February 13, 2013Q2-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?

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): 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): 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): 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: 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, “ P lease, e xcuse m y d ear A unt S ally.” 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.