The Solar System

• newEditor
• Solar system
• 4th Grade

The Solar System

Learning objective: Students will be able to learn facts about the Solar System as well as recognize different planets

Before we start this lesson...

• Before we start our lesson, let's brainstorm some ideas and talk about what we think about when someone talks about the solar system

• For example, I was really hungry kid and thought the solar system were different flavors of ice cream (except the sun, very spicy!)

So what IS the Solar System?

Basic Info

• It's located in the Milky Way, which is a galaxy surrounded by stars, dust, and gas.

• In pictures, it looks like a whirlpool of stars and bright shiny lights.

• Some also say it has several "arms"

(We will talk more about galaxies later)

Where is it located?

• The Solar System is a system of 8 planets that revolve around the sun

• Earth is one of them!

• No one knows how long ago it was created, but a close approximation is 4.5 BILLION years ago (gasp)

Do you think it looks like a whirlpool? Do you see the arms?

Lets talk about the Sun!

• Solar = Sun

• Located in the center of the Solar System

• It's not a planet!

• It's a big star that releases heat and light

• Our closest neighbor and one of our most important (needed for food, to keep warm during winter)

Rocky Planets

• Smallest planet, but closest to the Sun (makes it the second hottest)

• resembles the moon

• A year on Mercury = only 88 days!

Venus

Mercury

• 2nd planet from the sun

• Deemed our "sibling", b/c it's the planet that most resembles Earth

• covered in clouds that reflect sunlight

• causes the planet to look bright and be visible with the naked eye

Earth

• 3rd planet from the Sun

• Also known as our home!

• What do you find on Earth? (dirt, water, sand, mud)

• water covers 70% of the Earth's surface

• 3 layers: crust, mantle, core

One more Rocky Planet!

• 4th planet from the sun

• Called the Red Planet (Why do you think so?)

• Has the largest volcano of all 8 planets

• Has two moons named Phobos and Deimos

Mars

Gas Planets

Jupiter

Saturn

• 6th planet from the Sun

• second largest planet

• has a yellowish color appearance

• known for its rings (made up of water ice and rocks)

• 5th planet from the Sun

• it's a gigantic planet! (1300x larger than Earth!, the largest planet in the solar system)

• gas planet (no surface! mostly hydrogen and helium)

Gas Planets (continued)

Uranus

Neptune

• 7th planet from the Sun

• Gas Planet (no physical surface, like Jupiter)

• often called an ice giant (80% is a mix of water, methane, & ammonia ice)

• 8th planet from the Sun

• Farthest from the Sun, so it's the coldest

• Named after the Roman god of the sea

• has the most powerful winds of the solar system

why yes, this IS my planet!

Lets talk about the Moon :)

• The Moon is a big giant rock in space that isn't a planet

• Some planets have many moons, but we only have one

• Travels around the Earth (orbit)

• We see the Moon b/c sunlight reflects off of it

• Goes through different phases (we will talk more about this later in the week)

• Contains a lot of mountains and craters on its surface