16.3b The Solar System
Enhancement Lesson
16.3 Vocabulary
Planet – any of the 8 primary bodies orbiting the sun; a similar body orbiting another star.
16.3 Vocabulary
Solar System – the sun and all the objects that orbit around it.
16.3 Vocabulary
Asteroid – a small rocky object that orbits the sun, usually in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
16.3 Vocabulary
Nebular model – a model that describes the sun and the solar system forming together out of a cloud of gas and dust.
16.3 Vocabulary
Phases – the different apparent shapes of the moon or a planet due to the relative positions of the sun, Earth, and the moon or planet.
16.3 Vocabulary
Eclipse – an event that occurs when one object passes into the shadow of another object.
16.3 Vocabulary
Eclipse – an event that occurs when one object passes into the shadow of another object.
16.3 Properties of Planets
Planet
Average surface
temperature (°C)
Number of
moons
Presence of
rings Atmosphere
Mercury 350 0 No Essentially none
Venus 460 0 No Thick: carbon dioxide, sulfuric acid
Earth 20 1 No Nitrogen, oxygen
Mars -23 2 No Thin: carbon dioxide
Jupiter -120 16 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane
Saturn -180 18 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane
Uranus -210 20 Yes Hydrogen, helium, ammonia, methane
Neptune -220 8 Yes Very thin: nitrogen and methane
16.3 The Inner Planets
Inner Planets – (Mercury, Venus, Earth & Mars) characterised by solid, rocky surfaces and are relatively small.
16.3 The Inner Planets
Mercury – surface temperature can go as hot as 397°C enough to melt a tin can, and can drop to -170°C on the dark side. Spins slowly at 3 times every 2 orbit years.
16.3 The Inner Planets
Venus – atmosphere is thick composed mostly of co2 and with high levels of sulfuric acid which is corrosive. Pressure is more than 90 times that of the earth. Atmosphere prevents radiation to escape creating a greenhouse effect keeping surface temperature very high.
16.3 The Inner Planets
Earth – the third planet out from the sun and has ideal conditions for living creatures. It also has an atmosphere rich with oxygen and carbon dioxide and moderate temperature.
16.3 The Inner Planets
Mars – the Martian volcano Olympus Mons is the largest mountain in the solar system with base larger than the entire state of Louisiana and almost 3 times the height of Mount Everest. Polar icecaps contain some water that used to flow across the surface. Has a thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide.
16.3 The Inner Planets
Asteroid – small rocky objects ranging in diameter from 3 km to 700 km. Asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter and divides the inner and outer planets.
16.3 The Outer Planets
The outer Planets – All of them are much larger than the inner planets, have thick gaseous atmospheres and for this they are called the gas giants. They have no solid surface.
16.3 The Outer Planets
Jupiter – big enough to hold 1300 Earths. If it were only 80 times more massive than it, it would have sufficient pressure and temperature to sustain nuclear fusion to be a star. It has a thin band of rings and moons orbiting around it.
16.3 The Outer Planets
Saturn – has system of rings composed of tiny particles of dust, rock and ice. It has many moons. Competing gravitational forces from Saturn and its moons hold the particles in place around the planet.
16.3 The Outer Planets
Uranus – has very thick, gaseous atmosphere that contains a lot of methane, that gives it a bluish color. It has 20 known moons and have faint rings.
16.3 The Outer Planets
Neptune – like Uranus, it has very thick, gaseous atmosphere and also contains a lot of methane, that gives it a bluish color. It has 8 known moons and have faint rings.
16.3 Solar and Lunar Eclipse
Solar Eclipse