EARTH’S PLACE IN THE SOLAR

SYSTEM

Science Chapter 10

Lesson 1- What Causes Earth’s Seasons? Earth spins just like a top! Picture a line going through the Earth from

the North Pole to the South Pole. This imaginary line through Earth is called Earth’s AXIS.

The Earth spins, or ROTATES, on this tilted axis. This is called ROTATION.

It takes 1 day, or 24 hours, for the Earth to rotate.

Lesson 1 Continued…

The Earth also revolves around the sun. One trip around the sun is one REVOLUTION.

Each revolution takes about 365 days, or one year.

Lesson 1 Continued (Seasons)

During the year, some parts of Earth has four seasons- WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER, and FALL.

The tilt of Earth on its axis as it revolves around the sun causes seasons.

Where the sun’s rays strike Earth DIRECTLY, the season is SUMMER.

Where they strike Earth at the GREATEST SLANT, is WINTER.

Lesson 1 Continued (Day and Night) Earth takes one year to revolve around

the sun, but only one day to rotate. As it rotates, the half of the Earth that is

facing the sun has daytime. The half of the Earth that is NOT facing

the sun has nighttime.

Lesson 2 - How Do Earth and the Moon Interact? Have you ever noticed the different

shapes of the moon? The different shapes we see are called

MOON PHASES. The moon does not really change. Just

like Earth, half of the moon is always lit by the sun.

THE MOON REVOLVES AROUND THE EARTH.

Lesson 2 Continued

It takes the moon about 29 days to go through its phases in order.

This pattern of phases is called the LUNAR CYCLE.

When Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the moon, a LUNAR ECLIPSE happens.

When the moon’s shadow falls on Earth, a SOLAR ECLIPSE happens.

Lesson 3- What is the Solar System? A PLANET is a large body of rock or

gases. Each planet revolves around the sun on

its own path called an ORBIT. The sun, planets, and other small things

that orbit the sun make up the SOLAR SYSTEM.

The SUN, which is the biggest object in the solar system, is the CENTER of the solar system.

Lesson 3 Continued…

The sun is one of the biggest stars in the universe.

STARS are hot balls of glowing gases that give off energy.

The sun is the star closest to the Earth. CONSTELLATIONS are groups of stars

that appear to form shapes.

Lesson 3 Continued (Inner Planets) The four planets closest to the sun are called the

inner planets.MercuryVenusEarthMars

All the inner planets have ROCKY SURFACES, are SMALLER THAN MOST OF THE OTHER PLANETS, and are WARMER THAN THE OTHER PLANETS.

**Earth and Mars have LENGTH OF DAYS that are close to the same time. Earth = 24 hours Mars = 25 hours

Lesson 3 Continued (Outer Planets) The “five” planets farthest from the sun

are called the outer planets.JupiterSaturnUranusNeptune“Pluto”

The outer planets are made MOSTLY OF FROZEN GASES, and most of them are VERY LARGE with MANY MOONS.