GIZMO SOLSAR SYSTEM EXPLOLER ANSWERS-REVIEWED AND GRADED BY EXPERTS

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Solar System Explorer Answer Key Vocabulary: astronomical unit, dwarf planet, eccentricity, ellipse, gas giant, Kepler’s laws, orbit, orbital radius, period, planet, solar system, terrestrial plan... et Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) [Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking. Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.] 1. List all of the planets you can think of in our solar system. Try to list them in order from closest to farthest from the Sun. Answers will vary. [Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune] 2. Which planets are most like Earth? Which are most different from Earth? Explain. Answers will vary. [Venus and Mars are both rocky planets that contain atmospheres.] Gizmo Warm-up The Solar System Explorer Gizmo™ shows a model of the solar system. All of the distances, but not the sizes of the planets, are shown to scale. To begin, turn on Show orbital paths and click Play ( ). You are looking at the four inner planets. 1. In which direction do planets go around the Sun, clockwise or counterclockwise? Counterclockwise 2. An orbit is the path of a body around another body. What is the shape of the planetary orbits around the Sun? Planetary orbits are nearly circular. 3. Click Pause ( ). You can see the name of each planet by holding your cursor over the planet. What is the order of the eight planets, starting from the Sun? Click the “zoom out” button ( ) to see the outer planets and Pluto, which is classified as a dwarf plane [Show More]

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