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The Solar System

 

The Solar System was formed approximately 4,500 million years ago, when a nebula collapsed by gravity.

 

It is made up of the Sun, eight planets with their satellites, dwarf planets and small bodies called asteroids and comets.

THE SUN

 

The Sun is a yellowish medium-sized star. It is made up of hydrogen and hellium. The nuclear reactions taking place in its core produce a huge amount of energy, light and heat.

THE PLANETS

 

They are spherical-shaped celestial bodies which revolve around the Sun. They are divided into two groups:

 

  • The inner planets: 

They are the four planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Mars. They are also known as terrestrial or rocky planets because of their composition and structure.

They have a crust and a mantle of rocks and a core of metal. And their atmospheres are very light.

The Earth and Mars have one and two satellites respectively, while Mercury and Venus do not have any.

 

  • The outer planets:

They are the four planets farthest from the Sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are also known as gas giants because they have a very thick and dense atmosphere with a small nucleus.

All of them have many satellites.

 

 

OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES

 

  • Satellites: they are rocky bodies which revolve around the planet. They can be very small or very large and their shape can be spherical or irregular.

 

  • Dwarf planets: they are small and round rocky bodies which have not clearly their orbit around the Sun or around other similar bodies. Some of them are Pluto, Cere and Eris.

 

  • Asteroids: they are rocky and irregular shaped bodies which size goes from few meters to hundreds of kilometers in diameter. Some asteroids orbit around the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and from Asteroid belt and others orbit.

 

  • Comets: they are small and irregular bodies which travel around the Sun in highly elliptcal orbits. They are formed in a very far region around the Solar system called the Oort cloud. They have a nucleous of ice, dust and gas. When comets travel close to the Sun, ice starts to evaporate, creating a long a bright tail.

ACTIVITIES

 

Search for new vocabulary and build up a particular section of related vocabulary.

 

1. Explain which is the main difference between:

 

a. the inner and the outer planets.

b. asteroids and comets.

c. planets and dwarf planets.

 

 

2. Look at the following chart about the main characteristics of the planets of the Solar System and answer the question:

 

a. which planet is the smallest in the Solar System?

b. which planets have the least numer of satellites?

c. which planet has a horizontal axis?

d. which planet is the farthest to the Sun?

e. which planet has an atmosphere with oxygen?

f. which planet has the lowest surface temperature? 

g. which planet has the highest surface temperature?

h. which planet has the biggest rings?

3. Identify the following pictures:

LISTENING´S QUESTIONS.

 

1. The name of the galaxy where we live is...

2. How was the Solar System born?

3. Why is the Solar System together?

4. Which is the closest planet to the Sun.

5. What is Venus´ atmosphere mostly composed of?

6. Which is the second largest planet?

7. What is the porcentage of the Earth planet covered by water?

8. How many moons does Uranus have?

9. How many galaxies are in the Universe?

 

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