YKSD Earth Science Chapter 4 Lesson 2 "The Inner Planets"

Chapter 4 Lesson 2 "The Inner Planets"

Materials:

Workbook Activity, "The Inner Planets"
Lab, Modeling the Greenhouse Effect. (Optional)

Objective:

Students will identify the four inner planets.
Students will describe the four inner planets.
Students will explain what the greenhouse effect is and how it affects Venus.

Anticipatory Set:* Students will be shown a demonstration in which steel wool will be mixed with sand and vinegar in an attempt to duplicate the surface of one of the inner planets. After the demonstration students will begin to ponder which planets surface was created. At the end of the lesson students will be brought back to the demonstration and guess which planet's surface was demonstrated.

Teacher Input:*

The teacher will discuss with the students the characteristics of each of the inner planets. Here is a table the teacher will use as a guide:

Mercury

Venus

Second Closest to the sun
Named after the Roman Goddess of beauty and love because it is so bright in the sky. Brightest planet in the sky.
The hottest planet with temperatures of 460 degrees Celsius. Why?
Known as the morning or evening star because it travel just ahead or just behind the sun.
Rotates very slowly in the opposite direction of most planets one rotation takes 243 Earth days.
Has a very thick atmosphere containing great amounts of carbon dioxide which create a greenhouse effect. What is a greenhouse effect? Show the student a picture of a greenhouse and how it affects things on the inside. My greenhouse, Kids playing in greenhouse.
Clouds are too thick to see the surface but a spacecraft visiting Venus took pictures of its surface using radar. The surface contains plains, highlands,and craters just as Earth.

Earth

Third planet from the sun.
Named for the greek and roman Mother of All
Dense protective atmosphere.
Only planet to have liquid water.
Has the closest moon to the sun.
Has a mild greenhouse effect. Without the atmosphere temperatures would be no warmer than -10 degrees C.
Burning coal, oil, and gasoline may add carbon dioxide to the air which would increase the affect of the atmosphere on holding in heat.

Mars

fourth planet from the sun.
Named for the Roman God of War because of its red color.
Has two small moons that are probably captured asteroids.
Day is about 24 hours, same as ours but revolves around the sun slower, about 687 days for one Martian year.
Has a very thin atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide.
Is colder for two reasons can you name them?
Mars has been explored by Pathfinder and the high iron in the rocks makes it red.
The latest mission to Mars in 2001 was called Odyssey and has sent back a lot of information about Mars.

Guided Practice:* Students will answer the questions at the end of the section either in pairs or in a group.

Independent Practice:* Students will complete the worksheet, "The Inner Planets"

Check for Understanding:* Students will complete the quiz, 04-02 Chapter 4 Lesson 2, "The Inner Planets"

Duration:

30 minutes + 10-15 for Independent Practice (Could be longer if taken for homework).

Alaska Content Standards Addressed in this lesson:

SCI A-3 STUDENTS WILL UNDERSTAND MODELS DESCRIBING THE COMPOSITION, AGE, AND SIZE OF OUR UNIVERSE, GALAXY, AND SOLAR SYSTEM AND UNDERTAND THAT THE UNIVERS I CONSTANTLY MOVING AND CHANGING.
SCI-A-4 Students will understand observable natural events such as tides, weather, seasons, and moon phases in terms of the structure and motion of the earth (EARTH).
SCI A5 Students will understand the strength and effects of forces of nature, including gravity and electromagnetic radiation.
SCI A6 Students will understand that forces of nature cause different types of motion and describe the relationship between these forces and motion.