GK-8 Project Submission Form - The Center for Mathematics and ...

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Seasons on Uranus last more than 20 years because the planet is tilted on its side.Methane gas present on Uranus absorbs red light and reflects the blue-greencolors we see when we look at Uranus through a telescope. Uranus is so far away itis difficult to study. Uranus' 11 rings weren't discovered until 1977 and several ofUranus' 27 known moons were discovered as recently as 2003. There may be moreundiscovered moons out there!NEPTUNE: Most of the time Neptune is the eighth planet from our Sun.Sometimes Pluto's odd orbit brings it closer to the Sun. For the next 230 years orso, all you have to remember is that Neptune is the eighth planet. It takes a longtime for these distant planets to travel around the sun.Neptune is the fourth largest planet in our solar system. About 60 Earths could fitinside it. Neptune may be the windiest planet in the solar system. Winds tearthrough the clouds at more than 1,200 mph (2,000 kph).Neptune gets its blue color from a layer of methane gas above the clouds. Methaneabsorbs red light so only blue colors show up when we look at Neptune. Neptune hasfour rings and 13 known moons. Neptune's largest moon, Triton, gets colder thanPluto.PLUTO: Pluto and its moon – Charon – travel on an odd, slow orbit around the Sun.For 20 years, from 1979 to 1999, it was actually closer to the Sun than Neptune,but it will be more than 230 years before Pluto and Neptune trade places again.There is no air to breathe on Pluto, so you would need a spacesuit to explore. Plutoand Charon are so far away they are difficult to see - even with powerfultelescopes. Even the best pictures are very fuzzy. We can only guess what Pluto'ssurface looks like. It is probably covered with frost. Some areas may be brighterthan snow, while others are very dark.COMETS orbit the Sun like planets. Most comets orbit way out beyond the orbit ofPluto. It can take a comet hundreds or even millions of years to go once around theSun (remember, on Earth it only takes 365 days). A few comets are close enoughfor us to see from Earth. When Earth passes through the tail of a comet, we see ameteor shower.Prepared by NSF North Mississippi GK-8 Project 6
ASTEROIDS are the biggest space rocks. Asteroids are made up of rock and iron,just like the four planets closest to our Sun. They are different from comets,which are mostly rock and ice and have tails. Asteroids are more like planets andmoons. Scientists often call asteroids minor planets. Most asteroids orbit the Sunbetween Mars and Jupiter. This area is called the asteroid belt. There are millionsof asteroids.As they bang around out there in space, these rocks break into smaller and smallerpieces that sometimes fall to Earth. Most of them burn up in streaks of light.Some asteroids crash into our planet and leave behind meteorites. Sometimes areally big asteroid will leave a giant crater.METEROIDS: Smaller pieces of rock and iron that travel through space are calledmeteoroids. Meteoroids orbit our Sun just like asteroids and planets.When a space rock enters Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteor - or shootingstar. The meteor heats up and makes the air around it glow, allowing us to see astreak of light. Most meteors burn up before they make it to the ground on earth.Scientists think up to 10,000 tons of meteors fall on the Earth each day, but mostare no bigger than a speck of dust.A meteor makes it all the way to ground without burning up in the atmosphere iscalled a meteorite. Meteorites range in size from tiny pebbles to boulders.Some planets and moons don't have enough atmosphere to protect them againstmeteor and asteroid impacts. Earth's moon, Mercury, and even Mars are coveredwith round impact craters from these collisions.Procedure:1. Discuss each of the planets, the sun, and the solar system with the students(while showing the picture cards).2. Split the class in half (into teams of 10- 12 students). Half of the class willmold planets out of clay (Activity 1) and the other half will draw a solarsystem picture on black construction paper (Activity 2). Then they willswitch. After these two activities have been completed, the whole class cango outside to do the solar system role play activity (Activity 3).NOTE: These activities can all be done on the same day or they can be spreadout over several days.3. Activity 1: Clay PlanetsPrepared by NSF North Mississippi GK-8 Project 7
Page 1 and 2: Intended for Grade: 1Solar SystemSu
Page 3 and 4: Moons orbit planets. Right now, Jup
Page 5: ocky, dusty, dry planet. The sky wo
Page 9 and 10: f. To draw the orbits, have someone
Page 11 and 12: Prepared by:Ashley PhillipsAlice Sa
Page 13 and 14: MercuryMercury is the closest plane
Page 15 and 16: EarthEarth is the planet we live on
Page 17 and 18: JupiterJupiter is the largest plane
Page 19 and 20: UranusUranus is covered by a thickl
Page 21 and 22: PlutoPluto is the most distant plan
Page 23 and 24: The Solar SystemOur Solar System is

GK-8 Project Submission Form - The Center for Mathematics and ...

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