SOLAR SYSTEM

FREEBIE
-KW L C hart
-I nformational Tex t
-Com p rehension
Q ue stions
-Planet Matching
Cards

By: Cassie Dahl

THE SOLAR SYSTEM Name:

K W L
What do
What do you What did you
you want to
know about learn about
know about the
the Solar the Solar
Solar System?
System? System?

© 2017 Cassie Dahl

 taking a
closer
look The Solar System
The Solar System is made up of all the planets that
orbit the Sun, as well as moons, comets, asteroids,
minor planets, dust and gas. Everything that exists
in the Solar System orbits around the Sun. The Sun is
huge compared to all of the other things in the
Solar System. It contains approximately 98% of all
the material in the Solar System. The larger an
object is, the more gravity it has. That is why
everything orbits around the Sun. There are eight planets that orbit the Sun. The
four inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. The four outer planets
are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The inner planets are also known as
terrestrial planets, they are smaller and made of mostly rock and metal. The
outer planets are also known as gas giants, they are larger and made of mostly
hydrogen, helium and other gases.
In between the terrestrial planets and the gas giants lies an asteroid belt. This
area contains thousands of comets and asteroids that orbit around in a large
path. Some of the pieces are no larger than a speck of dust and others are 100
miles across or even larger. A comet is basically a big ball of ice and rock. They
are left over from the formation of stars and planets. They are often referred
to as “dirty snowballs”. An asteroid is a small rocky body (similar to a planet) that
range in size from 600 miles across to just dust particles. A few of these pass
close to the Earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors.
The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite. A natural
satellite is a space body that orbits a planet. Our Moon is
the fifth largest moon in the Solar System. It is 238,857 miles
from Earth. It takes the Moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth.
The Moon rotates on its axis in around the same length of
time that it takes to orbit the Earth. We only see around 60%
of the surface of the Moon. There have been numerous trips to the Moon. The
first person to set foot on the Moon was Neil Armstrong. The surface of the
Moon has large impact craters from comets and asteroids that have collided with
the surface The Moon does not have an atmosphere or weather so the craters
remain intact. The Moon also has an impact on the Earth’s ocean tides. The
gravity of the Moon causes a tide cycle as the Moon rotates around the Earth
and the position of the Sun changes. This cycle is what causes high and low tide.
© 2017 Cassie Dahl
 taking a
closer Solar System: Comprehension
look
Name: ____________________ Date: ___________  
1. What is all in the Solar System?
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________  

2. What planets are considered terrestrial planets? What are the made of?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  

3. What planets are considered gas giants? What are they made of?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  

4. What is a comet? What is an asteroid?

________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  
________________________________________________________  

5. What are three facts that you learned about the moon?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  
________________________________________________________  
© 2017 Cassie Dahl
 taking a
closer Solar System: Comprehension
look
Name: ____________________
ANSWER KEY Date: ___________  
1. What is all in the Solar System?
____________________________________
The Solar System is made up of the Sun,
____________________________________
planets, comets, asteroids, moons, gas
and dust.
____________________________________  

2. What planets are considered terrestrial planets? What are the made of?
________________________________________________________
The terrestrial planets (inner planets) are Mercury, Venus, Earth
and Mars. They are made up of mostly rock and metal.
________________________________________________________  

3. What planets are considered gas giants? What are they made of?
________________________________________________________
The gas giants (outer planets) are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune. They are made of mostly hydrogen, helium and other gases.
________________________________________________________  

4. What is a comet? What is an asteroid?

A comet is a big ball of ice and rock. They are left over from the
________________________________________________________
formation of stars and planets. An asteroid is a small rocky body
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  
(similar to a planet). They can crash into the Earth’s atmosphere as a
________________________________________________________  
meteor.

5. What are three facts that you learned about the moon?
Answers will vary.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________  
________________________________________________________  
© 2017 Cassie Dahl
 PLANET MATCHING CARDS
The closest planet
to the Sun. Its orbit
MERCURY
around the Sun
lasts 88 days.

The second
terrestrial planet.
VENUS
It is the brightest
planet.

The third planet in the

Solar System. It is the
EARTH only planet to have a
21% oxygen level in its
atmosphere.

The fourth planet

from the Sun. It is
MARS
nicknamed the
“Red Planet”.
© 2017 Cassie Dahl
 PLANET MATCHING CARDS
The fifth planet
from the Sun and
JUPITER
the first of the gas
giants.
The second gas giant
(sixth planet from the
SATURN Sun). It is surrounded
by rings which are
composed of ice.
The seventh planet
from the Sun. The center
is a frozen mass of
URANUS methane and ammonia
which gives the planet
a blue-green color.

The last planet in the

Solar System. It takes
NEPTUNE
165 years for it to
orbit around the Sun.
© 2017 Cassie Dahl
ADDITIONAL SOLAR SYSTEM RESOURCES:
Here are some additional resources that are
available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click
on the thumbnail to take a closer look at the file!

© 2017 Cassie Dahl

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