This document provides information about the Solar System for third graders. It includes definitions of key terms like orbit, star, and axis. It lists the order of the planets and provides 3 sentences each about Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Additional details are given about the Sun, Moon, and some recommended websites and videos for further learning.

1. The Solar System
Third Grade
Unit

2. Vocabulary
 Orbit means to circle around.
The planets orbit the Sun.
 Our moon is a body in space that circles
planet Earth. Other planets have moons, too.
 Our solar system includes the Sun and all the
planets, moons, and stars.
 A star is a body which looks like a bright
point in the sky at night. A star is not a planet
or a moon. Our sun is a star.
 Scientists pretend that planets and stars
have a line drawn through their middles. This
line is called an axis.

3. Brainpop
Watch the video clip titled: Planets of the
Solar System

4. Order of the Planets
Mercury
My
Very Venus Click to edit Master text styles
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Educated Earth Third level
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Mother Mars Fifth level
Just Jupiter
Served Saturn
Us
Uranus
Nine
Neptune
Pizzas
Pluto

5. The Sun
The center of our Click to edit Master text styles
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solar system is the Sun. Third level
It is our closest star. All Fourth level
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the energy we have
here on Earth comes
from the Sun. The
planets in our solar
system orbit, or revolve
around the Sun.

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Sun Facts
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 The outside of the Sun is 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
A REALLY hot day on Earth is only 100 degrees
Fahrenheit. The Sun's surface is about 100 times as
hot as the hottest day on Earth!!!
 The Sun is very, very big. More than one million
planet Earths could fit inside of the Sun!
 The Sun is very important to us. It gives us light and
heat. Without light and heat we would not be able to
live.
 The Sun is composed of helium and hydrogen.

7. Sun Websites
http://www.astro.uva.nl/demo/od95/
http://library.thinkquest.org/3645/stars_sun.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/sunspots/

8. Mercury
 Mercury is the planet which is closest to the Sun. It is one of the four inner
planets. These planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The inner
planets are also called the rocky planets, because they are made of rocks.
 1 Earth year = about 4 Mercury years!!
 Mercury is about 1/3 as big as earth.
 3 Mercurys = 1 Earth!
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• Venus is the second planet from the Sun.
• Venus is sometimes called the "Evening Star" and the
"Morning Star". It is very bright. You can see it at sunset
and sunrise.
• Venus spins very slowly. One "day" on Venus is longer
than one year on Earth.
• Venus is different from all the other planets because it
spins "backwards" on its axis.

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A photograph of
Earth from space
The planet we live on is called Earth. It is also
called the blue, or water planet, because most of
the surface of Earth is covered with water. From
space Earth looks like a blue marble. Earth is
just the right distance from the Sun to stay warm,
and the water on Earth is constantly being
moved by the Sun’s energy.

11. Earth Facts
Earth is the third planet from the sun.
It is the largest of the four inner
planets.
Earth spins very quickly compared to
other planets. It only takes Earth 24
hours to spin around its axis one time.
One Earth day is 24 hours long.
Earth orbits the sun in 365 days. This
makes one Earth year 365 days long.

12. Earth orbits around
the Sun.

13. The Moon
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The Moon cannot support
life because it has no
atmosphere. It is covered
with craters from collisions
with meteors and asteroids.
The Moon affects life on
Earth. Our tides are caused
by the pull of the Moon on
Earth.

14. The Moon is Earth’s Satellite
A satellite is anything
that orbits another
object. Earth is a
satellite that orbits the
Sun. The Moon orbits
Earth and is our
satellite.

15. Moon Facts
It has many volcanoes
on it which do not erupt
anymore.
We can see the moon
at night without using a
telescope.
It is the closest space
object to our planet.

16. Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is the last
of the four inner planets. Mars is often called the
"Red Planet" because the dirt on the planet is a
red color.
Mars has an atmosphere, but it is different than
Earth's. Our atmosphere is made up of oxygen
(which we breathe), nitrogen, carbon dioxide and
other gases. Earth has a lot of water vapor in the
air. Mars has "air" made up mostly of carbon
dioxide. Other gases in the air of Mars are nitrogen
and oxygen, but there is not enough oxygen for a
human to breathe.

17. Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun. It is the
largest planet in the solar system and it is the
largest of the outer planets. The outer planets are:
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
Jupiter is mostly made of a gas called hydrogen.
Its atmosphere has three layers of clouds in it. The
first layer of clouds is made of ammonia. Ammonia
is the stinky stuff that is used to clean floors.

18. Jupiter Facts
 An interesting fact about
Jupiter is that it has rings.
 Jupiter has a lot of storms in
its atmosphere. The spot in
this picture is a storm on
Jupiter. Scientists call this
Jupiter's red spot. It is a storm
which has been going on for
about 300 years.
 Jupiter has at least 16 moons.

19. Saturn
Saturn is the second of the outer planets. It is also
the second largest planet in our solar system.
Saturn is made mostly of hydrogen and helium. On
Earth these are usually gases. In fact, helium is
the gas used to blow up balloons that float. On
Saturn, hydrogen and helium are liquids! Saturn
has weather and storms. Scientists think these are
mostly wind storms.
The rings are made up pieces of rocks and ice.
These pieces can be as small as a pebble or as
big as a building. The rings get their pretty colors
because the sun shines on them from far away.

20. Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is the third of
the outer planets. Like Saturn and Jupiter, Uranus has a
very short day. One day on Uranus is only 17 hours long. A
year on Uranus is VERY long. One Uranus year is 84 Earth
years! It takes Uranus 84 years to orbit the Sun one time!
That means Uranus goes all the way around the Sun
ONCE in our lifetime!
Uranus has more moons than any other planet in our solar
system. So far, 20 moons have been discovered.
Uranus is made of methane ice. Methane is usually a gas
on Earth, but it is so cold on Uranus that it is frozen into ice.
Uranus's atmosphere is mostly made of methane gas.
There so many clouds made of methane in the
atmosphere, that they cover the whole planet.

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Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the
fourth of the outer planets. Like Uranus, Neptune is a
blue color because its atmosphere is mainly made of
methane gas. Jupiter has the "Great Red Spot" that
looks like an eye. Neptune has a "Great Dark Spot".
Jupiter's spot is really a storm. Scientists think that
Neptune's spot is a hole in its atmosphere.
Neptune has 8 moons. The biggest one is Triton.

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Pluto is the 9th planet from our sun. It is very far
away! It takes Pluto about 248 years to orbit, or
circle, the Sun 1 time. Pluto spins like a top 1 time
in about 6 Earth days. We have not learned much
about Pluto, because it is so far away from us. We
know that Pluto is smaller than Earth, and that the
temperature on Pluto may be -300 degrees! That
is cold! Scientists are almost sure that there is no
life on Pluto.

23. Additional Material
There are several other Brainpop movies on different
planets. The new movie on Mars is good.
StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers is
another great resource.
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