4: Have in class discussion about what the students learned from the previous day. Give students handout for the day. Students will be researching the last three remaining planets, which are Uranus and Neptune. Students will be spending twenty minutes, in their group of five, researching on the internet ten facts about the three planets. After research is complete, students will present their facts to the class. Each student is required to participate in this presentation. Then, handout study guide for test tomorrow.

Day 5: Students will take a test on the solar system. Then, after the test, give handout explaining the project students will be completing today on the solar system. Students will be making “their own” solar system using the materials listed above. Go through the handout with the students, and explain what they need to do.

Introduction to the Solar System

Quick Overview

The solar system is truly amazing. Our solar system consists of a huge star we call the sun, eight planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), the moons of the planets, comets, asteroids, meteoroids, and the interplanetary medium. It is necessary for you to understand how the solar system works, because it has more to do with your everyday life than you would think!

The Orbit of the Planets

The main reason why the planets orbit the sun is the gravitational pull or force the sun gives off. This is the same example of the earth and the moon. The Earth’s gravitational force keeps the moon orbiting the earth. The Earth completes its rotation every 24 hours (1 day). The Earth rotates around the sun every 365 days (1 year).

Who discovered gravity?

Isaac Newton discovered the idea of gravity. He discovered gravity when he was very young. Newton was outside near an apple tree when he heard the thump of an apple falling on the ground next to him. This was the beginning of his research to discover gravity.

A Closer Look

Sun: The sun is a burning ball of heat and gas. It is the main part in our solar system. That is where the name “solar” came from. The sun makes up about 99.9% of the solar system. That’s huge!!

Mercury: Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, and the second smallest of the eight planets. It was named by the Romans after a messenger of the gods, because it seems to move faster than the other planets. Even though this is the closest planet to the sun and the sun appears 2 ½ times larger than it does on earth, the sky is always black. This is because Mercury contains no atmosphere to provide the scattering of light. Mercury consists of craters, high multi-ring basins, and lava flows. Scientists believe that Mercury is about 70% metal and 30% silicate.

Venus: Venus is known as the “jewel of the sky,” and is named after the goddess of love and beauty. Venus is surrounded by thick clouds made up of sulfuric acid. It is also known as Earth’s sister planet. However, Venus has no oceans and is surrounded by an atmosphere that consists mainly of carbon dioxide. A Venusian’s day is 243 of Earth’s days. At least 85% of Venus’ surface is made up of volcanoes or volcano features.

Earth: Our planet!!! Earth is the only known planet that is able to maintain life! It is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% of other substances. Our Earth travels at about 67,000 miles per hour. The Earth also has 1 moon.

Mars: Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is known as the red planet, because the rocks, soil, and sky have a red tint. Mars was named after the god of war. One reason scientists believe that there could be life on Mars is because of the seasonal color changes it has. The average temperature on Mars is -81 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jupiter: Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. Jupiter could equal up to more than 1,000 earths. It also contains more matter than all of the other planets combined. There are four rings on Jupiter, but they aren’t visible to Earth.

Saturn: Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. It is also the second largest of the eight planets. One significant factor of Saturn is its very visible rings. Winds move at very high speeds around Saturn. Saturn has 31 recognized moons.

Uranus: Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. It is the third largest in the solar system. It is 83% hydrogen, 15% helium, and 2% other substances. Uranus’ has a greenish color to it due to methane. Uranus also has a variety of narrow rings.

Neptune: Neptune is the eighth planet from the sun, and it is also the fourth largest planet. Neptune has eight moons. Neptune’s bluish tint is from the fact that is made up of 1% methane.

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Pluto: Pluto, formerly known as the ninth planet from the sun, has recently been discovered to be a dwarf planet, which does not fall under the true definition of a planet. Little is known about this little planet. However, a spaceship was launched to Pluto recently, and it will take 9 ½ years to get there! Pluto is also smaller than seven of the moons in our solar system.

