Key Vocabulary Terms

star - glowing ball of hot gas that makes its own energy an light.
planet - large object in space that orbits a star such as the sun.
moon - natural satellite that orbits a planet.
solar system - a star, such as the sun, and all of the objects that revolve around it in space.
atmosphere - envelope of gas surrounding an object in space.
sunspot - dark area on the sun's surface that gives off less energy than the rest of the sun.

Key Concepts

A star is made of hot gas and creates its own light. a planet is an object that orbits a star; a planet doesn't make its own light.
The moon and planets reflect the light of the sun.
The solar system is made up of the sun and all of the objects that revolve around it in space. Gravity holds the solar system together
The sun is many, many times larger than the earth. The sun is composed of gases. Due to nuclear reactions inside the sun, its inner temperature reaches 15 million degrees Celsius. Earth is composed of land, water, and air. Earth revolves around the sun and is held in place by gravity. Earth's warmth comes from the sun.
The sun's atmosphere is made up of three layers of gases. The inner layer is the photosphere; the next layer is the chromoshere; the outer layer is the sun's corona.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Can you explain the difference between stars, planets, and moons.
Are you able to identify objects of the solar system.
Are you able to describe the sun?

Investigation 4-1 "Observing Sunspots" (Optional, must complete 16 total investigations)

Key Concepts

You will observe sunspots in this investigation and come one step closer to understanding them.

Lesson 2 "The Inner Planets"

Key Vocabulary Terms

greenhouse effect - warming of the atmosphere because of trapped heat energy from the sun.

Key Concepts

The four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, both hot and cold temperature extremes, fast moving, and almost no atmosphere.
Mars is the planet with the reddish tint.
The greenhouse effect increases the atmospheric temperature because of trapped heat.
Earth is unique because it has a mild surface temperature, a dense atmosphere, and liquid water. Only earth can support life.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Are you able to identify the four inner planets?
Are you able to describe the four inner planets?
Can you explain what the greenhouse effect is and how it affects Venus?

Lesson 3"The Outer Planets"

Key Concepts

The five outer planets are jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto.
The large outer planets are made of elements that are normally gas and liquid but are frozen to a small, solid core.
Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune all have rings of material floating around them.
Io (one of Jupiter's moons) and Triton (one of Neptune's moons) both have active volcano's.
Pluto is different from the other outer planets because it is very small compared to the other four and is the only outer planet without a thick atmosphere or a ring system.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Are you able to identify the five outer planets?
Can you describe the five outer planets?

Investigation 4-2 "Modeling Distances in the Solar System" (Optional, must complete 16 total investigations)

Key Concepts

You will gain a good understanding of how far apart planets are in the Solar System by making a scale model.

Lesson 4 "Other Objects in the Solar System"

Key Vocabulary Terms

asteroid - rocky objects, smaller than a planet, that orbits a star.
asteroid belt - region between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids orbit the sun.
meteor - brief streak of light seen when an asteroid enters the earth's atmosphere and burns up.
meteorite - asteroid that hits the surface of a planet or moon after traveling through space.
comet - ball of ice, rock, frozen gases and dust that orbits the sun.

Key Concepts

An asteroid is a rocky object, smaller than a planet, that orbits a star.
The asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter.
A meteor is the streak of light made by an asteroid as it burns up in Earth's atmosphere, and a meteorite is an asteroid that hits Earth or another planet.
Comets are made of ice, rock, frozen gasses, and dust.
The tail of a comet forms when a comet nears the sun, some of its ice turns into gas and some dust is released. The solar wind pushes this material away from the comet's head. the gas and dust reflect sunlight and form a tail visible from Earth.

Did you learn these Objectives?

Can you describe asteroids and comets?
Are you able to identify the position of the asteroid belt?
Can you explain the difference between meteors and meteorites?

Chapter Summary and Review

See page104-105.

Chapter 4 Review answers are

1) solar system.

2) star.

3) atmosphere.

4) sunspots.

5) greenhouse effect.

6) asteroid belt.

7) planet.

8) meteor.

9) comet.

10) moon.

11) asteroids.

12) A sun; B Mercury; C Venus; D Earth;E Mars; F Jupiter; G saturn; H Uranus; I Neptune; J Pluto.

13) stars, planets, moons, asteroids, comets.

14) earth has a mild surface temperature, a dense atmosphere, and liquid water on its surface. Earth alone can support life.

15) They are made up of gas and liquid. they have small, solid cores. They are relatively large. they have ring systems and thick, cloudy atmospheres.

16) B.

17) A.

18) C.

19) A star, made up of hot gases, makes its own light. A planet does not make its own light.

20) It is a moon because it orbits a planet, not a star.