Learning Intention

I am learning to demonstrate the relationship of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, including orbits and positions.

Vocabulary

• Limitations – a restriction or weakness

• Model – a picture, idea, or object that represents an object, a system, or process that is used to help with understanding; models have advantages and limitations

• Moon – a natural object that orbits a planet; Earth’s Moon is the only natural satellite and Earth’s nearest neighbor in space

• Orbit – the path that one object in space takes around another object in space

• Planet – a large object that orbits a star; the Earth (a planet) orbits the Sun (star)

• Revolution (revolve) – one complete circle made by a planet or satellite around another object

• Solar system – the Sun and all of the objects that move around it

• Sun – a star composed of gases; provides Earth with most of its light and heat energy

Size of the Sun

The sun is the center of the solar system, where it is by far the largest object. It holds 99.8 percent of the solar system's mass and is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun.

The Earth

Earth, our home, is the third planet from the sun.

Water covers roughly 71 percent of Earth's surface, and most of that is in the oceans.

Earth orbits around the Sun, at the same time it rotates in a circle.

It takes the Earth 365 days to orbit the sun. This is how we get our years. There's 365 days in 1 year.

It takes the Earth 24 hours to complete one rotation. This is how we get our days. There's 24 hours in 1 day.

The Moon

The Moon orbits the Earth like the Earth orbits the sun.

It is a quarter the size of the Earth. So, it is smaller than the Earth.