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WESTERN CAPE PRIMARY SCIENCE PROGRAMME

A SHORT LEARNING PROGRAMME ON THE NATURAL


SCIENCES THEME:

EARTH AND BEYOND


Grade 6

activities
ACTIVITY 1
The shape of the Earth and
outer space

ACTIVITY 2
Our Earth’s moon

ACTIVITY 3
Moon watch

ACTIVITY 4
Light on the moon

ACTIVITY 5
Travelling to the moon

ACTIVITY 6
The sun and its
family of planets

ACTIVITY 7
Reading about the sun,
Earth and moon

ACTIVITY 8
Additional reading tasks and
project ideas

We welcome the wide use of these materials.


Please acknowledge the PSP © PSP 2002
DEVELOPED BY WESTERN CAPE PSP TEAM AND TEACHERS

This learning programme will work towards the following learning


outcomes in the Natural Sciences

s LO1: Scientific Investigations


The learner will be able to act confidently on curiosity about natural phenomena,
and to investigate relationships and solve problems in scientific, technological
and environmental contexts

s LO2: Constructing Science Knowledge


The learner will know and be able to interpret and apply scientific, technological
and environmental knowledge

s LO3: Science, Society and the Environment


The learner will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationships
between science and technology, society and the environment.

Moon

Earth

Course presented by Rose Thomas and Sandra Mahote

Booklet designed by Welma Odendaal and illustrated by Janet Ranson


and Nicci Cairns
Western Cape Primary Science Programme
Edith Stephens Wetland Park
Lansdowne Road
Philippi 7785
PO Box 529 All images of the planets courtesy
Howard Place of NASA.
7450
Our thanks to the South African
Astronomical Society for the
Tel: 021 691-9039 Fax: 021 691-6350
e-mail: info@psp.org.za information about the planets.
website: www.psp.org.za
Contents
• This booklet illustrates an example of a short learning programme for Grade 6.
• It develops concepts, skills, attitudes and language in a step-wise fashion.
• It includes activities and tasks for learners, teacher tasks, support materials and
assessment suggestions.

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 1 The shape of the Earth and outer space


4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 2 Our Earth’s moon
6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 3 Moon watch
11 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 4 Light on the moon
15 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 5 Travelling to the moon
20 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 6 The sun and its family of planets
23 Fact sheet: ‘The Planets’
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 7 Reading about the sun, Earth and moon
28 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Suggested workscheme for this learning programme
Assessment sheets
29 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Assessing a task
30-31 . . . . . . . . . . .Blank assessment sheets
32 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Recording sheet for task assessment
33 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Codes for recording
Teaching aids to photocopy
34 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 1 Map of the World
36 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Task card ‘Our Earth is a like ball moving in space”
37 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 3 Moon watch chart
38 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 4 Task card ‘Light on the Moon’
39 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 5 Task card and reading ‘Travelling to the Moon’
42–44 . . . . . . . . . .Photographs taken on the moon:
46 . . . . . . . . . . . . .‘The Solar System’
48 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 6 Task card ‘The sun and its family of planets’
49 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Readings: ‘The Sun, Earth and Moon’
51 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Activity 7 – Learner task card
53–56 . . . . . . . . . .The nine planets in our solar sytem
Cover . . . . . . . . . .Mind map for Earth and Beyond
The shape of the Earth and outer
space
Activity 1

Key concepts • The Earth is round like a ball


• The Earth’s surface consists of land and water
• There is more water than land on the surface
• The atmosphere is a thin layer of gases surrounding the Earth
• Outer space is beyond the atmosphere.

Teacher task Demonstrate the following activity as an


introduction.
1. Ask learners to choose the correct shape of the
Earth from the things in the box and explain why
they chose that shape.
2. Hand out sheets of newspaper and strips of
white paper
3. Make water and flour glue.

1. Make a paper model of the Earth:


Learner task A Crumple 10 sheets of newspaper to make a ball shape.
GROUP A Tear two or three sheets of white A4 paper into thin strips.
A Make a glue paste out of flour and water.
A Spread the glue paste onto the strips of white paper with your
fingers.
A Bandage the strips around the ball of newspaper until the ball is
completely covered.

2. Put your model in the sun to dry.


Next day:
1. Draw a line around the middle of your Earth model to represent the
equator.
2. Draw a dot to represent the position of the North Pole and another to
represent the South Pole.
3. Cut out the continents on the map of the world.
(See page 34 and 35 to photocopy.)
4. Paste the continents onto the model in the correct position
(use a map and the equator line to help you).

2
5. Colour the land in orange. Colour the water in blue.
6. Put on the air – it is a very thin layer. Stretch a piece of pantihose
around your model to represent the thin layer of air.
7. Complete the worksheet “Our Earth is like a ball moving in space”.
(See page 36.)
Our Earth is like a ball moving in space:
A Draw onto the diagram and label clearly:
• Land • Water • Air • Outer space

OUR EARTH
air
water
Outer space Outer space
land

water air
land

air
water
land
water

Outer space
Outer space

1 The shape of the Earth and outer space


A s se ss m en t
Activity

What we want to assess What we expect from learners

Model of the Earth The model must have:


a a spherical shape
a the equator and poles properly positioned
a continents in approximately the correct position
a land and sea correctly coloured
a a piece of pantihose stretched over the ball to represent the air
Diagram of the Earth The diagram must
a be clearly drawn
a be labelled clearly, showing the land water and air
(shown as a very thin layer close to the earth)
a have outer space correctly identified (everything
beyond the Earth and its atmosphere)

3
Activity 2 Our Earth’s moon
The moon
There are many stories about the
moon, traditional stories, children’s
stories and adult science fiction
stories. The moon also features in
poems and songs. In addition it has
been associated with romance and
with werewolves. It is also said that
dogs will howl at the full moon!

Key concepts • The moon is smaller than the Earth


• The moon is a round sphere (about ∞ of the size of the Earth)
• The moon revolves around the Earth.

