Module 1 – Lesson 1

Lesson 1: The Planets

Overview

This lesson combines reading of the sections of Touch the Stars with follow-up knowledge questions. For reinforcement of the learning, students choose different sizes of balls to represent the scale between the Sun and Jupiter, Jupiter and Earth, and other comparisons as desired. The walking of the scale model of the solar system – counting steps to measure distances – will form the foundation for distances in the Galaxy and the rest of the Universe. 

Learning Outcomes

• Successfully answer questions relating to listing the planets, describing similarities and differences, stating notable characteristics, and differentiating among the various objects in the solar system.
• Given a tray of different sized balls and one as a starting point, predict the relative sizes as directed and discuss any misconceptions. 
• After pacing out the scaled solar system, discuss impressions about the relative distances between and sizes of the planets.

Materials for Activity 

• Touch the Stars by Noreen Grice 
• Different size balls, from 1 mm to 300 mm
• Braille sheets with planet data (one for each student)
• Scale model of Sun and planets (described below) 
• Walkable scale model of the Solar System 
• Optional activity: Make a comet in the classroom

Figure 1.1.1. It is a good idea to connect balls when working with objects that can “escape” while being handled.

Pre-assessment Questions and Discussion

Q. What is the order of the planets?
A: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroid Belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Kuiper Belt (dwarf planet Pluto), Oort Cloud

Q. Describe the Earth, Mars, Saturn, a comet, and an asteroid.
A. Earth: Dirt with organic matter. Mars: Fine grained sand, reddish color, crushed basalt. Saturn: Gas. Comet: Dirty icy snowball.

Q. Which planet is the largest? Smallest?
A. Largest: Jupiter, Smallest: Mercury

Q. Which planet is similar in size to Earth? Is it like Earth?
A. Venus; no, it is a lot hotter on the surface

Q. Which planet is your favorite one, and why?
A.  Discuss.

Text Reading

‘Touch the Stars’ (p. 50 to 71), reading broken up into several sections. Follow up questions for each section are included. 

1. Inner planets (Mercury through Mars): p. 50 – 54, top of p. 55 
   1. Name the inner planets and describe similarities and differences.
   2. Which planet is closest to the Sun? Which one is the hottest?
   3. Why isn’t the closest planet also the hottest?
   4. What is the asteroid belt?
2. The Outer Planets or Gas Giants (with brief discussion of the asteroid belt): p. 55 – 62 (half page, stop at ‘The Comets’)
   1. Name the giant planets.
   2. Other than their sizes, how are they different from the inner planets?
   3. What can you state about Jupiter? (List everything you can think of.)
3. The Comets (Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud): p. 62 -67 (starting half-way down the page at ‘The Comets’ and stopping about three-fourths down at ‘Meteors’.) 
   1. What is a comet made of?
   2. What are the difference between gas and dust tails?
   3. Do comets always have tails?
4. Meteors: Bottom of p. 67 to 71
   1. What is a meteor
   2. Why do meteors look like bright stars falling from the sky?

Follow up Questions on the Reading 

Included with sectional reading above.

Reinforcing Hands-On Activities

Predicting, testing: 

• Hand out trays holding a range of ball sizes. Pick the largest one to represent the Sun, and have students predict which ball would be scaled to Jupiter’s comparative size. 
  • Sun:Jupiter::10:1
• Picking the largest ball to then represent Jupiter, have students predict which ball would be approximately scaled to Earth’s comparative size. 
  • Jupiter:Earth::11:1
• Picking the largest ball to then represent Earth, have students predict which ball would be approximately scaled to Pluto’s size. 
  • Earth:Pluto::6:1

Exploring:

• Scaled Solar System Walk At this particular scale, if students were to walk one foot per second, they would be “walking at the speed of light.” Although that might work for going to Mercury (about 3 minutes), it won’t for the other planets. Emphasize time elapsed versus distance, having students walk at same pace between planets. Students may wish to count steps to get a sense of the relative distances, or have pedometers available. Details on the scaling follow below.

Summary and Post-Assessment Questions

1. 1. What impressed you the most about the relative sizes of the planets as scaled?
   2. Were there any surprises when you were doing the comparisons?
   3. Based on your “walk” through the solar system, what would you say our solar system is primarily made up of?
   4. If you actually took just 1 step per second, the scaled down speed-of-light value, how long would it take you to go from the Sun to the Earth in this model?

Resources

Figure 1.1.2: Making the comet in the classroom was an enjoyable and enlightening experience for our blind testers and instructors.

Figure 1.1.3: The material used for the planets can also be mounted on wooden caps for setting up in a classroom or hallway.

Details for the Scale Model of the Solar System

Figure 1.1.4: Scale model solar system set up at the Washington State School for the Blind, Vancouver, Washington, during a visit in 2007. Distances walked were to scale, out to Mars.

Figure 1.1.5: Each scaled planet has a Braille label. The Earth has the Moon attached with a length of string showing the relative distances at this scale.

Scaled solar system distances and sizes with the Sun’s diameter scaled to 1.5 meters.

Relevant Information and Links

• Audio resources from the Cassini mission to Saturn
• Making a Comet in the Classroom 
• Build a Solar System — http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/ © 1997