Science Primary School

The Solar
System
The
Sun
Planets
Natural
Satellites
Comets
Meteors
Asteroids
For more information please refer this website
* Solar System
* NASA Web
Science Primary School
What do you
know about
Solar system?
Do you
know?
The solar system consists
of nine planets and the sun
The other members of the solar system
are natural satellites, asteroids,
comets and meteors.
The nine planets in the solar systems
beginning with the nearest to the sun are
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
The other members of the solar system are natural satellites,
asteroids, comets and meteors.
The Sun is a star in
the centre of
the Solar System
All the nine planets
are moving around
the sun each
following its own
oval path called orbit
Orbit
Planet
Time to complete
one revolution
Mercury 88 days
Venus 225 days
Earth 365 days
Mars 687 days
Jupiter 12 years
Saturn 29 years
Uranus 84 years
Neptune 165 years
Pluto 247.7 years
The time taken
for a planet to
complete one
revolution
around the sun
is different from
the time taken
for another
planet to do so.
Mercury
Closest planet to the sun
Its temperature can be
over 300C in the day
time.
Rotate on its own axis
very slowly, making one
full rotation every 59
earth days.
Venus
Second planet from the sun.
The size of Venus is about the
same as that of the earth.
The planet is always covered by
a very thick cloud of Carbon
dioxide and acid vapour.
The temperature is extremely
high, even though Venus is twice
as far from the sun as mercury
and receives only a quarter as
much light.
As a result, the surface
temperature can above 450C.
Venus takes about 225 days to
revolve around the sun.
Venus rotates on its own axis
once every 243 days.
Its gravity is the same as that of
the earth
Earth
Third planet from the sun.
It is the fifth largest planet.
It is the only planet with
oxygen and water. Thus, it
is the only planet on which
living things can survive
and grow.
Earth takes about 365 days
to revolve around the Sun
and rotates on its own axis
once every 24 hours.
Earth has a natural satellite
(the moon) revolving
around it.
Mars is the fourth planet
from the Sun.
It also known as the red
planet because its surface is
being covered with red dust.
Mars is cold and lifeless
planet.
One revolution of Mars
around the Sun takes 687
days.
Mars
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar system.
It is the fifth planet from the Sun.
Most of Jupiters volume is made up of gases and ice
with only a small rocky core.
The atmosphere is composed of mainly hydrogen in
gaseous and liquid forms together with helium, methane
and ammonia.
Jupiter has sixteen natural satellites or moons and take
about 12 years to revolve once around the Sun.
Jupiter rotates so fast, once every ten hours, that its
creates strong winds and great storms which persist
over most of the planet.
Therefore, Jupiter is the planet which has the shortest
day in the Solar System.
Saturn
Sixth planet from the Sun.
It is surrounded by a system of rings which make it the
most striking and beautiful planet when viewed through a
telescope.
Saturn is the second largest planet in the Solar System.
However, it is lighter than a body of water of the same
size.
The time taken for Saturn to revolve around the Sun is
around 29 years.
Saturn rotates on its own axis once every 10.7 hours.
Click me if
you want to
see more pic
Uranus
Seventh planet from the Sun in the Solar
System.
This planet is blue because it has cold gases,
mainly made up of hydrogen and helium.
Uranus also has a ring around it but the ring
cannot seen clearly because it is too thin and
dim.
It has five moons, ant its rotates on its own axis
slightly more slowly than Saturn.
The time taken for Uranus to revolve around the
Sun is around 84 years.
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you want to
see more pic
Neptune
The eight planet from the Sun is almost
the twin of Uranus.
It is a little heavier than Uranus and is very
slightly bigger. It is bluish-green.
Neptune consists mainly of ice with some
rocks and gases, and has less
atmosphere.
Neptune has two moons and takes about
165 years to revolve once around the Sun.

Pluto
The ninth planets from the Sun.
It is the smallest planet in the Solar System, and
is made of rock and thin ice.
Pluto is a dark and cold planet. Its surface
temperature can be as low as -230C.
This planet can be seen only through a
telescope because it is so far away from earth.
Pluto takes about 247.7 years to revolve once
around the Sun.
Click me if
you want to
see more pic
1 Earth
1 Pluto
2 Mars
8 Neptune
15 Uranus
16 Jupiter
21 Saturn
Hi Kids!U want to know
the natural objects which
orbit around planets.
The Moon is the Earths
only natural satellite.
All the planets in the
Solar System have natural
satellites except Mercury
and Venus.

Beside the 9 planets, there is
also an asteroids belt.
Its lies between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids are small pieces of
rocks mixed with metals
orbiting round the Sun.
Asteroids vary in size. Some
can be as small as dust particles
while some can be a few
hundred kilometers in
diameter.
Comets
A small pieces of ice and dust that orbit around the Sun,
but their paths are not like those of the planets.
Most comets spend much of their time out of the Solar
System, beyond Pluto. However they can enter new
orbits that bring them into the Solar System where they
become visible from earth.
Every comet has a head and a long tail. The small solid
part at the centre of the head is called the nucleus.
Meteors
Meteoroids are small pieces of rock or metal
floating in outer space.
When meteoroids float near to the Earth, they
may be drawn into the Earths atmosphere due
to gravity.
Meteoroids which enter the earths atmosphere
are called meteors. Most meteors burn up when
they enter the earths atmosphere due to friction.
Thus streaks of light can be seen in the sky at
night in the dark. They leave behind fiery tails
and are called shooting stars.
Meteors
Meteors which do not burn completely and
reach the Earths surface are called
meteorites.
Meteorites which fall to the ground will make
huge craters. One such crater is found in
Arizona, in US.
Many of the planets and their natural planets
are covered with meteorite craters. However,
the earth does not have many meteorite
craters since it is protected by its atmosphere.
U know kid that all the
planets rotate at their
own axis
Exercise
1. Which of the following is the largest
planet in the Solar System?
D. Saturn
C. Earth
B. Mars
A. Jupiter
2. A natural object from space which
does not burn up completely and hits
the Earths surface is known as a
A. Meteor
B. Meteoroid
C. Meteorite
D. Asteroid
Exercise
A. Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Earth,
Venus and Mercury.
B. Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth,
Venus and Mercury.
C. Mercury, Jupiter, Earth, Venus, Mars, Uranus, Saturn,
Neptune and Pluto.
D. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto.
3. Which of the following is the correct order of
planets in the Solar System, starting with the
planet closest to the Sun?
4. Which is the coldest planet in the Solar
system whose surface is covered mostly
with ice?
Exercise
A. Pluto
B. Mercury
C. Jupiter
D. Earth
5. The Earth takes one year to go round the
Sun. Which of the following planets takes
less than one year to go round the Sun?
A. Mercury
B. Mars
C. Jupiter
D. Saturn
References
Alias et all (2007) Science UPSR , Petaling
Jaya: Sasbadi Sdn Bhd.
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_
system.htm
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm?Dis
play=NoFlash
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