Teacher task Model of the moon my


1. Ask learners to draw the night sky on a piece of paper for homework. paper
2. They bring drawings to class the next day for a discussion. wasn’t big
3. Discuss why learners could not draw all they saw on the paper. enough!
4. Talk about the many things we look at in space (The sun,
the moon, millions of stars and sometimes satellites
which look like moving stars).
5. Ask learners to find any stories or poems about the
moon and discuss these in class the next day.
6. Hand out sheets of newspaper and strips of white
paper.
8. Make water and flour glue.

Learner task 1. Make a paper model of the moon.


GROUP 2. Use the instructions you followed when you made the model of the
Earth but use only 2 sheets of newspaper (the size of the moon is
about ∞ of the size of the Earth).
3. Leave overnight to dry.

Next day
4. Use the model of the Earth that
you made before and the model
of the moon and make a mobile
as illustrated in the diagram on
the left.
wire coathanger

wool or string

model of the moon model of Earth

4
Teacher task A Introduce the word ‘revolve’ to explain how the moon travels around
the Earth in its own orbit or pathway.
A Introduce the word ‘orbit’. The moon has its own orbit or pathway
around the Earth. This means that as it travels around the Earth it
always stays the same distance from the Earth.

The moon is revolving


around the Earth in its
orbit

orbit

A Use the mobile to demonstrate that the moon revolves around the
Earth (rotate the handle of the coat hanger and you can see the moon
travelling around the Earth).

Learner task Complete the following sentences by filling in the missing words:
A The moon is smaller than the Earth.
A The moon revolves around the Earth.
A The moon travels around the Earth in its own orbit (pathway).

Our Earth’s moon


A s se ss m en t
Activity 2
What we want to assess What we expect from learners

Model of the moon a The moon’s shape must be spherical


a The moon must be approximately ∞ of the
size of the Earth
a Make sure that the moon can travel
around the Earth in the mobile

5
Activity 3 Moon watch

Key concepts • The moon’s appearance changes every day


• One full revolution of the moon around the Earth takes about 29 to
30 days
• We see the moon because the light of the sun shines on the moon’s
surface.

Teacher task 1. Read this poem to the learners. Explain the words ‘wax’ and ‘wane’.
When the moon ‘waxes’ it means that it is growing or getting bigger
each night. When it is ‘waning’ it means the moon is getting smaller
each night until it disappears altogether for a few nights.

Watching the Moon


There is a new moon in the sky tonight
A thin little arc of clear white light
Night by night I’ll watch her grow
Until she’s full and all aglow

The moon is full for just one night


A great white ball of shining light
Night by night I’ll watch her wane
Until she’s an arc of light again

The night will be dark without a moon


But I know she’ll be in the night quite soon
First as an arc of new white light
She’ll wax until she’s full and bright

2. Read this background information and then decide what to read or


explain to the learners.
A People have always been aware of the moon and the way it
appears to change
A The moon appears to change shape over the course of time. We
call these changes the phases of the moon, but it is difficult to
explain why or how this happens.
A Several calendars (including religious calendars) are based on the
phases of the moon.
A The time of the full moon is used to determine the date for Easter
(it is the Sunday closest to the full moon about 4 full moons after
Christmas).
A The appearance of the crescent moon is used to signal the
beginning and the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Islam.

6
The phases of the moon seen from the Southern Hemisphere
The diagrams and photographs show what the moon looks like from the Earth.

1. crescent 8. gibbous
2. crescent 9. quarter
3. quarter 10. crescent
4. gibbous 11. crescent
5. gibbous 12. new moon( this cannot be
6. full seen as it is in complete
7. gibbous darkness)

Photographs extracted from ‘The Solar System’ – South African Astronomical Observatory

3. Photocopy and hand out moon watch diagrams (page 8 and 37).
A Explain how to fill in the moon watch diagram.
A Decide together with learners, which day will be Day One. (Any day
of the month can be the start as long as everyone starts together.
Make sure it is a night when the moon is visible)
A Let the learners compare their drawings every few days.

7
Learner task 1. Find the moon each day (at night or day) and observe it carefully.
INDIVIDUAL 2. Draw what the moon looks like each day on your diagram. Write down
the date and time.
3. When it is cloudy and you cannot see the moon, draw clouds on your
diagram.
4. If you miss a night, write down your reason.
5. Compare your drawings every few days with those of the other
learners.
6. Complete the 29-day cycle.
7. Put these labels onto your moon watch diagram, with the help of your
teacher:
• full moon • ¢ moon • crescent moon • new moon

THE PHASES OF THE MOON

MOON WATCH CHART

name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A Large moon watch chart for learners to photocopy on page 37.

8
Write down some interesting things that you have seen about the moon.

Moon watch
I saw some interesting things about the moon.

One thing I saw was, when I started, I could see only a small part of the moon. Each night
the part that I could see got bigger and bigger until I could see the whole moon. Then the light
part started getting smaller each night until there was no moon at all.
I also saw that the moon moves in the sky at night. Each night it rises in a slightly different
place. For a few nights the moon seems to disappear from the sky.
Another thing I noticed was that, as the moon grows bigger, it is the left-hand side that I can
see. But after full moon, as the moon becomes smaller, it is the right-hand side that I can see.

3 Moon watch
A ss e ss me n t
Activity

What we want to assess What we expect from learners

Moon watch chart The drawings on the chart must be:


a completed
a filled in to show how the shape changes (see diagram)
a full, crescent, quarter and new moon must be correctly
identified and labelled.
Writing sentences about Sentences should include some of the following:
the moon watch a that the moon’s shape changed
a that it was not in the same position every night
a sometimes you cannot see it at all (new moon)
a as the moon gets bigger, one side is visible
a as the moon gets smaller, the opposite side is visible

9
THE PHASES OF THE MOON

MOON WATCH CHART

am am
am
am
am
am

m
am

pm
am

pm
pm
pm

ful
m l
o

on

am

10
Activity 4 Light on the moon

Key concepts • The moon does not give off light of its own
• We can see the moon because the sun illuminates it (the sunlight
falls on the moon)
• The moon’s shape appears to change as it moves around the Earth
because we can only see the part facing us that has sunlight
falling on it.

