The Solar System Post workshop materials You will need... Your copies of your worksheets Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.

The Solar SystemThe Solar System

Post workshop materialsPost workshop materials

You will need...

• Your copies of your worksheets

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

What we are going to do...

• In The Solar System workshop you performed five experiments all about the different planets

• We are going to bring together all our different results to see what we learnt

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

This is what scientists do!

• Scientists all over the world share their results, just like we’re going to do

• Can you think why it is better to collect lots of different results together, rather than just looking at one person’s results?

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

Jump to an experiment:

• Click a link below to jump to that experiment

• Gravity Pots• Cratering• Density• Seasons• How do we see?

You can also move through the PowerPoint normally, to view all experiments in order

When you see this picture Click it to return to this slide

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

MarsVenus

Neptune

Did you know...?

A black hole has more gravity than anything else in the universe!

Jupiter

EarthMoon

Experiment: Gravity Pots!Where is gravity the strongest?

What is gravity?

• All planets have gravity

• Gravity gives things weight, which is the force that keeps us on the ground

Do you think that weight is a pulling force,

or a pushing force?

• Weight is a pulling force

• Weight pulls everything towards the centre of the Earth!

• The strength of gravity is different on different planets

• If gravity is twice as strong, things will weigh twice as much

Gravity on other planets

Did you know...?

If you stood on the Moon, you would weigh 1/6th what you do on the Earth, because the Moon’s gravity is 1/6th of Earth’s!

Mars

• You weighed 6 containers and matched them up to where they came from

Your experiment

Jupiter

EarthMoon

Venus

Neptune

Your results

Now download the excel file ‘Gravity Pots’ from the school trips section of our website.

Use this to collect the class results together.

Questions1.Which space place has the strongest gravity?2.Which has the weakest gravity?3.Can you find a pattern?

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

Click here to link to the file

http://www.jodrellbank.net/

http://www.jodrellbank.net/media/cultural/jodrellbank/documents/keystage2/Gravity-Pots.xls

What is the pattern?

Were you right?

Earth MarsMoon

Pot 1Jupiter

Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 6Pot 5NeptuneVenus

Gravity: The pattern

• The more stuff a planet is made from, the greater the strength of gravity

Get ready to test your understanding!

Test your understanding!

Which planet would have the largest gravity?Which planet would have the largest gravity?

Saturn = 95 Earths

Uranus = 15 Earths

Neptune = 17 Earths

Click on a planet to see if you are right!

Click the Earth to return to the contents page, or click anywhere to continue


Harder question:Harder question:Which planet would have the Which planet would have the lowestlowest gravity? gravity?

Saturn = 95 Earths

Uranus = 15 Earths

Neptune = 17 Earths



Experiment: Cratering!What makes the biggest

craters?

What are craters?• If you look up at the Moon with a telescope, you

will see that it is covered in craters

Did you know...?

The Earth also has some craters, like this one in Arizona, USA

How are craters made?• Craters are made when an object from space

(like a rock) smashes into the surface and leaves behind a hole

Do rocks fall to Earth?• Yes! Rocks that fall from space are called meteorites

• On the Earth, we are protected from meteorites by the atmosphere (the air)

Meteorites get very hot as they fall through the atmosphere and

they burn up. This is what causes shooting stars!

(Shooting stars aren’t really stars at all – just bits of falling rock!)

Are we in danger?

• Our atmosphere protects us from small meteorites because they burn up as they fall

• Luckily big meteorites (like the type that could hurt us) are very rare!

• Also, there are telescopes looking into space to watch out for any big meteorites that might be coming our way!

• The Moon has no atmosphere, so it has no protection from meteorites

• Every meteorite that hits the Moon, no matter how small, makes a crater!

Why does the Moon have so many craters?

• You dropped an object from different heights onto your planet and measured the size of the crater

Your experiment

Your results

Question: Which combination of ball and height makes the biggest craters?

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

Now download the excel file ‘Cratering’ from the school trips section of our website.

Use this to collect the class results together.

Click here to link to the file

http://www.jodrellbank.net/

http://www.jodrellbank.net/media/cultural/jodrellbank/documents/keystage2/Cratering.xls

Craters: The pattern• The heavier balls and highest drops make

the biggest craters• This is because heavy and fast things hit with

more energy



Which space rock would cause the most damage?Which space rock would cause the most damage?

Click on a meteorite to see if you are right!

Mathilde (50 km across)

Gaspra (6 km across)Ida (15 km across)



Harder questionHarder questionWhich space rock would cause the most damage?Which space rock would cause the most damage?

Click on a meteorite to see if you are right!

MathildeSize = 50 km across

Speed = 10,000 km an hour

GaspraSize = 6 km across


IdaSize = 15 km across



Experiment: Density!What floats, what sinks?

