Space

Grades 3-5

Solar System

The Sun and the 8 planets that revolve around it.

Planet

Sphere made of rocks and gases

Terrestrial/Inner Planets Gas Giants/Outer Planets

Position

Where an object is located in space.

Sphere

A circular/round three dimensional ball

Orbit

The path an object takes in space.

Compass

An instrument that uses a small magnet to show which direction is North (N)

Sundial

Instrument that measures the time of day by using the position of the Sun

Shadow

A dark area caused when an object blocks light falling on the surface of Earth

Rotation

Earth spins on its axis causing day and night in a 24 hour time period (1 Day)

Axis

An imaginary line Earth spins on; Earth spins on a 24.5 degree tilt

Day

When Earth faces the Sun and is lighted

Night

The time during rotation when Earth does not face the Sun

Rotation causes the Sun to appear as if it moves across the sky. Is it?

No! Rotation makes it look like it is! The Sun is NOT moving across the sky. The Earth is

moving (rotating)! Tricky!!

Revolution

One complete orbit of the Earth around the Sun or the Moon around Earth

Moon

A natural satellite that orbits a planet

Craters

Bowl shaped indents that are caused with a collision with another object such as a meteorite

Mass

The amount of matter in an object

Weight

The force of gravity on an object (how hard gravity is pulling on you)

Gravity

A natural force that causes two objects to pull toward each other depending on their mass and the distance between them

Which changes? Which stays the same?

Earth

A planet in the solar system that has life

Tide

The rise and fall of water in the ocean caused by the moon’s gravitational pull

High Tide and Low Tide

Moon Phase/Lunar Phase

What the moon looks like at different times of the month