MERCURY, VENUS, AND MARS.pdf - 2/25/2021...

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Course Information
Course: Science 8B v.1
Unit: 4. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Assignment: 10. Mercury, Venus, and Mars
Mercury, Venus, and Mars
What is the smallest planet in the solar system? What is the hottest planet? Which planet has the tallest mountain
and the deepest canyon? Did you guess Mercury, Venus, and Mars? At just over 3,000 miles in diameter,
Mercury is the smallest planet. It would take the same amount of time to cross from one side of Mercury to the
other as it would to travel from New York to California. With a temperature exceeding 470°C (880°F), the
surface of Venus is hot enough to melt metal. Although Mount Everest is incredibly tall, it pales in comparison
to Olympus Mon, Mars' 24 km (15 mile) tall mountain. And the Grand Canyon? It could easily fit into Mars'
Valles Marineris canyon system. Mercury, Venus, and Mars are fascinating planets in our solar system. In this
lesson, believe the because you will learn about their basic characteristics and patterns of movement.
Objectives
Describe basic characteristics of Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
Describe the orbit and rotation of Mercury, Venus, and Mars.
Vocabulary
aphelion the point in a planet's orbit that is farthest from the sun
perihelion the point in a planet's orbit that is nearest the sun
retrograde moving backward or in opposite direction
revolves to move in a circle, move in a curve around a point
rotate to move around a center or axis
Vocab Arcade
Question #1Matching
Show Answer
Match the terms to their definition.
1. aphelion
the point in a planet's orbit
that is nearest the sun
2. perihelion
the point in a planet's orbit
that is farthest from the sun
3. retrograde
to move in a circle, move in a
curve around a point
4. revolves
to move around a center or
axis
5. rotate
moving backward or in

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opposite direction
Mercury
keep in mind
A year is not always 365 days. In astronomy, a year equals how long a planet takes to revolve once around the
sun. For Mercury, a year is only 88 days long. Uranus takes 30,660 days to orbit the sun. A single year on
Uranus would be 84 Earth years long.
Have you ever heard of Hermes? In Greek mythology, Hermes was the fleet-footed messenger of the gods. In
Roman mythology, Hermes is called Mercury. Scientists and historians believe that because the planet Mercury
moves so quickly across the sky, it may have been named after the Roman god. Speeding through space at
nearly 50 km (31 miles) per second, Mercury has the fastest orbit of all the planets in our solar system. It
revolves around the sun once every 88 days, the equivalent of once every three months. Although it has an
incredibly fast revolution, Mercury rotates relatively slowly, taking over 58 days to complete one rotation.