OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

Grade 6By Lauren Rickman

TENNESSEE SCIENCE STANDARDS

• Grade Level Expectations GLE 0607.6.1 Analyze information about the major components of the universe. GLE 0607.6.2 Describe the relative distance of objects in the solar system from earth.

State Performance Indicators

• SPI 0607.6.1 Use data to draw conclusions about the major components of the universe. • SPI 0607.6.2 Explain how the relative distance of objects from the earth affects how they appear.

Checks for Understanding

• 90607.6.1 Use data to draw conclusions about the major components of the universe. • 90607.6.2 Construct a model of the solar system showing accurate positional relationships and relative distances.

Guiding Questions

• Conceptual Strand 6 The cosmos is vast and explored well enough to

know its basic structure and operational principles.

• Guiding Question 6 What big ideas guide human understanding

about the origin and structure of the universe, Earth’s place in the cosmos, and observable

Plan for this Lesson

• Begin by asking students open ended questions about the solar system to find out what the know

• Work with the students on their conceptions and misconceptions about our solar system

• Learn about and research the Milky Way and the planets

• Two projects: one class project and one group project

What is the solar system?

• The solar system is the system of planets and other objects orbiting the star Sol, which happens to be our Sun.

• Our solar system is located in the Milky Way galaxy. The word ‘galaxy’ is Greek for Milky Way.

Common Misconceptions about the Solar System

• The Earth is larger than the sun• The Earth is the center of the Solar System.• The solar system is extremely crowded • Planets are close together • The sun goes around the earth • The sun is on fire or burning• The planets are basically the same size• Time passes the same on each planet http://www.scienceboom.com/wp-content/uploads/pages/101_misconceptions.pdfhttp://scc.losrios.edu/~sah/physics/44Miscon.htm

What makes a planet a planet?

• The IAU, International Astronomical Union, defines a planet as:

A celestial body that orbits the sun, has sufficient mass for its gravity to overcome rigid forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jlm/epo/planet/planet.html

Vocabulary

• Planet comes from the Greek word for wanderer

• Solar System• Milky Way • Galaxy• Revolution• Rotation• Astronomical Unit

Can you name all the Planets?

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

Remembering all the Planets

Remembering all of the planets can be difficult. There are some special things you can do to help remember them.

You can use a mnemonic device such as My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos

You can even use songs such as the Animanics Planet song to remember

The Planet Song

The Sun• The sun is the center of the Milky Way• It makes up 99.86% of our solar system’s

mass• It is 74% hydrogen, 24% helium and the rest

is made up of oxygen, carbon, iron, and neon

• 1,000,000,000 Earths can fit in the sun – it is enormous!

• The sun’s surface is 9941 degrees F• Light from the sun reaches the earth in

about 8 minutes• The planets revolve around the sunhttp://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space/sun.html

Mercury • Mercury is the planet closest to the sun• Mercury is the second smallest planet in

the solar system• It is bigger than Earth’s moon• Surface: rocks, craters, and dust • Temperatures range from 800 degrees

to – 279 degrees.• No atmosphere to retain heat so it can

get super cold• 1 mercury day = 58.6 Earth dayshttp://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/mercury-article/

Venus • The hottest planet in our solar

system! • Temperature on surface is approx.

932 degrees• Made up of mainly Carbon Dioxide• Almost same size as earth• Cannot support human life• No water is found on this planet• 1 day in Venus = 1 Earth yearhttp://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/venus.html

Earth• Third rock from the sun• 30% of earth is covered in land, 70% in

water• The atmosphere and environment are

ideal for sustaining human life• Earth has only one moon• The Earth isn't perfectly round, it is

slightly flattened at the north and south poles.

• Scientists have the dated the Earth as being between 4 and 5 billion years old

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth.html

Mars• Nicknamed the Red Planet because it is

covered with rust-like dust• Has a very weak gravity • Little atmosphere to hold in heat so

planet is very cold. Temps range from 77 degrees in the summer to -184 degrees in the winter

• Mars experiences different seasons like Earth

• Largest space volcano, Olympus Mono, is located here

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/mars.html

Jupiter • The largest planet in our solar

system• 1,300 Earth can fit inside Jupiter• It is made up 100% of gas• Has a very strong gravity, you

would weigh 2 ½ times more on Jupiter

• Has very thin rings• Jupiter has many moons http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/jupiter.html

Saturn• 2nd largest planet• Has small rocky core covered with

liquid gas• Saturn is twice as far from the sun as

Jupiter• It has many rings that are made of ice

crystals, some as big as houses• Has a high magnetic field which traps

energy particles resulting in high levels of radiation

• Has many moons, like Jupiterhttp://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/saturn.html

Uranus • Has a blue/green haze due to high

levels of methane gas• Methane absorbs red light and scatters

blue light• This planet rotates on its side, it rolls

like a barrel• scientists guess that under the

hydrogen-methane atmosphere is a hot, slushy ocean of water, ammonia and methane thousands of miles deep wrapped around a rocky core.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/uranus.html

Neptune • Boasts the most violent weather in

the solar system• Storms with freezing winds that

blow about ten times faster than hurricanes on Earth

• Four times the size of Earth • a large, water planet with a blue

hydrogen-methane atmosphere and faint rings.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/neptune.html

Pluto: Dwarf PlanetIn 2006 Pluto was demoted to the status of dwarf

planet.Pluto consists of rock with a very thick coating of

ice.The atmosphere consists of nitrogen with some

carbon monoxide and methane.Because it is so far away from the sun it is very

cold. Temps range form -391 Degrees Celsius to -346 Degrees Celsius.

