How Many Planets Are There?

How Many Planets Are There?

Introduction to the Solar System

The Solar System consists of eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. There are also several dwarf planets, including Pluto.

What do you already know about the Solar System?

The Number of Planets in the Solar System

There are eight planets in the Solar System.

Names of the Eight Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

The Concept of Dwarf Planets

Dwarf planets are celestial bodies that orbit the sun and are similar to planets but have not cleared their orbital path of other debris.

Learning Goals

1. Identify and name the eight planets in the Solar System. 2. Understand the difference between planets and dwarf planets.

Solar System

A collection of celestial bodies consisting of a star and the objects that orbit it, including planets and dwarf planets.

Planet

A celestial body that orbits the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a nearly round shape, and has cleared its orbit of other debris.

Dwarf Planet

A celestial body that orbits the sun and is similar to a planet but has not cleared its orbital path of other debris.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.