Duration: 105 min Midle School Grades: 6 - 8 CCSS, NGSS

EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Origin and Structure of the
Earth- Planet Earth

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CRASH LANDING ON YOU
1. The solar system and planets’ orbits 15
min

The solar system is the planetary system Earth belongs to. The most significant,
biggest, and heaviest body in the solar system is its central star - the Sun. It
contains 99.9% of the total mass of the solar system, and thanks to its gravity it
holds together the rest of the bodies that rotate around it. These bodies include
eight planets, some dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and minor interplanetary
masses. The eight planets can be divided evenly into two groups - four rocky
planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) and four so-called gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune).
While studying the solar system Johannes Kepler discovered the relationship
between the time it takes a planet to make one complete orbit around the Sun, its
"orbital period", and the distance of that planet from the Sun. If the orbital period
of a planet is known, then it is possible to determine the planet’s distance from the
Sun. This is how astronomers working without modern telescopes were able to
determine the distances to other planets within the solar system.
In general, the farther away from the Sun, the greater the distance from one
planet’s orbit to the next. The orbits of the planets are not circular but slightly
elliptical, with the Sun located at one of the foci of the ellipse.

• Open the Solar system scene, click on Slower revolution, and zoom closer to
the first couple of planets, including the Earth, to explain the system and
how the planets spin. Then highlight the Earth and show the size
comparison with the Sun, pointing out how it shines and how far away it is.
Then you can zoom out to the rest of the system and talk about orbits and
their shape, and about the sizes of the planets.

Note: The sizes of bodies and orbits in the visualized model of the solar system
Click on the model to interact
don't correspond with reality. Only the sizes of planets OR orbits are in correct
proportion - but each is in a different scale from the other.
2. Relation between Earth, Sun, and Moon 15
min

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•What do you think are the
characteristics of the planet Earth that
make it different from all the other
planets?
Open the Earth and Moon scenes to study the objects further.

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• Earth is the only planet in the solar system
known to harbour life. Our planet has a
molten nickel-iron core which gave rise to
an extensive magnetic field, which, along
with the atmosphere, shields us from
harmful radiation coming from the Sun.
30
min
Factors that make a Planet Habitable
1. Temperature influences how quickly atoms and molecules move.
2. Atmosphere
3. Energy
4. Nutrients used to build and maintain an organism’s body.
 15
5. Activity – Every cell is unique min

Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has a large amount
of liquid water.
About 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered by liquid or frozen
water. Because of this, Earth is sometimes called “blue planet.”
Planet Earth is habitable because it has the right distance from the
sun.
It is kept warm by an insulating atmosphere,
and it has the right chemical ingredients for life including water and
carbon.
It can provide water, oxygen, useful biological products for human,
and has suitable weather and climate
Earth, Venus, and Mars may have similarities: (1) They all are terrestrial
planets, made of solid rocks and silicates; (2) They all have an atmosphere;
(3) They all almost have the same time to rotate on their axes; (4) Earth and
Mars both have water; (5) They all have carbon dioxide; and (6 All have
landforms. Earth, Venus, and Mars have differences: (1) Venus has no water;
(2) Venus and Mars don’t have oxygen; and (3) Earth has life forms.
Compare and Contrast
“Terraforming Mars”

Can man change or adjust Mars’

environment to make it more suitable
for human habitation? How?
•Mars Terraforming Not Possible Using Present-Day Technology
•Science fiction writers have long featured terraforming, the process of creating an Earth-like or
habitable environment on another planet, in their stories. Scientists themselves have proposed
terraforming to enable the long-term colonization of Mars. A solution common to both groups is to
release carbon dioxide gas trapped in the Martian surface to thicken the atmosphere and act as a
blanket to warm the planet.
•However, Mars does not retain enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the
atmosphere to warm Mars, according to a new NASA-sponsored study.  Transforming the inhospitable
Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without
technology well beyond today’s capabilities.
Although the current Martian atmosphere itself consists mostly of carbon
dioxide, it is far too thin and cold to support liquid water, an essential ingredient
for life. On Mars, the pressure of the atmosphere is less than one percent of the
pressure of Earth’s atmosphere. Any liquid water on the surface would very
quickly evaporate or freeze.
Proponents of terraforming Mars propose releasing gases from a variety of
sources on the Red Planet to thicken the atmosphere and increase the
temperature to the point where liquid water is stable on the surface. These
gases are called “greenhouse gases” for their ability to trap heat and warm the
climate.
Our results suggest that there is not enough CO2 remaining on Mars to provide significant
greenhouse warming were the gas to be put into the atmosphere; in addition, most of the CO2 
gas is not accessible and could not be readily mobilized. As a result, terraforming Mars is not
possible using present-day technology,” said Jakosky.
Although Mars has significant quantities of water ice that could be used to create water vapor,
previous analyses show that water cannot provide significant warming by itself; temperatures do not
allow enough water to persist as vapor without first having significant warming by CO2, according to
the team. Also, while other gases such as the introduction of chloroflorocarbons or other fluorine-
based compounds have been proposed to raise the atmospheric temperature, these gases are short-
lived and would require large-scale manufacturing processes, so they were not considered in the
current study.
of course, once this happens, that water and CO2 are gone forever. Even if this loss were prevented somehow,
allowing the atmosphere to build up slowly from outgassing by geologic activity, current outgassing is extremely
low; it would take about 10 million years just to double Mars’ current atmosphere, according to the team.
Another idea is to import volatiles by redirecting comets and asteroids to hit Mars. However, the team’s
calculations reveal that many thousands would be required; again, not very practical.
Taken together, the results indicate that terraforming Mars cannot be done with currently available technology.
Any such efforts have to be very far into the future.
 •My Planet is called _____________________. It is in the
Creating a Planet: Fill ___________________. The weather is
up the data needed in _____________________It would have __________ kinds of
organisms. The individual who live there are called
your created planet. _________________________.
6. Final Exercise - Lunar phases 20
min

Waxing Crescent First Quarter Waxing Gibbous Full Moon

Waning Gibbous Third Quarter Waning Crescent New Moon

7. Final Wrap-up of the key findings and discussion 10
min

Wrap up all the findings and materials explained in the classroom, and set up the discussion to finalize the class.

Questions for the discussion:

• Name the planets in our solar system in their correct order. What other objects in the solar system can you name?
• What are the four main phases of the moon? How long does it take to change from one to another?
• What is an eclipse? Explain the positions of the Moon and Earth during a solar eclipse. Does the Moon rotate? What is a “bound rotation”?
• Due to the revolution of the moon and the rotation of Earth, sometimes we can see the Moon during the day. Could there be any position of the Sun, Moon,
and Earth that might allow us to see a lunar eclipse during the day? Explain your answer.

Further activities

• Visit a planetarium to study physical models and representations.

• Let students write an essay about how the Moon affects the Earth’s systems (e.g., tides) and what would happen if there weren’t a
Moon at all.

• Make a lunar calendar to show the repetition of the cycle and the system of calculating the phases.
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