Year 6 · Science · Earth and space sciences
Our solar system
Students learn that Earth is one of eight planets orbiting the Sun, compare the planets' sizes and distances, and build a scale model.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to UK year groups by age (Year 1 is the year a child turns 6 in England). They are not mapped to the National Curriculum in England or the curricula of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, so check them against your own plans.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Describe the solar system as the Sun and the eight planets, including Earth, that orbit it.
- Name the planets in order from the Sun and compare their sizes and distances.
- Build a scale model of planet distances and explain why pictures of the solar system are not to scale.
Success looks like
- I can name the eight planets in order from the Sun.
- I can explain that Earth orbits the Sun once a year.
- I can use a scale to place the planets at the right distances in a model.
The big idea
At the centre of our solar system is the Sun. The Sun is a star: a gigantic ball of hot, glowing gas that gives out its own light and heat. It is so big that about 109 Earths could fit side by side across it.
Eight planets travel around the Sun. Each one follows a path called an orbit. The Sun's gravity pulls on the planets and keeps them in their orbits. Earth takes about 365 days, or one year, to go once around the Sun.
In order from the Sun, the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A memory sentence can help: 'My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos.'
- The four inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) are small and rocky.
- The four outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) are giant planets made mostly of gas and ice. All four have rings, though Saturn's are by far the easiest to see.
The planets are very different sizes. Mercury is the smallest. Jupiter is the largest: about 11 Earths would fit side by side across it. Earth is the largest of the four rocky planets.
The distances are enormous. Earth is about 150 million kilometres from the Sun. Scientists call this distance 1 astronomical unit (AU). Jupiter is about 5 AU from the Sun and Neptune is about 30 AU away. Even light, the fastest thing there is, takes about 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth.
The solar system also has moons orbiting planets, dwarf planets such as Pluto, a belt of rocky asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, and icy comets. Pluto was called a planet until 2006, when scientists reclassified it as a dwarf planet.
Most pictures of the solar system are not to scale. If the planets were drawn big enough to see, they would have to be drawn far too close together. A scale model shows the real pattern by shrinking every distance by the same amount.
Worked examples
Planets in order
Put these planets in order from closest to the Sun to farthest: Saturn, Earth, Mercury, Neptune, Mars.
- Write out the full order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
- Cross out the planets that are not in the list (Venus, Jupiter, Uranus).
- Read the rest from left to right.
Answer: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Neptune.
Build a distance scale model
Use the scale 1 AU = 10 cm to work out where each planet goes on a long strip of paper, starting with the Sun at 0.
- Use these approximate distances from the Sun: Mercury 0.4 AU, Venus 0.7 AU, Earth 1 AU, Mars 1.5 AU, Jupiter 5.2 AU, Saturn 9.6 AU, Uranus 19.2 AU, Neptune 30 AU.
- Multiply each distance by 10 to change AU into centimetres: Mercury 4 cm, Venus 7 cm, Earth 10 cm, Mars 15 cm.
- Jupiter: 5.2 × 10 = 52 cm. Saturn: 9.6 × 10 = 96 cm. Uranus: 19.2 × 10 = 192 cm. Neptune: 30 × 10 = 300 cm.
- Lay out at least 3 metres of paper, mark the Sun at one end and measure each planet's position from the Sun with a tape measure.
- Notice the pattern: the four inner planets are crowded within 15 cm of the Sun, while the outer planets are spread out over metres.
Answer: Mercury 4 cm, Venus 7 cm, Earth 10 cm, Mars 15 cm, Jupiter 52 cm, Saturn 96 cm, Uranus 192 cm, Neptune 300 cm (3 m) from the Sun.
Comparing sizes
Earth is about 12,700 km across. Jupiter is about 143,000 km across. About how many Earths would fit side by side across Jupiter?
- Round to make the numbers friendly: Earth is about 13,000 km and Jupiter about 143,000 km.
- Ask how many 13,000s make 143,000: 13,000 × 11 = 143,000.
- So about 11 Earths fit across Jupiter.
Answer: About 11 Earths would fit side by side across Jupiter.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
How many planets orbit the Sun?
Eight — There are eight planets. Pluto is now classed as a dwarf planet.
Which is the largest planet?
Jupiter — Jupiter is the largest planet; about 11 Earths fit across it.
Which planet is closest to the Sun?
Mercury — The order starts Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars.
Which of these is one of the small, rocky inner planets?
Mars — The rocky inner planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
In a model where 1 AU (Earth's distance from the Sun) is 10 cm, Jupiter is 5.2 AU from the Sun. How far from the Sun should Jupiter go?
52 cm — 5.2 × 10 = 52 cm.
What object does Earth orbit?
the Sun — Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun, held by its gravity.
Which planet is farthest from the Sun?
Neptune — Neptune, at about 30 AU, is the eighth and farthest planet.
About how many days does Earth take to travel once around the Sun?
365 days — One trip around the Sun takes about 365 14 days, which is one year.
Watch out for
- Some students think the Sun travels around Earth because it seems to move across the sky. Earth spins, which makes the Sun appear to move, and Earth orbits the Sun.
- Many students think the planets are close together and similar in size, because pictures squash them together. Remind them that most pictures are not to scale and use the paper-strip model to show the real spacing.
- Some think the Sun is not a star because it looks so different from the twinkling dots at night. The Sun is an ordinary star; it just looks big and bright because it is so much closer than other stars.
Tips for parents
- Lay the scale model out in a hallway or driveway and walk it together, saying each planet's name as you pass it.
- Use the memory sentence, or make up a silly one of your own, to remember the order.
- Safety: never look directly at the Sun, even with sunglasses, and never look at it through binoculars or a telescope.
Go further
- Size model: use household objects to compare sizes. If Earth were a peppercorn, Jupiter would be about the size of a large grape and the Sun would be about the size of a beach ball.
- Choose one planet and make a fact card: its size, distance from the Sun, what it is made of, how long its year is and one surprising fact.
- On a clear night, with an adult, look for a very bright 'star' that twinkles less than the stars around it: it is often Venus or Jupiter. Planets shift position against the stars over several weeks.
About 50 minutes
You'll need
- A roll of toilet paper or a long strip of paper (about 3.5 metres), or a long tape measure
- A ruler or tape measure
- Markers and sticky labels
- A long hallway, driveway or outdoor space
- Optional: balls or round fruit of different sizes for comparing planet sizes
Key words
- solar system
- The Sun and everything that travels around it, including planets, moons, dwarf planets, asteroids and comets.
- star
- A huge ball of very hot glowing gas that makes its own light. The Sun is our closest star.
- planet
- A large, round object that orbits a star and has cleared other objects out of its path.
- orbit
- The curved path one object takes as it travels around another, such as Earth around the Sun.
- gravity
- The pulling force that holds the planets in their orbits around the Sun.
- scale model
- A model in which every real measurement is made smaller (or bigger) by the same amount.
Still tricky?
For parents
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