ALEX Classroom Resource

  

Our Solar System: Outer Planets StudyJam

  Classroom Resource Information  

Title:

 Our Solar System: Outer Planets StudyJam

URL:

 https://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/solar-system/solar-system-outer.htm

Content Source:

 Other
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/
Type: Interactive/Game

Overview:

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are the outer planets of our solar system. There is a dwarf planet called Pluto out there, too!

The classroom resource provides a slide show that will describe the components of the outer section of our solar system: the four outer planets and the dwarf planet, Pluto. This resource can provide background information for students before they create their own models. There is also a short test that can be used to assess students' understanding.

Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 6
Earth and Space Science
2 ) Construct models and use simulations (e.g., diagrams of the relationship between Earth and man-made satellites, rocket launch, International Space Station, elliptical orbits, black holes, life cycles of stars, orbital periods of objects within the solar system, astronomical units and light years) to explain the role of gravity in affecting the motions of celestial bodies bodies (e.g., planets, moons, comets, asteroids, meteors) within galaxies and the solar system.

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
E12.2: Early in the history of the universe, matter (primarily the light atoms hydrogen and helium) clumped together by gravitational attraction to form countless trillions of stars and billions of galaxies.

NAEP Statement::
E8.1a: In contrast to an earlier theory that Earth is the center of the universe, it is now known that the Sun, an average star, is the central and largest body in the solar system.

NAEP Statement::
E8.1b: Earth is the third planet from the Sun in a system that includes seven other planets and their moons, as well as smaller objects such as asteroids and comets.

NAEP Statement::
E8.2: Gravity is the force that keeps most objects in the solar system in regular and predictable motion. These motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, phases of the Moon, and eclipses.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Systems and System Models
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth's Place in the Universe
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Construct models to explain the role of gravity in affecting the motions of celestial bodies within galaxies and the solar system.
  • Use simulations to explain the role of gravity in affecting the motions of celestial bodies within galaxies and the solar system.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Model
  • Simulation
  • Gravity
  • Gravitational force
  • Solar system
  • Galaxy
  • Milky Way galaxy
  • Sun
  • Planets
  • Moons
  • Asteroids
  • Asteroid belt
  • Stars
  • Celestial bodies
  • Elliptical orbit
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • The solar system is a collection of bodies, including the sun, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and meteors.
  • A galaxy is any of the very large groups of stars and associated matter that are found throughout the universe.
  • The Earth's solar system is one of many systems orbiting the center of the larger system of the Milky Way galaxy.
  • Gravity is an attractive force between solar system and galaxy objects.
  • Gravity increases as the mass of the interacting objects increases.
  • Gravity decreases as the distances between objects increases.
  • Gravity affects the orbital motion of objects in our solar system (e.g., moons orbit around planets, all objects within the solar system orbit the sun).
  • Gravity is a predominantly inward-pulling force that can keep smaller/less massive objects in orbit around larger/more massive objects.
  • Gravity causes a pattern of smaller/less massive objects orbiting around larger/more massive objects at all system scales in the universe.
  • Gravitational forces from planets cause smaller objects (e.g., moons) to orbit around planets.
  • The gravitational force of the sun causes the planets and other bodies to orbit around it, holding the solar system together.
  • The gravitational forces from the center of the Milky Way cause stars and stellar systems to orbit around the center of the galaxy.
  • The hierarchy pattern of orbiting systems in the solar system was established early in its history as the disk of dust and gas was driven by gravitational forces to form moon-planet and planet-sun orbiting systems.
  • Objects too far away from the sun do not orbit it because the sun's gravitational force on those objects is too weak to pull them into orbit.
  • Without gravity smaller planets would move in straight paths through space, rather than orbiting a more massive body.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Develop a model and identify the relevant components including gravity and celestial bodies.
  • Describe the relationships and interactions between the components of the solar and galaxy systems.
  • Use the model to describe gravity and its effects.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Gravity is an attractive force between solar system and galaxy objects.
  • Gravity causes a pattern of smaller/less massive objects orbiting around larger/more massive objects at all systems scales in the universe.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Exploring Planetary Systems
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.6.2- Recognize that gravity is responsible for the moon's orbit around Earth, and Earth's orbit around the sun.
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 6
Earth and Space Science
3 ) Develop and use models to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system (e.g., scale model representing sizes and distances of the sun, Earth, moon system based on a one-meter diameter sun).

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Disciplinary Core Idea: Earth's Place in the Universe
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Develop models to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
  • Use models to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Model
  • Scale
  • Scale model
  • Properties
  • Size
  • Distance
  • Diameter
  • Solar system
  • Planet
  • Moon
  • Sun
  • Asteroid
  • Asteroid belt
  • Celestial body
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • A (scale) model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object being represented.
  • Measurements may be multiplied or divided to correctly scale objects in a model.
  • Charts and data tables may be analyzed to find patterns in data.
  • Patterns can be used to describe similarities and differences in objects in the solar system.
  • Systems and their properties may be described using more than one scale.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Develop a model of objects in the solar system and identify the relevant components.
  • Describe that different representations illustrate different characteristics of objects in the solar system, including differences in scale.
  • Use mathematics and computational thinking to determine scale properties.
  • Describe that two objects may be similar when viewed at one scale but may appear to be quite different when viewed at a different scale.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • The solar system consists of the sun and a collection of objects, including planets, their moons, and asteroids that are held in orbit around the sun by its gravitational pull on them.
  • Space phenomena can be observed at various scales using models to study systems that are too large or too small.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Researching the Sun-Earth-Moon System
Exploring Planetary Systems
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.6.3- Use a model to compare the relative sizes of objects in the solar system (e.g., sun, Earth, moon).
Tags: atmosphere, density, Jupiter, moon, Neptune, outer planets, planet, Pluto, Saturn, solar system, Uranus
License Type: Custom Permission Type
See Terms: http://www.scholastic.com/terms.htm
For full descriptions of license types and a guide to usage, visit :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses
Accessibility
Comments

The test may be completed as a whole group or independently on student devices. 

  This resource provided by:  
Author: Hannah Bradley
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