5th Grade Lesson

The solar system

Background - The solar system comprises nine planets, in the following order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Most of the planets have moons in orbit about them, but only Earth's moon is visible to the unaided eye. Asteroids and comets are small bodies, most of which are in irregular orbits about the Sun. Many science texts and Web sites provide information and photographs of objects in the solar system that are collected from NASA’s planetary, comet, and asteroid missions and from the use of Earth and space telescopes.

Vocabulary

solar system A group of objects in space that revolve around a star
planets Large, round bodies that revolve around a star
asteroids Chunks of rock that look like giant potatoes in space
comet Balls of ice and rock that circle the sun from two regions beyond the orbit of Pluto
meteorite An asteroid or meteor that has passed through Earth's atmosphere and hit the ground
orbit The path one body in space takes as it revolves around another body
law of gravity Law that states that all objects in the universe are attracted to all other objects

 

Lesson

Our Solar System is made up of objects that circle around our sun; planets, moons, asteroids and comets. In this lesson you will become more familiar with these objects and their orbits.

Sun  
   
Inner Planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Mostly smaller rocky planets closer to the sun.
Outer Planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Mostly large, gaseous planets, much farther from the sun.

Pluto is mostly ice
Asteroid Belt Large and small chunks of rock or iron in orbit between Mars and Jupiter
 
Comets Large chunks of ice hurling through space in an elliptical orbit around the sun
 

Activity - Make a scale model

Review - Review this lesson here

Extend - Do you think there are other solar systems around other stars? Create your own solar system. Choose and name a star, several planets and moons and other objects.