1. Read the following information to the learners


Teacher task
We see the moon when light from the sun falls on it
The moon revolves around the Earth and at the same time, the Earth
revolves around the sun. The moon takes 29.5 days to go once round the
Earth. The sun shines on the moon as the moon moves around the Earth.
A person standing on Earth sees different parts of the moon “lit up” by
the sun as the sunlight illuminates the moon’s surface.
2. Demonstrate how we see the moon, which is lit up by the sun.

NOTE TO
TEACHER …
sun (a
Use a bright light for the
light bulb or an overhead
projector). The child is an
moon
observer on Earth. Use the
m
that the learners made fro
m a little
paper. Darken the roo
er the
by putting newspapers ov
windows.

11
What the learner must do:
A Put a label on the learner saying ‘Earth’.
A Push a pencil or stick into the model of the moon. The learner
stands with her back to the light and holds the moon by its pencil
handle. She holds it at arm’s length just above eye height.
A Now, still holding the moon, she slowly rotates (turns around
standing in one place), looking at the moon all the time. As the
moon moves around her, she will see that different parts of the
moon are lit up by the light bulb (sun).

earth

A B C

Ask her to tell you what she sees on the moon:


A When she is standing with the sun behind her back
A When she is standing sideways to the sun
A When she is facing the sun
What the learner will see:
A When the sun is behind her back she will see a full moon.
A When she is standing sideways to the sun she will see a quarter
moon.
A When she is facing the sun she will see the new moon. (The part of
the moon facing her will not be illuminated by the sun). When the
real moon is in this position, then we can not see it at all )
3. Now learners work in pairs and take turns to hold the moon to see
how it changes as they move it in relation to the sun.

12
Learner task Light on the moon
1. Hold the moon as shown below.

earth

A B C
2. Still holding the moon at arm’s length, stand in one place and turn
around slowly and look to see how the light falls on the moon.
3. Write and draw your observations below.

A. When the sun is behind me and the moon is in front of


me this is what I see: A
Underline the correct one and draw on the circle:
I can see the Full / Quarter / New Moon.
B. When I am standing sideways to the sun and the
moon is in front of me, this is what I see:
B
Underline the correct one and draw on the circle:
I can see the Full / Quarter / New Moon.
C. When I am facing the sun and the moon is in front of me,
this is what I see:
Underline the correct one and draw on the circle: C
I can see the Full/ Quarter / New Moon.

What do I see if I
stand sideways to the sun
with the moon right in
front of me?

A RTH
E
13
Light on the moon
A s se s sm en t
Activity 4
What we want to assess What we expect from learners

Questions about light on The answer must include the following


the moon information:
a. When the sun is behind me, I can see
the full moon
b. When the sun is sideways to me, I can
see the quarter moon
c. When the sun is facing me, then I can
see the new moon.(i.e. there is no light
on the side of the moon facing me)

Picture: NASA

14
Activity 5 Travelling to the moon

Key concepts • People travelled to the moon and landed on it in 1969. This was the
first time in history that people landed on the moon.
• The people, who were Americans, used specially designed rockets
and spaceships to get to the moon – it was a technological
triumph.
• This was the first time human beings had travelled so far. They
came back safely bringing photographs and samples of moon
rock.
• This was also the first time that a human being had ever landed on
the surface of another object in space.

Teacher task 1. Read a poem or song about travelling to the moon.

Amagorhaoo-Apollo Wasiphuka wenyu- – - ka!


Amagorha oo-Apollo UNeil Amstrong, uMichael Collins
Amagorha oo-Apollo! noBuzz Aldrin!
Amagorha ase Amelika Halala! Halala! Hala- – - la!
Alimangalisile lonke ihlabathi! Siqhayisa ngo Apollo weshum’ elinomvo!

(Taken from one of the


Xhosa songs composed
during the Apollo
moon landing, in
praise of the three
astronauts and the
great historic event.)

Picture: NASA

2. Explain to learners that they are first going to imagine about travelling
to the moon. Then they will read about travelling to the moon to find
out what actually happened when people went to the moon.
3. Supply learners with the task card and the reading ‘Travelling to the
moon’ (page 16).

15
Travelling to the moon
For thousands of years people have looked up at the moon in the night sky
but nobody had ever been to the moon.
People decide to explore the moon
1. In 1961 President John Kennedy announced that the United States of America would
send people to travel to the moon to explore it. No human being had ever travelled to
the moon before. For the next 8 years they experimented with different rockets and
space vehicles. They made several trips to the moon to check the equipment but did
not land on it.
Travelling to the moon
2. Finally in 1969 the Apollo II space ship was ready to be launched into space.
The space ship had to travel about 400 000 km to reach the moon and 400 000 km
to get back. Apollo raced all through space. After three days and nights, it came
near the moon.
3. Two astronauts flew down to the moon’s
surface in a moon lander. One astronaut
stayed up in the rocket and circled around
the moon. He did this to make sure that
they could all get back safely, even if the
moon lander could not fly back. Neil
Armstrong was the first man to step out of
the space ship onto the surface of the
moon. These were his words as he stepped
onto the moon: “One small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.” Edwin Aldrin
was the second man to step onto the moon.
On the moon’s surface
4. The moon looked scary. It had no air, water, plants or animals. The astronauts
went outside in space suits to explore. They took many pictures. They drove a
moon car and set up science experiments. Then they returned to Apollo in the
top of the lander. Apollo brought them home safely.
One day you too could travel to the moon
5. Perhaps you’ll be on a moon station one day! You’ll catch a moon ship at a space station
that will circle around the Earth. People will load supplies onto the ship. They will put
fuel in your new moon ship and lander. Finally you’ll blast off. Near the moon, the
rocket engines will fire again. You’ll go into orbit around the moon. People and supplies
will go into the moon lander. Engines will fire. Down you’ll go. What will you say when
you step onto the moon? What will it be like to live on the moon?

Adapted from: Amazing Rockets by Dinah L. Moche; Western Publishing Company Inc. Wisconsin 1990
16
Learner tasks Imagine what it would be like to fly away from Earth and travel through
space to the moon.
1. Explore the moon and outer space.
2. Talk to your group about how you imagine it will be.
3. Then read ‘Travelling to the moon’ on page 39 to find out.

