• Here are some slides to help you study.

• Note: Not ALL of the topics are included in these slides

What is a solar system?What is a solar system?

• A region of space where the gravitational force of a star influences all other objects.

• In our solar system, the gravitational pull of the sun keeps the planets in orbit

Our solar systemOur solar system

• Our star, the sun, is the largest object in the solar system. Therefore, the sun is the object with the most gravitational force.

• Our solar system started about 5billion years ago.

• Our star has about 5 billion years left before it dies out.

Formation of our Solar SystemFormation of our Solar SystemFormation of Solar System Video

Our Star: THE SUN• A giant sphere made of plasma. • Heat and light comes from nuclear fusion• Medium-size star• Formed 5billion years ago• 93,000,000mi or 150,000,000km from Earth• Will run out of Hydrogen, nuclear fusion will stop

and the star will die in about 5billion years• The largest object in our solar system• The gravity holds all of the objects that make up

our solar system in place.

The formation of our solar system.The formation of our solar system.About 5 billion years ago… 1. There was a swirling cloud of dust and gas, known as a

nebula.2. Gravity pulls all the gas together until a huge mass is

formed in the center of the nebula. Nuclear fusion occurs and the sun, a star, is formed.

3. The rest of the gas and dust from the nebula are brought together by gravity, forming the planets and other objects in our solar system.

4. The planets continue to revolve (spin) around the star, trapped within it’s gravitational pull.

Some solar system vocabularySome solar system vocabularyMain Idea Details and examples

Orbit The path an object takes

Revolution The

Rotation Spinning on an axis

Axis

Main Idea DetailsSolar Distance

Distance the planet is from the sun

Year Length The time it takes for the planet revolves around the sun once

Day Length The time it takes for the planet to rotate on its axis.

Gravity The attractive force between 2 objects

KEY FROM SOLAR WALK WORKSHEETKEY FROM SOLAR WALK WORKSHEET

Main Idea Detailsmoon An object that revolves

around a planet. A natural satellite

Mass The amount of matter in an object

Density The amount of mass in a given space.

How compact the stuff is …

More dense

Less dense

A planet is….A planet is….

• an object that is a sphere • Revolves around a star• Large enough to have enough gravity to clear

all objects out of it’s orbit• Orbit is on the same plane

INNER PLANET(Terrestrial planet)

Outer Planet(Gas Giants)

Closer to the sun Farther from the sun

Smaller Larger

Rocky Gaseous

Less mass More mass

More Dense – More stuff packed in a space

Less Dense-Less stuff packed into a space

Close to each other Far from each other

Hotter Colder

Longer dayRotate slower

Shorter dayRotate faster

Shorter yearRevolve faster

Longer yearRevolve longer

Less gravity More gravity

No Rings Rings

Less moons More moons

Comet: - Chunks of ice, dust & rock -Have a tail when close to sun -Elliptical orbit that goes into the kuiper belt

Asteroid: - Made of rock (metals) -Found in the asteroid belt

Meteoroid: -A chunk of rock/dust in space formed from comets or asteroids

Meteor: Meteoroid that is going through the atmosphere. This is what a shooting star is.

Meteorite: -Meteor hits the ground -a rock

Comet: Chunk of ice and dust