The Solar System.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

On this page you are not going to learn how many planets there are in our solar system or what their names are. These are things you should have learnt long ago. We propose a pair of exercises about a few more difficult things to turn you into an amateur astronomer.

Take a look at the exercises below and, before you answer them in your worksheet, click on the links if you want to try the games offered here.

How was our solar system formed?
This is a summary in three steps of the way our solar system was formed. Read the information on the website carefully and then try to put it in the correct order.
?	At the centre, where it was densest, the heat was great enough to cause hydrogen atoms to fuse together to form helium.
?	This nuclear reaction began to give off vast amounts of energy, stopping any further contraction, and blowing away all the remaining hydrogen and dust clouds...and leaving behind the 'clumps' of heavier material, the planets.
?	A vast cloud of interstellar matter contracted under gravity and began to heat up.

How was our solar system formed?

This is a summary in three steps of the way our solar system was formed. Read the information on the website carefully and then try to put it in the correct order.

At the centre, where it was densest, the heat was great enough to cause hydrogen atoms to fuse together to form helium.

This nuclear reaction began to give off vast amounts of energy, stopping any further contraction, and blowing away all the remaining hydrogen and dust clouds...and leaving behind the 'clumps' of heavier material, the planets.

A vast cloud of interstellar matter contracted under gravity and began to heat up.

How long will our planet last? Human beings have usually wondered about what may happen to us in the future. It all depends on our favourite star: the Sun. Do the following exercise and learn all about the end of our system.

Our sun can still be burning hydrogen for about 10 billion years without changing much its appearance, but… this is a simple summary of what will happen to the sun in the future. Fill in the gaps with the right words. Click here if you need help.

THE MISSING WORDS

When the …………………… decreases it will start to contract. As it contracts it will start to burn …………………… for a few hundred million years. When the helium runs out, the sun will …………………… and it will burn and explode giving out lots of ……………………, we call this a …………………… star. What remains of the sun is a very …………………… dense core called a white ……………………. Finally it will continue to …………………… for billions of years and getting smaller and dimmer very slowly.

Collapse

Dwarf

Heavy

Helium

Hydrogen

Light

Nova

Shine

After these activities navigate this website and then take a trip to the solar system, read the instructions carefully and then visit the different bodies in our solar system. Find some information about them.

Finally have a look at this space map and answer this question: Why is there life on Earth?

If you want to learn more about your planet click here.

	Natural Science
	The Solar System