Task card: Travelling to the moon


Learner Talking and Reading Tasks:
TASK 1
1. Imagine that you are the first person to travel to the moon.
Discuss:
A What plans would you make to
get there?
A How long would you spend
planning?
A How many people would go with
you?
A What kind of vehicle would you
use?
A Would you go on your own or
would your country send you
there?
A What would it cost? And who
would pay?
Now read paragraph 1 to find out
what did happen.
TASK 2
1 Imagine how many days your journey would take to get to the moon.
Discuss:
A How far do you have to travel to get there?
A How many days will it take you to get there?
Now read paragraph 2 to find out how far away it was and how long
the journey took.

How much
longer will my
journey be?

17
Learner task TASK 3
(continued) 1. Imagine how you will land on the moon safely so that you can come
back again.
Discuss:
A How will you land on the moon?
A How will you get back again?
A What will you say when you step onto the moon
for the first time?
Now read paragraph
3 to find out what
did happen.

my rocket TASK 4
has a 1. Imagine you are on the moon’s
parachute to surface.
help it l and. Discuss:
A What will the moon look like?
A What will you do on the that won’t work
moon? – there is no air on
A Did you get home safely? the moon! my rocket
Now read paragraph 4 to find out what has springy legs to
it is like on the moon.
land on.
Teacher task

1. Hand out the set of photographs taken on the moon. The


teacher’s copy of the questions and answers is on page
42, and the learner’s copy on page 43–44.
2. Learners look at the pictures and discuss the questions.
3. Facilitate a class discussion about this.

18
Learner task TASK 5
(continued) 1. Imagine that you are living on the moon one day.
Make a drawing to show where and how you will live on the moon.

but
on how high would
sports day you jump on
i jumped 1,2m the moon? how long
high … would my
rocket take
to reach the
moon?

Writing task – My place on the moon


2. Write to tell what it will be like to live on the moon.

A ss es sm e n t
Activity 5 Travelling to the moon

What do we want to assess What do we expect from learners

Reading: a Tell verbally (in groups) what actually happened during the
Tasks 1 – 5. exploration of the moon.
Writing and drawing about a Make a creative detailed drawing and write creative
living on the moon sentences imagining what it would be like to live on the moon.
a Show evidence in drawing and writing of some facts about the
moon e.g:
– no atmosphere
– plants can’t grow there
– animals can’t live there
– no water and no clouds or rain
– they have to take everything such as food, clothing,
air and water with them
– they have to dispose of their own waste, etc,

19
Activity 6 The sun and its family of planets

Key concepts • Nine different planets make up our solar system


• The planets vary in size and mass
• Planets are different distances away from the sun
• All planets revolve around the sun
• Planets revolve in fixed orbits and they remain in these orbits.

Teacher task
Introduction to the solar system
A Explain that Earth is found in one small part of the sky called the
solar system.
A We are close to one star called the sun.
R …
NOTE TO TEACHE A All the other stars are very, very far away from us.
sequence A
When learners cut out and Tell learners that we will study our solar system.
ir
the planets according to the
the sun , the y must
distances from A.
se ver y larg e nu mbers.
work with the
rposes of 1. Hand out photocopies of a the “Nine planets” (see page 53–56).
This is one of the main pu
activity we
this activity. In doing this
able to
hope that learners will be
h nu mb er and then
interpret eac
ano the r big nu mber and
compare it to
st from the
decide which is the furthe
e placed
sun and so on until they hav
order.
each planet in the correct

Each group works with one full set of planets.


Learner task
1. Cut out the planets.
IN PAIRS
2. Write each planet’s name on the back.
3. Write down the planet’s distance from the sun.
4. Use the different distances from the sun and place the planets in
order. Start with the sun and place the planet closest to the sun first.
5. End with the planet, which is the furthest away from the sun.

Teacher task B.
Hand out The Planets fact sheet (see page 23) and the drawing of the
solar system (see page 46–47) to complete.

20
Learner task Task card – Activity 6
INDIVIDUAL The sun and its family of planets
1. Read the paragraph for your information.
We know that Earth is a planet. There are eight other planets. Together
with Earth, there are nine planets. They all get light from the sun. Each
planet travels around the sun on its own special pathway called an
orbit. Each planet is different. The sun and its family of planets is
called the solar system.
2. On ‘The Planets’ fact sheet find the column marked “Distance from
the Sun”. This will tell you how far each planet is from the sun.
3. Find each planet on your ‘Solar System sheet’ and label it correctly.

Pluto

Venus
Mercury SUN
Saturn Jupiter
Mars
Earth
Neptune Uranus

Mercury
Earth’s
Moon

Venus Earth

Mars

Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus

Neptune

21
Teacher task Hand out the following questions and explain how to use ‘The Planets’
fact sheet to answer the questions.

Learner task About the planets


Use ‘The Planets’ fact sheet to answer the following questions:
1. Which planet is the smallest?
Pluto is the smallest planet.
2. Which planet is the largest?
Jupiter is the largest planet.
3. Which planet has two moons?
Mars has two moons.
4. Name the planet that has a red spot.
Jupiter has a red spot.
5. Which planet do we know very little about? Why?
We know very little about Pluto because it is very far away from Earth.
6. Why is Mars called the red planet?
Mars is called the red planet because it looks red in the sky.
7. Name the brightest planet.
Venus is the brightest planet.
8. Which planet has the most moons?
Saturn has the most moons. It has 18 moons.
9. What is unusual about Saturn?
Saturn is unusual because it has 18 moons and it has large rings around it.
10. How far is Saturn from the Earth?
Saturn is 1 250 000 000km from Earth.
11. Which is the nearest planet to the Earth? How far is it from us?
Venus is the nearest planet to Earth. It is 46 000 000km from us.
12. How far away is Pluto from Mercury?
Pluto is 5 840 000 000km from Mercury.

The sun and its family of planets


Assessering
Aktiwiteit 6 What we want to assess What we expect from learners
Solar System Planets should be:
a identified correctly
a placed in correct order according to their
distances from the sun
a labeled correctly using the table provided.
Answering the questions a Correct answers to questions
about the solar system.

