Download This Lesson (PDF, 1.09 MB)
Topic:
Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body:
Sun,
Mercury,
Venus,
Earth,
Mars,
Asteroids,
Jupiter,
Saturn,
Uranus,
Neptune,
Comets,
Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud,
Earth's Moon
Mission:
Science Education Standards: Earth and Space Science: Understand the Origin and Evolution of the Earth System
Short Description: This PDF contains four lessons:
1) Modeling Orbits in the Solar System. This lesson models the orbital distances between the planets and shows that the solar system is mostly empty space.
2) Modeling Sizes of Planets. This lesson compares the relative sizes of the planets to those of familiar fruits and vegetables. It also uses size to calculate density and planet composition.
3) Looking Inside Planets. This lesson involves modeling the interior structures of the planets and shows that the solid cores of the gas giants are similar in size to the Earth or Venus.
4) Search for A Habitable Planet. This lesson looks at the characteristics of planets that make them livable, their temperature, and compositions of atmosphere and surface instead of size
or orbit.
Source: Modeling the Solar System
