Summary
Surveys our solar system — the eight planets, their types, and the vast distances between them — using scale analogies to give students a genuine sense of how spread out the solar system actually is.
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
- Name the eight planets in order from the sun. Which are rocky? Which are gas giants?
- How long would it take to drive to the sun at highway speed? What does that tell you about distances in space?
- Where does the solar system end? Is there a clear edge?
- Why are the inner planets rocky while the outer planets are mostly gas?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: solar system, planet, rocky planet, gas giant, orbit, astronomical unit.
Try it: Create a scale model of the solar system's distances on a long hallway. Place the sun at one end. Use the scale: 1 AU = 1 meter. Mark each planet's position. How far is Neptune?