CHAPTER 12 SOLAR SYSTEM

CHAPTER 12
SOLAR SYSTEM

Prepared by:
Cikgu HUSRITA
MRSM TRANSKRIAN

12.1 SOLAR SYSTEM

• The solar system is located at the edge of one of the spiral arms of the

Milky Way galaxy
• The solar system is made up of eight planets that circle a star known as the

Sun
• Comparison of planet distance in the Solar System from the sun

Astronomical unit (A.U.) Light year (ly)

ASTRONOMICAL UNIT (A.U.) is the average LIGHT YEAR (ly) is the distance travelled
distance between the earth to the sun by light through the vacuum in a year

1A.U. = 1.5 x 108 km 1ly = 9.5 x 1012 km

To convert units between astronomical unit To convert units between light year (ly)
(A.U.) to km: to km:

Distance in A.U. = Distance in km Distance in ly = Distance in km
1.5 x 108 km 9.5 x 1012 km

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :

• Closest planet to the sun

• The smallest planet in the solar system

• Its surface is almost similar to the moon’s surface.

• Has craters and high ridges

• Light cannot be dispersed because of the absence of

atmosphere, as a result, the sky seems dark as in outer

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
• The second planet from the sun
• Venus’ atmosphere is made up of high carbon

dioxide content causing the greenhouse effect
• Lots of heat is trapped and this increases the

temperature on its surface until it reaches 460ºC
• The sun rises from the west because Venus rotates

from the east to the west which is different from the
earth and other planets

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
• The third planet from the sun
• A suitable home for all living things
• The earth has atmosphere that protect it from solar

wind and harmful ultraviolet rays
• More than 71% of the Earth is covered with water

and 29% is made up of land

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
• the fourth planet from the sun and is known as the

Red planet
• Has two moons Phobos and Demos
• Mars can be divided into two different regions when

observed from the Earth
• They are the bright region covered in dust and red

sand while its poles contain frozen water and carbon
dioxide

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
• The fifth planet from the sun and the largest in the

solar system
• Its mass is twice the mass of all planets in the solar

system and almost 320 times the mass of the earth
• Has a very strong gravitational force which is able to

divert huge objects from hitting the Earth

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
• The sixth planet from the sun
• The second largest planet in the solar system and is

classified as a giant gas planet
• Has rings which are mainly made up of ice and a small

amount of rocky material and dust
• Receives little sunlight
• Has very low temperature
• There are 62 moons orbiting Saturn.
• Titan, the largest Saturn’s moon is bigger than Mercury

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :

• The seventh planet from the sun
• The third largest planet and is classified as a ‘giant’ gas planet
• The temperature on the surface is low because of its distant position

from the sun
• The first elements in the inner region of Uranus are ice and stones
• Has a ring system like the Saturn but it is thinner and darker
• The uniqueness of this planet is that its axis of rotation is tilted,

almost parallel to its orbit around the sun
• Takes 84 years (time on Earth) to orbit the sun
• Has many moons

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PLANETS IN SOLAR SYSTEM

CHARACTERISTIC :
•The eight planet from the Sun which is
also classified as the ‘giant’ gas planet
•Takes almost 165 year (Earth time) to
orbit the sun

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPERATURE OF PLANET AND THE
SUN

MERCURY : Planet without atmosphere
The sunlight reaches direct to its surface = temperature above
427ºC
The dark region is very cold = as low as -173ºC

VENUS : Planet that have high carbon dioxide in its atmosphere
causing greenhouse effect
causes the temperature on its surface to reach 426ºC

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune : surface temperature is extremely low
because located far from the sun
receive very little sunlight

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DENSITY AND GRAVITATIONAL PULL OF THE PLANET

• The gravitational pull of a planet depends on its density and
mass

• Gravitational pull of Earth is 9.8 ms-1
• This means if an object is dropped from a height, the object

would fall at an acceleration of 9.8 meter per second at every
second
• Gravitational pull of Venus is the same as the Earth’s because
its mass is almost the same as the Earth’s
• Jupiter has a very strong gravitational pull because it has a
very high mass
• Planets which are gas giants such as Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune their gravitational pull is not as high as the
gravitational pull of the Earth because of low density

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISTANCE, TIME AND SPEED

• Planet located farther from the sun have bigger
orbits

• Therefore, the planets need a longer time to
circle the sun because of the longer distance

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DIRECTION OF PLANET’S ROTATION

• The direction of the planet’s rotation determines the direction of the sun
rises and sets

• All planets rotate from west to east, except Venus and Uranus
• Venus rotates from the east to the west, this causes the sun to rise in the

west and set in the east whereas Uranus rotates on its side

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What would happened if the rotation of the Earth slows
down or stops completely????

Influences the high tide and Temperature of the areas that
low tide do not receive sunlight will

Two different regions of the drop whereas area that faces
Earth would experience long the sun will become too dry
and hot
days and nights

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NATURAL SATELLITE

• The moon is one of the natural satellites of the earth
• The duration of the moon to rotate the Earth on its axis and

the duration takes by the Moon to rotate on its axis are the
same, around 27 days
• That is why we always see the same surface of the moon
every day

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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARTH AS THE MOST SUITABLE
PLANET FOR LIFE:

• Has atmosphere that can prevent harmful ray from reaching the Earth
• Has high oxygen level for respiration
• Has a suitable temperature range for living organisms
• Has high content of water
• The presence of light enables the plants to conduct photosynthesis
• Has gravity that enables the objects on the Earth to move and keep

them from floating

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ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

• ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT measures the human demand on nature as
well as the ability of the Earth to absorb wastes generated by human
and resources after have been used

• If the ecological footprint increase and exceeds the capacity of the
Earth to renew its sources, then the Earth would be depleted of its
sources

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ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

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STEPS TO REDUCE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS

1. Saving water and electricity
2. Using energy-saving electrical appliances
3. Carpooling or taking the public transport
4. Reducing the use of non-renewable energy resources
5. Practice 5R’s (reduce, reuse, refuse, recycle, repurpose)

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