CHAPTER 12 : SOLAR SYSTEM
Comparison of Planet Distance in the Solar System from the Sun
Astronomical Unit (A.U)
Astronomical unit (A.U) is the average distance between the earth and the sun which is
approximately 93 milion miles or 150 kilometres
1 A.U = 1.5 x 108 km
Light Years (ly)
Lightg years refers to thr distance travelled by the light in one year. The light moves at avecolity
of 300 000 km every second. Therefore, light can move as far as 9.5 x 1012 km in a year
1 Light year = 9.5 x 1012
General Characteristic of the Planet in Solar System
PLANET MECUR VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATUR URANU NEPTUN
Y N S E
Distance 57.9 108.2 149.6 227.9 778.3 1 429 2 871 4 504
from
sun(millon
km)
Relative 0.055 0.815 1 0.107 317.8 95.159 14.536 17.147
mass(x earth)
Diameter(km 4 879 12 104 12 576 6 794 142 984 120 536 51 118 49 528
)
Density(g cm- 5.4 5.2 5.5 3.9 1.3 0.7 1.27 1.6
3
)
Gravitional 3.7 8.87 9.8 3.71 24.79 10.44 8.69 11.15
pull(m s-2)
Average 167 457 14 -55 -153 -185 -214 -225
surface
temperature
Time taken to 88days 224.7day 365day 687day 11.9year 29.5 84years 164.8
orbit s s s s years years
sun(time on
earth)
Time taken 59days 243days 24hours 25hours 10hours 11hours 17hours 16hours
for one
complete
rotation on
its axis(time
on earth)
Relationship between Temperature of a Planet and the Sun
Theoretically, planets that are closer to the Sun would receive more heat from its as compared to
planets which are further from the sun. However, the situation in reality is rather complex. Let us refer
to the table below to understand better.
PLANET MECURY VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE
Distance 57.9 108.2 149.6 227.9 778.3 1 427 2 871 4 497
from the
sun(millon
km)
Surface -173 to 462 -89.2 to -143 to -108 -139 -197.2 -201
temperature 427 56.7 35
For planet that do not have an atmosphere
Mecury: sunlight that directly reaches it’s the surface will cause the area that faces the Sun to be
extremely hot, more than 427OC. The darker area extremely cold,and its temperature can drop to
-173oC
For planets that have an atmosphere
a) Earth : has clouds that reflect sunlight back into outer space but the atmosphere traps some of
the heat,which causes the greenhouse effect
b) Venus : has thick clouds that can reflect sunlight back into outer space but the atmospheric
layers consist of mostly carbon dioxide which cause the greenhouse effect. Therefore, more
heat trapped and the syrface temperature can reach up to 4620C
c) Mars : although its has an atmosphere, the surface pressure is extremely low compared to that
of the earth (less than 1/100 of Earth’s pressure),causing minimal effect on the surface
temperature. The surface temperature fluctuates between -1430C to 350C
For giants planets
Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus and Neptune – the surface of these planets are covered in gas. These planets
receive very little sunlight,therefore their surface temperature are extremely low.
The relationship between Density and Gavitional Pull of the Planets
The gravity on the surface of a planet depends on its mass and density
Relative 0.055 0.815 1 0.107 317.8 95.159 14.536 17.147
mass(x earth)
Diameter(km) 4 879 12 104 12 576 6 794 142 984 120 536 51 118 49 528
Density(g cm- 5.4 5.2 5.5 3.9 1.3 0.7 1.27 1.6
3
)
Gravitional 3.7 8.87 9.8 3.71 24.79 10.44 8.69 11.15
pull(m s-2)
The gravity of the earth
The gravity of earth is 9.8 m s-2 . this means that if we release an object from a certain height,the object
will fall at an acceleration of 9.8 metres per second
The gravity of Mecury and Mars is lower than Earth because their masses are lower than the
Earth
The gravity of Venus is almost the same as the Earth’s because the mass is the same as the mass
of the Earth
The gravity of Jupiter is much higher compared to the Earth because its mass is extremely high
although it has a low density
Although Saturn,Uranus and Neptune have very high mass, their gravity is not as high as the
gravity of the Earth because these “giant gas” have low densitiy
The relationship between distance, time and speed
PLANET MECURY VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE
Distance 57.9 108.2 149.6 227.9 778.3 1 429 2 871 4 504
from
sun(millon
km)
Time taken 88days 224.7days 365days 687days 11.9years 29.5 84years 164.8
to orbit years years
sun(time on
earth)
The further a planet is from the Sun, the more time itneeds to orbit the Sun
For example, mecury is the closer planet from the sun and takes only 88days to orbit the Sun. while
Neptune is the further planer from the sun and takes 164.8 years to complete its orbit around the sun.
Hypotical Situation related to the Solar System
What happen if the rotation of the Earth slows down or stop completely ?
We know that the rotation of the Earth on its axis is the reason for several phenomena such as day and
night,tides and many more.
