Monday, October 7, 2013

Solar System Study Guide

A copy of the study guide will be going home Tuesday, October 8th but in case you lose it here is a copy of the solar system study guide!


Solar System Unit Test Study Guide

Test Date: October 18, 2013

 

            What you should know and/or be able to explain:

ü  Phases of the moon. You should what they look like and be able to label them.


ü  Why the moon seems to change its shape:

As it orbits Earth, the moon reflects different amounts of sunlight off its surface. This makes the moon appear to change shape.

ü  Why the sun appears so much larger than the other stars:

It is the closest star in our solar system.

ü  What causes the four seasons:

The Earth tilts as it orbits the sun, so different parts of Earth get different amounts of sunlight.

ü  That the moon orbits the Earth once a month (approximately every 28 days)

ü  It takes the Earth (and moon) 365 days to orbit the sun.

ü  It takes 24 hours (one day) for the Earth to make one complete rotation

ü  Pluto is the coldest and smallest of the planets.  It is considered a dwarf planet.

ü  List the planets (and dwarf planet) in order of their distance from the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto)

A way to remember this is: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.

ü  Vocabulary words:

o   Astronomers: scientists who study things in space

o   Solar system: the sun, planets, and all the objects that orbit the sun.

o   Rotation: the turning or spinning of a planet on its axis. 

o   Orbit: the path each planet travels on its own around the sun

o   Star: a self-luminous (lights itself) object that shines through the release of energy produced by nuclear reactions at its core.

o   Crater: when a meteorite slams into the ground creating a hollow area

o   Outer planets: The five outer planet/dwarf, which are the farthest from the sun (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the dwarf planet Pluto). They are made up of gases.

o   Inner planets: the four planets closest to the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars). They are all hard and rocky, and have three layers (crust, mantle, and core).

o   Three parts of the inner planets

§  Crust: thin outer layer

§  Core: made of very hot iron

§  Mantle: a thick layer of rock and hot lava.
 

 

o   Asteroid belt: located between Mars and Jupiter. It is filled with thousands of asteroids which are chunks of rock and metal that orbit the sun.

 

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