22
The Planets fact sheet

PLANET Distance from Size of planet Number Other features


the sun in km (diameter in km) of moons

Mercury 60 000 000 km 5 000 km 0 It looks like our moon

Venus 104 000 000 km 12 000 km 0 It is the brightest


planet

Earth 150 000 000 km 13 000 km 1 It is the only planet


known to have life on
it

Mars 240 000 000 km 7 000 km 2 It is known as the


red planet

Jupiter 800 000 000 km 143 000 km 16 It has a red spot and
striped appearance

Saturn 1 400 000 000 km 120 000 km 18 It has a set of rings


around it

Uranus 3 000 000 000 km 52 000 km 15 It looks green. Most


of it is ice.

Neptune 4 500 000 000 km 50 000 km 8 It appears blue

Pluto 5 900 000 000 km 2 000 km 1 Very little is known


about this planet

23
Activity 7 Reading about the Sun, Earth
and Moon
Teacher task 1. Copy the readings about the Earth, the moon and the sun for learners
from pages 48–50. Also copy the table ‘Comparing the Sun, Earth and
Moon’ from page 51. (See page 26 for completed table.)

Learner task Read about the Earth, the moon and the sun and then complete the table
below.

Our Planet Earth


Our home, the Earth, is a planet. It
looks like a large ball made mostly of
rock. Our planet is made of a number
of different layers of rock. First, there is
a crust on the outside where most of the
rock is hard. Under the crust is a
mantle, which is made of softer rock
and which is slowly moving all the time.
Deep inside the Earth is a core made of
the metals called Iron and Nickel. On
the outside the Earth is surrounded by
water (in the oceans), and air.
The Earth is a medium sized planet.
It measures about 40 000 km around
the equator. If you could cut through it
and measure the diameter it would be
about 12 762 km.
The Earth moves in two ways at the
same time. One way in which the Earth moves is in a circle around
the sun. We say the Earth revolves around the sun in its own orbit.
The other way in which the Earth moves is that it spins (rotates) all
the time while it is moving around the sun.
The Earth does not give off light of its own but receives light from
the sun. The Earth also receives heat from the sun so that the
temperature on Earth is just right for living things. It is not too hot
and it is not too cold
The Earth looks like a beautiful blue and white ball. The blue that
we can see is the water that surrounds the Earth. The white parts are
the clouds that float in the air. Near the North and South Poles are
large white areas. These are the polar ice caps made of frozen water.
There are other planets in space, but Earth is the most important
to us, because people, animals and plants can live on it.

24
The moon
The moon is our nearest neighbour in space. It
is about 400 000 km away from us.
It is a ball of rock like the Earth, but it has
no water and no air.
The moon is so close to us that if we look
carefully we can see some details on its surface.
There are light and dark areas on the surface.
The light areas are high mountains and the
darker areas are large, flat, dusty plains. The
moon also has a lot of round marks on its
surface. These are called craters. They are
made when rocks from outer space hit the
surface of the moon and leave dents in it.
The moon is not a planet. It is a moon because it revolves around a
planet and not around the sun. It does not give off its own light but gets
light from the sun. As the moon moves around the Earth we can see
different parts of it lit up as the sunlight falls onto the moon.
The moon is much smaller than the Earth. The Earth is five times
bigger than the moon. If you could break the Earth into five equal balls
then the moon would be the size of one ball. The moon has a diameter of
about 3 500km.

The sun
The sun is a star, not a planet. It is a huge ball of very hot gas in space.
The main gas is hydrogen. A star is a ball of gas so hot that it gives off
light and heat and other radiation. The sun is the star closest to us.
We can feel the sun’s warmth
and see its light. It is so bright that
we cannot look at it directly
without hurting our eyes. The sun
is so hot that huge explosions and
fountains of gas shoot up high
above its surface. There are also
dark patches, called sunspots,
which come and go. Without the
light and heat of the sun, Earth
would be cold, dark and dead. The
sun is about 100 times bigger than
the earth but it looks small,
because it is so very far away.
The sun spins all the time while the planets are revolving around it.

25
Learner Task Card
Read about the sun, Earth and moon and then complete this table:

Comparing the Sun, Earth and Moon


Questions Sun Earth Moon

What does it look like? The sun looks like a The Earth looks like a The moon is a round
very bright ball of fire. blue and white ball. ball that looks pale
yellow or white. It
has light and dark
patches on its
surface.
What is it made of? The sun is made of The Earth is a ball made The moon is made of
very hot hydrogen gas. of rock. On the outside rock.
the rock is hard but on
the inside the rock is
softer and deep inside,
the core is made of iron
and nickel. The Earth is
surrounded by water
and air.
How does it move? The sun spins. The Earth spins and it The moon travels
also travels around the around the Earth.
sun.
How does it get its The sun produces its The Earth gets light The moon gets its
light? own light from the hot from the sun light from the sun.
hydrogen gas.
How big is it? The sun is much bigger The Earth is smaller than The moon is smaller
than the Earth (about the sun but bigger than than the Earth. Five
100 times bigger). the moon. Its diameter moons could fit into
is about 12 762km. the Earth. Its
diameter is about
3 500km.
Any other interesting There are big gas The Earth has just the There are mountains
thing that you read? explosions and black right temperature for and craters and flat
spots on the sun. living things. dusty plains on the
moon.

26
A s se ss m en t
Activity 7 Reading about the Sun, Earth and Moon
What we want to assess What we expect from learners

Reading and completing Correctly compare the similarities and


the table of comparison of differences in answer to the questions
the sun, Earth and moon for the sun, Earth and moon

Activity 8 A research project for learners


Do a book research about space travel and exploration. You can research
Learner task anything about space and space travel that interests you.
Here are some ideas about what to focus on in your research:
a The Apollo missions to the moon. These missions were exploration
flights, then later people flew past the moon and finally they landed on
the moon.
a The Mariner missions. These missions are explorations to Mars, our
nearest planet.
a The Pioneer 10 and 11 missions. These spacecraft have explored the
furthest away from Earth. They have photographed the other planets
and have now left our solar system.
a The Viking spacecraft. These spacecraft also photographed the
planets in our solar system.
a The space shuttle. The space shuttle flies close to the Earth and takes
people and supplies to and from the International Space Station where
experiments are carried out in space.
a The Hubble telescope. This telescope is in orbit around the Earth. It
takes photographs of space that we cannot see from Earth because
our atmosphere makes this difficult.
a Etc,

You can present your project as:


a a model
a a song or speech
a an art work
a a play
a a poster with drawings and writing
a Etc

Your presentation must show what you have learned from your research
about space exploration and travel.