02/04/2006

Dear Parents,

This is just to give you a little idea of what your children will be learning this week in our solar system workshop! Students will be learning about the solar system, along with memorizing the eight planets in order from the closest to the sun. We are really excited about this workshop, and we feel your children will be to. On Friday, we will wrap up this workshop by making a model of the solar system. This project will be very exciting for the students as well as the NWA Planetarium staff. We will provide students with the materials. As for the test on Friday, students received a handout today, and they will need to study that along with their activity sheets they work on every day. We look forward to teaching your children about the exciting world of Astronomy!

If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to give us a call at 479-123-4567.

Thank-you,

NWA Planetarium Management and Staff

Name______Date: ______

Directions: Now that you’ve had a quick overview of each planet…you are going to do a little research of your own. You will get into groups of 5 (We will pick the groups). Then, it is time to surf the web and find 10 facts on the internet about the first three planets, Mercury, Venus, and Earth. The facts can be anything that has to do with the history, appearance, missions, etc. Make sure to at least find three facts about each planet. You will have 20 minutes to complete this exercise, and after that your groups will present your facts to the class. Happy surfing!

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Name______Date: ______

Directions: You will get into your same groups of 5. Then, it is time to surf the web again and find 10 facts on the internet about the next three planets, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The facts can be anything that has to do with the history, appearance, missions, etc. Make sure to at least find three facts about each planet. You will have 20 minutes to complete this exercise, and after that your groups will present your facts to the class. Happy surfing!

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Name______Date: ______

Directions: You will get into your same groups of 5. Then, it is time to surf the web again and find 10 facts on the internet about the last two planets, Uranus and Neptune. The facts can be anything that has to do with the history, appearance, missions, etc. Make sure to at least find three facts about each planet. You will have 20 minutes to complete this exercise, and after that your groups will present your facts to the class. Happy surfing!

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Solar System

  1. Name the planets in order starting from the closest to the sun.
  2. How many planets are there?
  3. What force controls the orbiting of the planets around the sun?
  4. Who discovered the force that controls the orbiting of the planets around the sun?
  5. How many moons does Saturn have?
  6. What substance gives Uranus its greenish color?
  7. Which dwarf-planet has a spaceship traveling to it that will take 9 ½ years to get there?
  8. Where did scientists get the name “solar” system?
  9. Which planet was named after the Greek goddess of love and beauty?
  10. Which planet, at one point, did scientists believe could have potential for life?
  11. Which planet was named after the Greek god of war?
  12. How often does the Earth complete one rotation?
  13. How often does the earth rotate around the sun?
  14. Which planet has the most visible rings?
  15. What is the smallest planet in the solar system?

Solar System Model Project

Directions: This is designed to be a fun project. You are going to create your own solar system. This will be done in your groups of 5. We will provide you with the materials to do this.

Step 1: You will need to use the glitter paint to paint the black construction paper. This will symbolize the stars in our solar system.

Step 2: You will need to get your box and paste the black construction paper all throughout the inside of the box.

Step 3: Then poke eight holes on top of the box. Make the holes approximately 3 inches apart, and make them side by side.

Step 4: Then, we will give you eight Styrofoam balls. They each will be different sizes. This is because each planet varies in size. For example, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune will be symbolized with the large Styrofoam balls. The remaining four planets are going to be symbolized with the smaller Styrofoam balls. Throughout this week, you have learned about the appearances of the planets, including colors. We will provide you with different colors of paint, and you will paint each planet (Styrofoam balls).

Step 5: You are going to take floral wire and stick it in the Styrofoam balls. You will take the other end of the wire and put in through the holes that you made in the box in step 1. Then, you will tie the wire (on top of the box) so that the Styrofoam balls hang in place (like a planet). You will do this with each Styrofoam ball.

Step 6: You will take the toothpicks and glue pieces of blue or red construction paper to them. Then, you will label the eight planets onto the flags you made. Then, you will stick the toothpicks into the correct planet (Styrofoam ball).

Step 7: Congratulations! You are finished creating your own solar system.

Solar System