do now if you had to define what a “year” is, how would you define it?
TRANSCRIPT
Do Now
If you had to define what a “year” is, how would you define it?
Learning Target
Today I will develop a universal definition of a year.
Make a prediction…
Do you think every planet (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) have the same length of year? Why or why not?
Labeled Diagram
Planetary order and path around the sun.
What is a year?
You just diagrammed it.
1 year = 1 journey around the sun.
Planetary DataPlanet Year length (days)
Mercury 88
Venus 224
Earth 365
Mars 687
Jupiter 4,332
Saturn 10,759
Uranus 30,685
Neptune 60,189
Pluto 90,465
What is the trend?
Chart it out… Bar graph the year lengths. Next to your graph, explain the trend in
words.
Planet Year length (days)
Mercury 88
Venus 224
Earth 365
Mars 687
Jupiter 4,332
Saturn 10,759
Uranus 30,685
Neptune 60,189
Pluto 90,465
Your Definition:
Using what we have discovered about planetary years, write your own universal definition of a year – pretend you are explaining it to a younger student.
Exit Ticket:
How can our understanding of a year help us understand “seasons” – how do they relate to each other?
Do Now
Do you think every planet in our solar system has seasons? Why or why not?
Learning Target
Today I will research one planet in our solar system in order to compare it to Earth.
Guiding Questions Does your planet have an atmosphere? What is the temperature range on your planet?
(Why?) Could your planet support life? Why or why not? Does your planet have moons? What is the
definition of a moon? Does your planet have “seasons”? Why or why
not? Make a compare/contrast chart (Venn Diagram, T-
chart, etc.) and compare your planet with Earth in terms of what you researched.