27
SUGGESTED WORK SCHEME ON EARTH AND BEYOND
Grade 6 learning programme
PERIOD 1 PERIOD 2 PERIOD 3 PERIOD 4
A Start with Activity 3 as the • Discussion about what is in the Activity 1 • Putting the continents on the
moon watch will take a whole night sky • Choosing a shape which best model
month • Learners copy the moon resembles the Earth & • Colouring in the continents &
Activity 3 drawing on to their moon watch explaining their own choice putting on air
• Give learners homework to draw charts (50 min) • Making of the Earth paper model 50 min
the night sky including the moon 50 min
as they see it in the sky
• Show learners how to complete
the moon watch chart (50 min)
NB. Calendar shows the day
when the moon will be visible

PERIOD 5 PERIOD 6 PERIOD 7 PERIOD 8


• Completing the task card Our Activity 2 • Making the Earth & moon mobile Activity 3 (cont)
Earth is like a moving ball in • Poems and stories about the to compare the sizes of the two • Looking at the learner’s progress
space moon and to explain the revolution of with the moon watch chart and
50 min the moon around the Earth reading of the poem (Watching
• Making of the moon paper
model • Sentence completion the Moon)
50 min 50 min • Discussion about why the moon
changes
50 min

PERIOD 9 PERIOD 10 PERIOD 11 PERIOD 12


• Helping learners to name the Activity 4 (cont) Activity 4 (cont) Activity 5
phases of the moon • Demonstration and discussion • Reading of a poem or song • Discussion and reading about
Activity 4 (start) about light falling on the moon about travelling to the moon travelling to the moon continued
• Prediction and discussion about • Sentence completion • Discussion & reading about 50 min
light falling on the moon 50 min travelling to the moon
50 min 50 min

PERIOD 13 PERIOD 14 PERIOD 15 PERIOD 16


Activity 5 (cont) Activity 6 Activity 6 (cont) Activity 7
• Drawing and writing about • Discussion about the • Using the planet fact sheet to • Using the planet fact sheet to
travelling to the moon appearance of the different label the solar system diagram answer questions
50 min planets as seen from the planet • Using the planet fact sheet to 50 min
pamphlet ask questions
• Reading to find each planet’s
PERIOD 17
distance from the sun and
placing them according to the Activity 7 (cont)
distances from the sun • Readings about the sun, moon
50 min and Earth
• Reading and completion of table
to compare sun, moon and Earth
50 min
Activity 8 (additional)
• Book research project about
space exploration (± 2 weeks)
• Presentations of research project

This learning programme will take approximately 850 min = 3,5 weeks to complete
(NS = 4 hours per week) plus additional time to do the projects and present them

28
34
35
Learner task card – Activity 1
Our Earth is like a ball moving in space
A Draw onto the diagram and label clearly
– Land
– Water
– Air
– Outer space

36
Learner task card The phases of the moon
– Activity 3 Write down some interesting things about the moon, that you have seen.

MOON WATCH CHART

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................................

Moon watch
I saw some interesting things about the moon.
One thing was . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I also saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................................................................................
.................................................................................
Furthermore, I saw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.................................................................................
.................................................................................
.................................................................................
37
Learner task card – Activity 4
Light on the moon

1. Hold the moon as shown below:

A B C

2. Still holding the moon at arm’s length, turn around slowly and look to
see how the light falls on the moon.
3. Write and draw your observations below:

A. When the sun is behind me and the moon is in


front of me this is what I see:
Underline the correct one and draw on
the circle:
I can see the Full/ Quarter/ New Moon

B. When I am standing sideways to the sun and


the moon is in front of me this is what I see.
Underline the correct one and draw on
the circle:
I can see the Full/ Quarter/ New Moon

C. When I am facing the sun and the moon is


in front of me this is what I see:
Underline the correct one and draw on
the circle:
I can see the Full/ Quarter/ New Moon

38
Learner task card – Activity 5
Reading for learners
Travelling to the moon
For thousands of years people have looked up at the moon in the night sky
but no body had ever been to the moon.

People decide to explore


the moon
1. In 1961 President John
Kennedy announced
that the United States
of America (USA) would
send some people to
travel to the moon to
explore it. No human
being had ever travelled
to the moon before. For
the next 8 years they
experimented with
different rockets and
space vehicles. They
made several trips to
the moon to check the
equipment but did not
land on it.
Travelling to the moon
2. Finally in 1969 the
Apollo II space ship
was ready to be
launched into space.
The space ship had to
travel about 400 000 km
to reach the moon and
400 000 km to get
back. Apollo raced all
through space. After
Aiming for the moon … Apollo II is ready to be launched. three days and nights, it
Picture: NASA came near the moon.
3. Two astronauts flew down to the moon’s surface in a moon lander. One
astronaut stayed up in the rocket and circled around the moon. He did
this to make sure that they could all get back safely, even if the moon
lander could not fly back. Neil Armstrong was the first man to step out of
the space ship onto the surface of the moon. These were his words as he
stepped onto the moon: “One small step for man, one giant leap for
mankind.” Edwin Aldrin was the second man to step onto the moon.

39
On the moon’s surface
4. The moon looked scary. It has no air, water,
plants or animals. The astronauts went
outside in space suits to explore. They took
lots of pictures. They drove a moon car and
set up science experiments. Then they
returned to Apollo in the top of the lander.
Apollo brought them home safely.

