Solar System Trek

Solar System Web Trek

Name:________________________

INSTRUCTIONS:
Today you are going to take a wonderful journey, through the farthest reaches of our solar system! You will learn about your home planet, Earth, the sun, and all the other planets. You will have some questions to answer along the way, so learn as much as you can at each stop. Buckle up, we're on our way!

1. First stop, and you'll never guess where we've landed! It's pretty hot here! But what would we do without our sun? It's ultimately responsible for all the life on our Earth. Read all about the sun, and then answer the questions below.
http://kids.nineplanets.org/portfoli.htm

______________________ ______________________ __________________________

a. The sun is mostly composed of two gases; name them.

___________________________________ ____________________________________

2. Next stop, a tour of the solar system. Read all about it, and then list the four planets that are closest to the sun.
http://kids.nineplanets.org/intro.htm

a. ___________________________________ c.___________________________________

b. ___________________________________ d.___________________________________

3. Time to make a stop on Mars and see if we can find any Martians!
http://kids.nineplanets.org/mars.htm

a. How many moons does Mars have, and what are their names?

_________________________________________________________

b. Mars has the largest mountain that we know of in the Solar System. What
is its name, and how high is it?

__________________________ _________________________

5. Let's journey back in toward the sun. If we stop at the planet closest to our star, what planet have we arrived at? What is the temperature on this planet? Does it have any moons? Check for your answers on this page:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/mercury.htm

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

6. This planet is often very bright in the night sky, but its atmosphere is not at all friendly and welcoming! What are its clouds made out of?
http://kids.nineplanets.org/venus.htm

_________________________________________________________

7. This planet is mostly famous for its beautiful sets of rings. What are they made up of? And how many moons does this planet have? Use the page below to answer your questions:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/saturn.htm

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

8. Planet, or not a planet? Although a favorite of many people, lately Pluto has lost its status as a planet. While it was recently demoted, many people are working on gaining back its planetary membership! Planet or not, it does have one famous moon. Visit the page below, and give the name of this moon:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/pluto.htm

_________________________________________________________

9. This planet, 7th from the sun, is said to spin differently than the other planets. Explain what this means after reading about Uranus on the page below:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/uranus.htm

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

10. The last of the outer planets, Neptune is the 4th largest planet in our solar system. How many moons does it have? What is the name of one of those moons? What is this planet mostly made up of? Visit the page below before you answer:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/neptune.htm

_________________________________________________________

11. Last but not least, we arrive at home sweet home, and what a beautiful planet it is! How have we been able to make maps of the whole planet? What percentage of Earth's surface is covered with water? What is our atmosphere made out of? And what does the Greenhouse Effect do for Earth? Read to find the answers below:
http://kids.nineplanets.org/earth.htm

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

12. Now that you have finished learning about the Solar System, you're ready for some planetary fun! Try this interactive solar system game, where you will need to put the planets in order. Click on "Planet Level" to proceed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/playspace/games/jigsaw/launch.html

You might also want to mix and match and find the requested planet in this Solar System Switch-a-Roo game:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/sse_flipflop.shtml

And last of all, try some of these wonderful space crafts! Make some asteroid potatoes, a pop rocket, a solar system mobile, and more:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/projects.shtml

Have a safe journey back to planet Earth!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

RETURN TO EVERYDAY TEACHING CALENDAR & RESOURCES:
http://www.everydayteaching.com/