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/planets/pluto.html

The Sun goes around the Earth(Misconception #1)

• The sun is the center of our solar system• All of the planets in our solar system revolve

around the Sun• When something is moving in a circle around

another object, such as the way the Moon Circles the Earth, it is said to revolve around that object.

Time Passes the Same on Each Planet(Misconception #2)

• Earth has a 24 hour day. This is determined by how long it takes the Earth to rotate on its axis.

• When an object spins it is said to be rotating.• Each planet spins at a different rate, therefore

the number of hours in 1 day varies.

The Planets are close together(Misconception #3)

• Our solar system is vast and the planets are far away one another

• This can be measured in miles (distance) or time.• An astronomical unit is a measure of 1 Earth year. • The AU is determined by how long it takes each

planet to revolve around the Sun. • Example: Mercury rotates around the sun 0.39 AU

which is roughly 87.96 Earth days.

PLANET Distance from Sun Period of Revolution

Period of Rotation

Diameter Moons

Mercury 0.39 AU, 36 million miles

87.96 Earth days 58.7 days 3,031 miles 0

Venus 0.723 AU67.2 mm

224.68 Earth days 243 days 7,521 miles 0

Earth 1 AU93 mm

365.26 days 24 hours 7,926 miles 1

Mars 1.524 AU141.6 mm

686.98 Earth days 1.026 days 4,222 miles 2

Jupiter 5.203 AU483.6 mm

11.862 years 9.84 hours 88,729 miles 67

Saturn 9.539 AU886.7 mm

29.456 years 10.2 hours 74,600 miles 62

Uranus 19.18 AU1,784.0 mm

84.07 years 17.9 hours 32,600 miles 27

Neptune 30.06 AU2,794.4 mm

164.81 years 19.1 hours 30,200 miles 13

Pluto 39.53 AU3,674.5 mm

247.7 years 6.39 days 1,413 miles 4

HELPFUL RESOURCES

Brain Pophttp://www.brainpop.com/science/space/

NASAhttp://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/

Documentaries:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDXrdQbsikA

Solar System Songs:The Planetshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8eFFnJsCjs&feature=relatedSolar System Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH61v4_eVNAInterplanet Janethttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmYVWJ82dQQ

Class Project

• Create a replica of the solar system• Each group assigned a planet will make that

planet out of whatever material they chose (as long as it isn’t perishable)

• We will work collectively as a class to convert the millions of miles from the sun to inches or cm from the sun so it will fit in the classroom.

Planetary News 9

• The students will be separated into groups of 3-4 and assigned a planet. They will be allowed lab time to research their planets via library or internet searches. Plenty of class time will be devoted to group discussions. After their research, the students will make their own ‘local’ news program about their planet. The students should include a weather report, on the scene, breaking news, time, etc.

• Planets will be chosen via a random drawing• The news can either be filmed or presented orally in

class

Connection to Math

• Converting Miles to Inches:5,280 ft/1 mile x 12 inches/ 1 ftConverting Miles to Centimeters: 5,280 ft/1 mile x 12 inches/ 1ft x 2.54 cm/1 inch*This would be A LOT of inches so we will say

that 36 million miles = 36 miles. For example, Mercury would be 2,280,960 inches, but we will say 1 million = 1 inch. *

Sources Used

• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/

• http://www.kidsastronomy.com/dictionary.htm• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_unit• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-sy

stem/• http://www.nasa.gov

Time Line for Lesson• Week One:Monday – Intro to Cosmos What do the students know about the solar system? Vocabulary words givenHW – define vocabulary words Tuesday – Discussion on Milky Way/GalaxyDiscuss the Milky way and what is out thereIntroduction to the sun HW – study vocabulary words Wednesday – Discussion of planetsAssigning of groups for the Group ProjectQUIZ: vocabulary words Begin Planetary discussion on terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earths, and MarsHW – current event on spaceThursday – Continue planetary discussion Continue Planetary discussion on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.QUIZ: name planets in order and create a mnemonic device to remember them HW – study for test FridayFriday – Groups/Test Day Groups will meet to discuss their upcoming assignmentBegin working on Class Project as wellHW – begin preparations for group projects

Time Line for Lesson• Week Two:Monday – Group DiscussionThis class period will be spent meeting with groups and discussing what is expected from

the group assignment. Tuesday – Lab DayThis class period will be spent researching for group projects and meeting together.

Students may use library or internet materials to research.Prepare to do the class project on WednesdayWednesday – Class Project Collectively, we will put together our vast solar system to be displayed in the classroomThursday – group projectsStudents will continue to work on their projects. HW- projects due Friday Friday – PROJECT DAY!!!!