Science Lesson

Welcome to our
01 class
02 THE PLANETS

Session 1
 Our planetary system was
formed 4.6 billion years ago!
Our solar system consists of eight
planets which all orbit around our
home star: the Sun.
 T

he solar system is made up of two parts:

The inner solar system contains Mercury,

Venus, Earth and Mars. These four planets
are closest to the Sun.
The outer solar system contains Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
The inner planets are separated from the
outer planets by the Asteroid Belt.
 MERCURY
The closest planet to the Sun is only about as wide
as the Atlantic Ocean!
The planet does not have an atmosphere, just like it
is on all the other planets.
There is no water present on this dangerous planet
either!
There temperatures vary between -180°C and
430°C/-290°F and 842°F.
This is also the fastest planet! It speeds through
space with 50km per second/31 miles per second.
 VENUS
❑ Named after the Roman goddess of beauty - is also
known as the evening or morning star.
❑ Yellow clouds made of sulfur and sulfuric acid cover the
entire planet causing light to reflect off the surface.
❑ This makes Venus the second brightest object in the
night sky after the Moon.
❑ Venus is very similar to Earth in terms of size and
material.
❑ However, it is the hottest planet in the Solar system
with temperatures reaching 460°C/480°F.
 EARTH

Earth is the fifth largest This is the only place

planet of our solar system where life is known
and has one large natural to currently exist.
satellite, the Moon. Most of the Earth's
surface (about 70%)
is covered with
water.
 MARS

❑ It
is affected by huge ❑ Mars is very cold and ❑ The largest peak
dust storms that occur dry but water exists on the red planet
every now and then in form of ice at the is a volcano called
and cover the entire North and South Olympus Mons,
planet! poles. which is three
times higher than
❑ Mars has two moons ❑ The surface of Mars Mount Everest.
called Phobos and has many craters,
Deimos, deep valleys and
volcanoes.
 Let’s watch a
video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joq-
IUFNkrw

Now, it is time to begin the first part of

your PLANETS FAN
 JUPITER
❑ Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.
❑ The most famous feature on the surface of the

planet is the 'Great Red Spot' which is actually a

storm that has been blowing for about 350
years, if not longer.
❑ Jupiter has some of the largest moons in the

solar system and one in particular, Europa.

❑ There is one spacecraft currently orbiting

Jupiter called Juno.

 Saturn
Saturn is very light as it is made up of more
hydrogen than helium so it is less dense.

❑ Saturn is a gas giant ❑ It is the second ❑ In 2005, NASA and

just like Jupiter, largest planet and ESA (European Space
Neptune and Uranus. is known for its Agency) landed a
This means that it rings. space-probe called
doesn’t really have a
'Huygens' on Titan
proper solid surface as
❑ Saturn’s moon, revealing the
it is mainly made up of
gases with a small Titan is the second composition and the
rocky core. largest in the solar landscape of this
system. moon.
 ❖ Uranus is the second furthest URANUS
planet from the Sun.

❖ It takes Uranus roughly 84 years

to orbit once around the Sun.

❖ Uranus is a blue planet, not

because of water, but because
of gases that make it appear
blue.

❖ Uranus orbits on its side, which

means that its seasons are
completely different to ours.
Summer and winter each take 21
years at the north and south
poles!
 NEPTUNE
✓ Neptune is closely related to Uranus, the atmosphere is
composed of almost the same gases and just like Uranus,
✓ Neptune also appears blue. Neptune inherits its name
from the Roman god of the sea as reference to its deep
blue color.
✓ Neptune is the furthest planet from the Sun and it takes
165 years for Neptune to go once around the Sun.
✓ No space probes have ever visited Neptune or its partner
Uranus but a fly-by was made by the space probe
Voyager 2 in 1989.
 Let’s work!

Time to watch a Complete the

video!
second part of
https://www.youtube.com your PLANETS
/watch?v=SeC22-94PMw
FAN
 SESSION 3
https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/solar-
system-quiz.html
Complete your worksheet.