The+Universe+and+the+Solar+System

Fotografía [|de n0ll en Flickr] bajo licencia CC

**Click to download a full unit on the Universe:**



 * Reinforcement worksheets**
 * The Earth






 * The Solar System



Read and listen about the Solar System, then work on the worksheet. media type="file" key="1.solarsystem.mp3" width="240" height="20"





====The Solar System consists of the sun, the eight planets and other celestial bodies such as comets, meteors and asteroids. The Sun is a star and is the centre of the solar system. The Sun is just a simple star inside the Milky Way, our galaxy. Galaxies are made up of thousands of stars.====

Before going on, watch this video about the relative size of objects when we talk about the Universe.
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Have a look at this presentation about distances:
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//**Do you want to go on an incredible journey?:**//
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= = ====The planets in the solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Until recently, Pluto was considered the ninth planet. However, in 2007 its classification was changed. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are close to the sun and are called the inner planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are far from the sun and are called the outer planets.====

====Mercury is the nearest planet to the sun. It takes Mercury 88 days to orbit the sun. Neptune has got the longest orbit and takes 165 years to go around the sun. Earth, our planet, takes only one year to complete its orbit. Sometimes Earth is called Mother Earth because it is the only planet in our solar system with sufficient oxygen, water and a suitable temperature for human beings, animals and plants to live on it.====

====Do you want to know why Pluto is no longer considered a plant? Click on this link and read the worksheet. Then, answer the questions.====

Here you can find more details about the Inner and Outer planets of the Solar System:
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**//Build the Solar System. Drag and drop each object into the right place.//**
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====Moons are large natural satellites that orbit a planet; we have just one moon but some planets have several moons. Asteroids are smaller rocky bodies orbiting the Sun. They vary in size from several meters to about 1000 km. Many asteroids are between Mars and Jupiter and form the asteroid belt. Comets are made of ice and rocks and they orbit the Sun too, but they have a very elliptical orbit; showing a long tail when they are near the Sun.====

//**Find the words in the puzzle:**//
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