One day you too could travel to the moon


5. Perhaps you’ll be on a moon station one
day! You’ll catch a moon ship at a space
station that will circle around the Earth.
People will load supplies onto the ship. They
will put fuel in your new moon ship and
lander. Finally you’ll blast off. Near the
moon, the rocket engines will fire again.
You’ll go into orbit around the moon. People
and supplies will go into the moon lander.
Engines will fire. Down you’ll go. What will
you say when you step onto the moon?
What will it be like to live on the moon?
(Adapted from: Amazing Rockets by Dinah L. Moche
Western Publishing Company Inc. Wisconsin 1990

Above left: Lift off! 16 July 1969 was launch day for
Apollo II.
Left: The landing craft.
Above: Neil Armstrong … The first person on the
moon! (All pictures courtesy of NASA)

40
Learner task card – Activity 5
Travelling to the moon

Learner talking and reading tasks:

Task 1
1. Imagine that you are the first person to travel to the moon.
Discuss:
A What plans would you make to get there?
A How long would you spend planning?
A How many people would go with you?
A What kind of vehicle would you use?
A Would you go on your own or would your country send you there?

Pictures: NASA Now read paragraph 1 to find what did happen

Task 2
2. Imagine how many days your journey
would take to get to the moon.
Discuss:
A How far do you have to travel to get
there?
A How many days will it take you to get
there?
Now read paragraph 2 to find out how far
and how long the journey took

Task 3
3. Imagine how you will land on the moon
safely so that you can come back again.
Discuss:
A How will you land on the moon?
A How will you get back again?
A What will you say when you step on the
moon for the first time?
Now read paragraph 3 to find out what did
happen

Task 4
4. Imagine you are on the moon’s surface.
Discuss:
A What will the moon look like?
A What will you do on the moon?
A Did you get home safely?
Now read paragraph 4 to find what it is like
on the moon.

41
Teacher’s copy: Photographs taken on the moon

Why is the sky black?


There is no atmosphere on the moon. So, you do not look
through the atmosphere into space like here on the Earth. When
we look through the atmosphere from Earth the sky looks blue.
What is this?
This moon car runs on batteries (remember there is no air on the
moon to burn petrol). This is an umbrella-shaped solar panel to
pick up sunlight energy and change it to electrical energy to
charge the batteries.
What is this?
This is a footprint of an astronaut.

What is this?
This is the sun that also shines on the moon.
What is this?
This is a crater on the moon’s surface. It is a large dent
left by a rock from space that crashed into the moon.
There are many craters on the moon’s surface.
What can you say about this environment?
It is barren, dry and rocky
Why does he have a shadow?
He is standing with his back to the sun so his shadow falls
in front of him.

Why does he wear a helmet?


He wears a helmet to protect him from the harmful rays of
the sun. There is no atmosphere to protect him. He also
needs a helmet to protect him from any harmful dust or
stones from space. He also needs a helmet for breathing.
The air from the air tanks on his back is pumped into his
helmet.
What is this?
This is a hill or mountain in the background.
What is he carrying on his back?
He is carrying air to breathe on his back in tanks.
What is this?
This is an astronaut’s footprint.
What is he doing?
He is taking soil samples with a special tool.

What is this?
This is the moon lander spacecraft.
What is this?
This is the moon buggy or motor car

What are these marks on the surface?


They are the marks from the tyres of the moon buggy.

42
Learner’s copy: Photographs taken on the moon

Why is the sky


black?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What is this?

What can you


say about this
environment?

Why does he
have a shadow?

43
Why does he wear a
helmet?

What is this?

What is he carrying on his


back?

What is this?

What is he doing?

What is this?

What is this?

What are these


marks on the
surface?

44
Task 5
Imagine living on the moon one day

Writing Task:
When I live on the moon

I will live in a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

I will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

I will also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

I will also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

45
Learner task card – Activity 6
The sun and its family of planets
1. Read the paragraph for your information.
We know that Earth is a planet. There are eight other planets. Together
with Earth, there are nine planets. They all get light from the sun. Each
planet travels around the sun on its own special pathway called an
orbit. Each planet is different. The sun and its family of planets is
called the solar system.
2. On ‘The Planets’ fact sheet find the column marked “Distance from
the Sun”. This will tell you how far each planet is from the sun.
3. Find each planet on your ‘Solar System sheet’ and label it correctly.

46
THE SOLAR SYSTEM

47
Learner task card Activity 6 – Individual
About the Planets:

Use The Planets fact sheet on page 23 to answer the following questions:

1. Which is the smallest planet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

2. Which is the largest planet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Which planet has two moons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4. Name the planet which has a red spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. Which planet do we know very little about? Why? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

............................................................

6. Why is Mars called the red planet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

............................................................

7. Name the brightest planet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8. Which planet has the most moons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9. What is unusual about Saturn? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10. How far is Saturn from the Earth? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11. Which is the nearest planet to the Earth? How far is it from us? . . . . .

............................................................

12 How far away is Pluto from Mercury? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

48
Readings about the Sun, Earth and Moon
1. Read about the Earth, the moon and the sun and then complete the
table on page 52.

Our Planet Earth


Our home, the Earth, is a planet. It looks like a large ball made mostly
of rock. Our planet is made of a number of different layers of rock.
First, there is a crust on the outside where most of the rock is hard.
Under the crust is a mantle, which is made of softer rock and which is
slowly moving all the time. Deep inside the Earth is a core made of the
metals called Iron and Nickel. On the outside the Earth is surrounded
by water (in the oceans), and air.

Earth as seen from the moon.

49
The Earth’s atmosphere is clearly visible from this photograph.

The Earth is a medium sized planet. It measures about 40 000 km


around the equator. If you could cut through it and measure the
diameter it would be about 12 762 km.
The Earth moves in two ways at the same time. One way in which
the Earth moves is in a circle around the sun. We say the Earth
revolves around the sun in its own orbit. The other way in which the
Earth moves is that it spins (rotates) all the time while it is moving
around the sun.
The Earth does not give off light of its own but receives light from
the sun. The Earth also receives heat from the sun so that the
temperature on Earth is just right for living things. It is not too hot
and it is not too cold
The Earth looks like a beautiful blue and white ball. The blue that
we can see is the water that surrounds the Earth. The white parts are
the clouds that float in the air. Near the North and South Poles are
large white areas. These are the polar ice caps made of frozen water.
There are other planets in space, but Earth is the most important
to us, because people, animals and plants can live on it.