Longer day and night duration in two different parts of the Earth
More desert areas in parts of the Earth that faces the sun
Change in high and low tides
Temperature will drop in areas of the Earth that do not receive sunlight
What are natural satellites ?
Natural satellites are object that moves aroud planets on their own orbit. The moon is the only natural
satellites of the Earth.
How the condition and appearance of the Earth be from the Moon ?
Just like the Earth, the Moon also rotates on its own axis. At the same time, the Moon also moves
around the Earth on its orbit the Earth is about the same,which is 27days. Therefore, the same surface
the Moon would be facing the Earth at all times. The Earth is four time bigger than the Moon. How
would the Earth appear from the Moon ?
The Earth as a Planet for Living Things
The Earth is the only planet that has life. The Earth can support life because of a few factors such as
presence of water,minerals, its temperature and atmospheric content. Discuss the characteristic of the
earth as a planet that are suitable for life.Are there other planet that are suitable for the resources on
the Earth are fully bexhauted or the Earth is destroyed by natural disasters and pollution ?
Characteristic of Earth
Has gravity that keeps object from floating
Receive sunlight for plants to conduct photosynthesis
Its atmosphere blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the Earth
Has a suitable temperature range, not too hot or not too cold
Has high oxygen content for respiratory process
Has a lot of water for all living processes
Love our Earth
Human life relies heavily on resources from water and earth, including to get food,manufacturing
materials and to get generate energy. The increase in human population has caused rapid exploration of
the seas and land. Are the Earth’s natural resoureces able to sustain the increasing needs and wants of
human ?
Ecology footprint is the measure of the ability of water and land to provide the basic needs of
humans(food,water,shelter and others) as well as the ability of the Earth to absorb all humans
wastes and reproduce resources after they have been used by humans
Ecological footprint is the ratio measurement for six areas,which are carbon dioxide waste
treatment areas, construction areas,forest,agricultural areas,farming areas and fishing
areas using the shape of a human foot
If the ecological footprint exceeds the ability of the Earth to renew its resources, the Earth will be
depleted of all its resources
Ecological footprint is different between countries
Planet in Solar System
Mecury
The closets planet to the Sun, approximately 57.9 millions kilometers
It is smallest planet in the solar system. The diameter of Mecury is 40% smaller than the
diameter of the Earth, and 40% bigger than the moon. In fact, it is smaller than Jupiter’s
moon,Ganymede; and Saturn moon,Titan
The surface of Mecury is similar to the surface of the moon,with asteroid craters and cliffs which
are tens of kilometers high. However, because of the absence of atmosphere,light cannot be
scattered. As a result, the sky appears dark in outer space.
Venus
The second planet closest to the Sun
Venus is known as the ‘greenhouse’ planet because of the high content of carbon dioxide in its
atmosphere
Venus also rotate from east to west, which different from the Earth and other planet wich is
rotate from west to east. This mean that on Venus, the Sun rises from the west.
The size and age of Venus is same as the Earth, but the climate is far more challenging, with
temperature of approximately 4600C
Earth
The third planet from the Sun
The only planets in the universe that is inhabited by living things
Earth has a layer of air known as the atmosphere, which protects the surface of th Earth from
solar wind, harmful ultraviolet rays and radition frpm outer space
More than 71% of the Earth is coveed in water and 29% land
Mars
The fourth planets from the Sun and is also known as the “Red Planet”
Mars has two moon, Phobos and Demos
Mars has a surface area that is only 25% that of the Earth and its mass is 10% that of the Earth
If observed from Earth, the atmosphere of Mars can be divided into two different areas. The
brighter area is covered with dust and reddish sand, while the poles contain frozen water and
carbon dioxide
Jupiter
The fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet of all eight planets in the solar system.
It’s the mass is almost 320 times that of the Earth, and is twice the amount of all the planets in
the solar system
Jupiter is said to be the protector of the Earth, as it is able to deflect huge object from hitting
Earth with its strong gravity
Saturn
The sixth planet from the Sun and the second largests planet in the solar system
Saturn is classified as a “giant gas” planet
It has a ring system which mostly comprises of ice with a small amount of rocky materials and
dust
To date, 62 moons have been found to orbit this planet. The size of Titan, Saturn’s biggest moon
(after Ganymede) is the bigger than Mecury
Uranus
The seventh planet from theSun
The first elements in the interior of Uranus are ice and rock. Uranus is the third biggest planet in
the solar system. Astronomical often refer to its as a ‘giant gas’ planet
Uranus has a ring similar to Saturn, but it is thinner and darker
It has many moons
Uranus is a unique planet because its axis of rotation is tilted, it almost parallel to its orbit
around the Sun
Uranus takes 84years (time on Earth) to orbit the Sun
Neptune
The eighth planet from the sun
Also classified as a ‘giant gas’ planet
Takes almost 165 years (time on Earth) to orbit the Sun