• It’s not just size or weight that determines whether something floats or sinks

• For example, ships float even though they are very big and very heavy!

Floating and sinking

• It’s not just size or weight that determines whether something floats or sinks: it’s a combination of the two

• It is the amount of stuff within a certain amount of space which determines whether something will float or sink

• We call this density

What makes things float?

• Something which has a lot of weight, but in a small space is dense

• 1 kg of iron takes up a small space, so iron is dense

What is density?

• 1 kg of feathers takes up much more space than the iron!

What is density?

This is because feathers are not very dense

The first four planets are more dense, because they are solid and made of rock

Density in the Solar System

The second four planets are much less dense, because

they are made of gas

• You placed objects in water and wrote down which objects floated and which sank

Your experiment

Discuss your results

Are there any objects groups disagree on?

How many people in the class float?How many sink?

Why do you think some objects float and some sink in water?

• If something is more dense than water, it will sink

• If something is less dense than water, it will float

Density: The Pattern


Test your understanding!Which planet would float in water?Which planet would float in water?(Density of water = 1,000 kg per m³)(Density of water = 1,000 kg per m³)

SaturnDensity = 687 kg per m³

JupiterDensity = 1,326 kg per m³


EarthDensity = 5,540 kg per m³


Experiment: The Seasons!Why do we have different

seasons?

• It is all because the Earth is tilted in space

Why do we have different seasons?

• The imaginary blue line running through the centre of the Earth is called the Earth’s axis

• The Earth’s axis is tilted in space by 23.5°

• You used a tellurium to move a model of the Earth around the Sun. You answered questions about the seasons.

Your experiment

• Discuss your answers to the questions

– In which season do we have long days and short nights?

– When are days and nights the same length?

– Why do we have different seasons?

Your results

• Here are the answers!

– In which season do we have long days and short nights?• SUMMER!

– When are days and nights the same length?• SPRING AND AUTUMN

– Why do we have different seasons?• BECAUSE OF THE EARTH’S TILT...• SOMETIMES WE’RE TILTED TOWARDS THE SUN

AND SOMETIMES WE’RE TILTED AWAY!

Were you right?

When we are tilted towards the Sun, it is Summer

When we are tilted away from the Sun, it is Winter

Seasons: The pattern



Which position shows Which position shows winterwinter for the UK? for the UK?

Click on an Earth to see if you are right!



Which position shows Which position shows summersummer for the UK? for the UK?



Test your understanding!Harder questionHarder questionWhich position shows Which position shows summersummer for Australia (southern for Australia (southern hemisphere)?hemisphere)?




Harder questionHarder questionWhich position shows Which position shows autumnautumn for the UK? for the UK?



Experiment: How do we see?How do our eyes work?

• Our eyes contain a lens

• The job of the lens is to bring together (or focus) light to the back of our eye

How do we see?

Did you know...?

The front of your eyeball bulges outwards, so it’s not actually a ball shape!

• The back of our eye contains the retina

• This is the part of the eye that sees the light, a bit like the film in a camera

How do we see?

• It’s important that the lens focuses light onto the retina properly, otherwise we can’t see very well

Why is this important?

• If the lens in our eyes does not focus light properly, we can place an extra lens in front of the eye to help

• These are called glasses (or contact lenses)!

Did you know...?

The first pair of glasses was invented in Italy in 1286!

• Knowing about how we see and how lenses work is very important for astronomy

• It has allowed us to build telescopes that can see much further into space!

How do scientists use this?

Did you know...?

The Hubble space telescope orbits above the Earth. It was launched in 1990. It still sends us fantastic views of far-away space.

• You used two lenses on a model eye to simulate long-sightedness and short-sightedness

• You tried to correct the vision with other lenses

Your experiment

• Discuss your answers to the questions

– Lens 2 represented short-sightedness.

Which lens (4 or 5) corrected it?

– Lens 3 represented long-sightedness.

Which lens (4 or 5) corrected it?

Your results

• What do your rays of light look like?

Your results



Which diagram shows light entering the eye Which diagram shows light entering the eye correctly?correctly?

Click on a diagram to see if you are right!


Congratulations!• You have completed your

experiments into the Solar System. Well done!

• What have you learnt today?

Please press Escape to exit the slideshow

Jod

rell B

an

k Disco

very

Cen

tre

Correct!Correct!Well done!Well done!

Click here to return Click here to return to the previous slideto the previous slide

Try again!Try again!

Click here to return Click here to return to the previous slideto the previous slide

Whoops!Whoops!

The Solar System Post workshop materials You will need... Your copies of your worksheets Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.

Documents

gravity gravity

experiment slide

file slide

hole slide

neptunevenus slide

usa slide

strength of gravity

strongest gravity