The moon
The moon is our nearest neighbour in space. It is about 400 000 km
away from us.
It is a ball of rock like the Earth, but it has no water and no air.
The moon is so close to us that if we look carefully we can see some

50
details on its surface. There are light and dark
areas on the surface.

The light areas are high mountains and the


darker areas are large, flat, dusty plains. The
moon also has a lot of round marks on its
surface. These are called craters. They are
made when rocks from outer space hit the
surface of the moon and leave dents in it.
The moon is not a planet. It is a moon
because it revolves around a planet and not
around the sun. It does not give off its own
light but gets light from the sun. As the moon
moves around the Earth we can see different
parts of it lit up as the sunlight falls onto the
moon.
The moon is much smaller than the Earth.
The Earth is five times bigger than the moon.
If you could break the Earth into five equal
balls then the moon would be the size of one
ball. The moon has a diameter of about
Earth, the sun and the moon. 3 500km.

The sun
The sun is a star, not a planet. It is a huge
ball of very hot gas in space. The main gas is
hydrogen. A star is a ball of gas so hot that it
gives off light and heat and other radiation.
The sun is the star closest to us.
We can feel the sun’s warmth and see its
light. It is so bright that we cannot look at it
directly without hurting our eyes. The sun is
so hot that huge explosions and fountains of
gas shoot up high above its surface. There are
also dark patches, called sunspots, which
come and go. Without the light and heat of
the sun, Earth would be cold, dark and dead.
The sun is about 100 times bigger than the
earth but it looks small, because it is so very
far away.
The sun spins all the time while the
planets are revolving around it.

51
Learner Task card – Activity 7
Read about the sun, Earth and moon and then complete this table:

QUESTIONS SUN EARTH MOON

What does it look like?

What is it made of?

How does it get its

How big is it?

Any other interesting


thing that you
read about?

52
The nine planets in our solar system

The four Galilean moons


Jupiter
Diameter 142 800 km
Mass 318 Earth masses
Distance from the sun 800 million km
Number of moons 16
Rotation period length of day in Earth
hours 9.8
Time to go round the sun length of year in Earth
years: 11.9
Jupiter is the largest of the gas giants. The white
clouds that we see are at a temperature of –153 o
Jupiter has 16 known
C and consist of ammonia ice crystals. Lower moons, but four are
down, the clouds are coloured red and brown by larger than the rest
organic compounds and chemicals such as sulphur. and can be seen
Winds speeds of over 400 km/h are common; the easily with
binoculars. They are
Great Red Spot is thought to be a long-lived
known as the
hurricane and is larger than Earth. Jupiter probably “Galilean moons”
has a rock or ice core surrounded by liquid after their discoverer
hydrogen with helium dissolved in it. Galileo.

53
Earth
Our Home Planet
Diameter 12 750 km
Distance from sun 150 million km
Rotation period length of day in
Earth hours
23.93
Time to go round length of year in
the sun Earth days
365.24

Uranus
Diameter 51 118 km
Mass 14.5 Earth masses
Mercury Distance from the sun 3000 million km
Diameter 4 878 km Number of moons 15
Mass 0.06 Earth masses Rotation period length of day in Earth
hours 17.9
Distance from Sun 60 million km
Time to go round the sun
Number of moons none
length of year in Earth
Rotation period length of day in years 84
Earth days 58.7
Uranus shows an almost featureless green
Time to go round the sun length of year in ‘surface’ of clouds floating in a cold (–197°C)
Earth days 88 atmosphere of hydrogen, helium and methane.
Beneath the clouds, most of Uranus (85%) is
At the equator it is hot enough to melt lead. At
ice.
the poles there are craters with ice frozen to
–150 °C. Mercury has no atmosphere.
54
Venus
Diameter 12 104 km
Mass 0.8 Earth masses
Distance from Sun 104 million km
Number of moons none
Rotation period length of day in Earth
days 243
Time to go round the sun length of year in Earth
days 225
Venus is a hot and hostile planet. An atmosphere
of carbon dioxide 90 times as dense as Earth’s
keeps the surface hot enough to melt lead.
Clouds of sulphuric acid hide its surface.

Saturn Diameter 120 660 km


Like Jupiter, Saturn is a gas giant Mass 95 Earth masses
consisting mainly of hydrogen and
Distance from Sun 1 400 million km
helium. Its famous ring in fact consists
of thousands of narrow rings made up Number of moons 18
of lumps of ice and rock as small as Rotation period length of day in Earth hours 10.2
dust grains and as large as minibus. Time to go round the sun length of year in Earth years 29.5

55
Mars
Diameter 6 787 km
Mass 0.1 Earth masses
Distance from Sun 240 million km
Number of moons Two. Phobos and Deimos
Rotation period length of day in Earth hours
24.62
Time to go round length of year in Earth
the sun days 687
The atmosphere of Mars is 100 times less dense
than Earth’s and consists mainly of carbon dioxide,
with traces of water vapour. In winter temperatures
drop to –125 °C, giving Mars its well known white
‘ice caps’. In summer equatorial temperatures can
reach 20 °C. The planet’s reddish colour is caused
by iron in the soil. Bacterial life forms may once
have existed on Mars.

Neptune
Diameter 49 528 km
Mass 17 Earth masses
Distance from sun 4 500 million km
Number of moons 8
Rotation period length of day in Earth
hours 19.1
Time to go round the sun length of year in Earth
years 164.8

Neptune is another ‘ice giant’ like Uranus and even


colder (–225°C). Its bluish atmosphere of hydrogen
and helium shows occasional large dark spots, and is
probably the windiest place in the solar system with
storm winds reaching speeds of 1400 km/h.

Pluto
Diameter 2 300 km
Mass 0.0025 Earth masses
Distance from sun 4 400–7 400 million km
Number of moons 1
Rotation period length of day in Earth days 6.4
Time to go round the sun
length of year in Earth years 247.7
Pluto is smallest of the planets, and usually the
remotest and coldest. At –233°C, frost of methane
and nitrogen coat the pinkish surface. Pluto’s grayish
moon, Charon, is only 19 400 km away, and more than
half Pluto’s diameter.

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