February 13, 2013 Q2-Pg.

Daily Goal: We will understand what a system is and be able to identify the parts of our solar system. Homework: Read your New York Times article and answer the questions.

Science Starter:1. What causes high and low tides?2. Where is water the thinnest (in terms of the

world)?3. What does correlation mean?4. How do tides correlate with lunar phases?

WHAT IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

WHAT IS THE SOLAR SYSTEM?

• Solar System - the Sun and all of the bodies that revolve around it.

• Our Solar System is located in the Milky Way Galaxy. It is composed of the Sun, 8 planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.

The planets stay in their orbits, because of the sun’s gravitational pull.

Remember how the Moon pulls on the Earth to create the tides? The sun does the same thing, but the sun is much bigger!

MOONS• The moon is a satellite, not

a planet.

• Satellite – an object that orbits a more massive object.

• Earth’s satellite, the moon, is NOT the only moon in the Solar System.

MOONS• Astronomers have discovered

approximately 140 other moons in our Solar System.

• All of the moons are held in orbit by the gravitational pull of their planets.

ASTEROIDS• Asteroid – a small, rocky object that

orbits the Sun.

• Estimated that there are millions of asteroids in the solar system.

• Most of them orbit in a band called the asteroid belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter’s orbits.

• Asteroids can range in size and shape from hundreds of miles in diameter to only a few feet across.

COMETS• Comet- A small, orbiting body made of dust, ice, and

frozen gases.

• The solid center of a comet is called its nucleus.

What else has a Nucleus?

WHAT ELSE HAS A NUCLEUS?An atom!

Just like an atom, a comet’s nucleus is densely packed.

COMETS• Comets orbit the sun.

• As a comet approaches the Sun, the frozen solids in its nucleus vaporize and gases and dust are released. This causes a glowing region called a coma.

• Energy from the Sun causes the coma to grow and produces the glowing tail that trails behind it.

• Some comets can make one complete trip around the sun in fewer than 200 years, others can take millions of years to orbit.

• Estimated that there are a trillion comets in the solar system.

METEORS• Meteor- Commonly called ‘shooting

stars,’ a streak of light caused by a chunk of matter that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and is heated by friction with the air

• Meteoroid- The actual chunks of matter that are heated.

• Meteorite- Falling rocks that stay intact during their trip into the Earth’s atmosphere that hit the ground.

Some meteorites are the size of asteroids, but most are much smaller. Many of them are smaller than a grain of sand!

BRAIN BREAK!AS ALWAYS, YOU WILL GET TABLE GROUP POINTS FOR

CORRECT ANSWERS.

1. What keeps everything in our solar system in orbit?

2. What are “shooting stars”?

4. What are two things that have a nucleus?

PLANETS• Planets –

large bodies that revolve around the Sun.

WHAT IS A PLANET?• Our solar system has eight planets in it.

• Inner Planets – The first four planets from the Sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars). Called inner planets because they are closer to the sun than the other planets. They are rocky and much smaller than the outer planets.

WHAT IS A PLANET?• Outer Planets –The last four planets from the

Sun (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). These planets are larger than the inner planets and they are made mostly of gases.

WHAT ARE OUR PLANETS?

The Planets

The Solar System

TABLE GROUP POINTS!!

• If a planet’s orbit is farther away from the sun, how will it affect the length of a year on that planet?

• Would a year take longer on Venus or on Neptune?

MERCURY• The closest planet

to the Sun.

• Diameter (km): 4,880

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 57.9

• The smallest of the planets

VENUS• The second planet

from the Sun

• Diameter (km): 12,100

• Distance from Sun (million km): 108.2

• The surface of Venus is covered by a thick layer of clouds made up mostly of sulfuric acid.

• Atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide

EARTH• Third planet from the

Sun.

• Diameter (km): 12,756

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 149.6

• It is the only known planet to have liquid water

• Earth’s atmosphere and oceans help keep its surface temperature in a range that can support life.

MARS• The fourth planet

from the Sun.

• Diameter (km): 6,800

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 227.9

• Mars’ surface is mostly flat and rocky, but it also has deep canyons and the highest volcanic mountain known in the Solar System.

JUPITER• The fifth planet from

the Sun.

• Diameter (km): 142,800

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 778

• The biggest planet in the solar system.

• Jupiter has more than 60 moons.

• Famous for its Great Red Spot

SATURN• The sixth planet from

the Sun

• Diameter (km): 120,000

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 1,427

• Saturn is known by its band of rings, which are made mostly out of ice particles.

• Saturn is the least dense of all the planets. If you could put it in water, it would float.

URANUS• The seventh planet

from the Sun

• Diameter (km): 50,800

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 2,870

• Like Earth, it is on a tilted axis, but its tilt is almost parallel to its orbital plane. This give it the appearance of lying on its side.

• Like Saturn, it also has rings, but only 11.

NEPTUNE• The eighth planet in

the solar system.

• Diameter (km): 48,600

• Distance from the Sun (million km): 4,500

• Similar in color and composition to Uranus

• Also has a system of rings- one of which appears braided.

WHAT ABOUT PLUTO?• Pluto was known as the

smallest planet in the solar system and the ninth planet from the sun.

• In 2003, an astronomer saw a new object beyond Pluto and thought he had found a new planet and named it Eris. Eris was larger than Pluto.

• Finding Eris caused other astronomers to talk about what makes a planet a "planet." They decided that Pluto was not really a planet because of how small and how far away from the Sun it is.

MAKE UP A MNEMONIC DEVICE:• A mnemonic device is something that helps you remember.

• Example:

• In math class you will (or maybe already have) learned about PEMDAS. (Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, Subtract). This tells you the order of operations in a math sentence. To remember it, many people remember the mnemonic device, “Please, excuse my dear Aunt Sally.”

Create your own mnemonic device to remember the order of the planets!

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

You will have 5 minutes. Be prepared to share with the class.

HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=GPGQTFR5BPE