Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
School
Junior Science 2015
Learning Objectives
During this unit you will learn about different types of planets. Tick off the
following learning objectives when you have covered them.
At the end of this unit you should be able to
Planets
Identify the planets in our solar system and list them in order
Explain what causes the difference between our planets in our solar
system
Be able to identify the types of astronomical bodies found in our solar
system
Stars
Identify the main features of the southern night sky
Describe how and why features of the night sky change position during the
night and year.
Describe examples of the use of the night sky in maori culture
Investigate different uses of the night sky in different cultures
Astronomical Cycles
Identify the phases of the moon and match them to the moons location
around earth
Use diagrams to show how solar and lunar eclipses occur
Use diagrams to show what causes the Earth to have seasons
The Planets
As a class brainstorm what you know about planets and solar systems.
What are planets?
The following diagram shows the scale of the Earth in relation to other
parts of the universe, Label it using these words: Milky Way Galaxy, Earth,
Galaxy Cluster, Solar System
Use this information about each planet in our solar system to complete
the table.
Description
Planet
A gas giant with the most rings. The second largest planet and
the lightest in the solar system.
A rock planet which is red in colour. The length of the day on
this planet is about the same as Earth.
The smallest of the gas planets, it has some rings.
The coldest planet, with the longest year in our solar system.
The only planet so far where life has been found. A rock planet
with liquid water.
A planet made of rock with the shortest year in our solar system.
A planet with no solid surface. It has a tilted axis.
A gas giant which is the largest planet. It has the highest gravity
and the shortest day in our solar system.
A planet that has a greenhouse effect, making it the hottest
planet in our solar system. This is the planet with the
longest day.
The Seasons
C
B
D
Season
Length of day v
Scientific name
of Earth
length of night
A
Autumn
B
C
Both equal length
D
What would have change about the Earth for there to be no seasons?
You will be writing a paragraph in your own words about what causes the
seasons using information your teacher provides to you.
Firstly, pick out what you think are the key ideas in each paragraph. The
think about these questions before writing your paragraph.
Are there any ideas that are the same or overlap?
How long does it take Earth to complete one rotation on its axis?
because:
The planet where you would need to wait the shortest amount of time for your
birthday is
because:
The planet where where you would need to wait the longest time for your
birthday is
because:
because:
because:
because:
because:
because:
Astronomical Bodies
Planets are not the only thing in our solar system. Label the following
diagrams and complete the following definitions.
Diagrams
Choose from: Solar System, Asteroid, Planet, Moon, Star, Meteor, Comet,
Meteorite
Definitions
1. An astronomical body which orbits a planet
2. A small solid body which has moved from space into the atmosphere
of a planet
3. A star with surrounding astronomical bodies
4. An astronomical body which produces light
5. Contains frozen gases which can vapourise near a start forming a
tail
6. A small rock which has reached the surface of a planet or moon
7. A large, spherical astronomical body which orbits a star
8. A small, solid, non-spherical astronomical body which orbits around
a star
Terms
A comet
A Satellite/Moon
A Meteorite
A Planet
A Meteor
An Asteroid
The Solar System
A Star
Dwarf Planets
Complete the Venn diagram with the following facts about planets and
dwarf planets.
Planet
s
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Dwarf
Planet
s
Orbits a star
May have one or more moons
Does not share their orbit with other astronomical bodies
Do share their orbit with other astronomical bodies
Are relatively large
Are relatively small
Are round
The orbit may be elliptical and/or in a different plane
We use four key words to describe the appearance of the sun. Write
definitions of these words below.
Waxing
Waning
Crescent
Gibbous
Look at the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon for the Full Moon and New
Moon. How are the positions different?
Cut out and arrange the following pictures of the phases of the Moon in
order from a Full Moon.
Staple together and flip through to see the phase of the moon change.
Eclipses
Solar and Lunar Eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in
certain positions. They do not occur very often, and they are sources of
many legends. What cultural or historical events do you know of that have
been told about eclipses?
Solar Eclipses
Look at the following diagram of a solar eclipse.
A
B
C
because
because
because
Solar Eclipses
A
B
C
because
because
because
What objects can we see in the night sky? Do you know the names of any
planets, stars, constellations, or galaxies?
A star or a planet
A star
in our atmosphere.
while a satellite
line.
Aquarius, Taurus.
The constellation which appears on the New Zealand flag is the
cross. Our flag has
has 6 stars.
Use these two diagrams to discover the Maori names of common stars
and constellations in our night sky. Draw a line between matching words
or write the Maori word next to the European word.
Rigel
Tikatakata
Sirius
Matariki
Canopus
Rehua
Antares
Atutahi
Orions Belt
Matanuku
Rangi
Pleiades
Puanga
Crus
Tautoru
Mangaroa
Te Putea iti a
Milky Way
Takurua
Key Vocabulary
Match the following words to their definition; a satellite, a star, an
asteroid, a meteorite, a planet, a comet, a meteor, a shooting star, a
galaxy, a constellation, South Celestial Pole, a year, a season, a day, a
dwarf planet, a meteoroid.
Word
Definition
A large gaseous body which produces its own
light.
A large body which cannot produce its own
light, and orbits around a star.
A small solid body which cannot produce its
own light, and orbits around a planet.
A small planet-like body, spherical in shape,
which orbits around a star, but has other
objects within its orbit (other than moons).
A small body made up of a solid centre,
surrounded by frozen gases which vaporise
forming a tail as it gets close to the star it
orbits.
A small solid body moving through space.
A small solid body which has moved from
space into the atmosphere of a planet.
A meteor entering a planets atmosphere and
burning up.
A large meteor which has impacted on the
surface of a planet or moon (forming a
crater).
A small, solid, non-spherical body, which
orbits around a star (eg between Mars and
Jupiter).
The time taken by a planet to rotate about its
axis.
The time taken for a planet to revolve once
around the Sun.
A cyclic change in the climate of a planet
caused by the planet being tilted on its axis.
A very large group of stars.
A pattern seen for a small group of stars in
the night sky by people.