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The Sun and Its Planets

The Sun is a huge glowing star at the center of our solar system. Planets travel around it along paths called orbits, and the ones closest to the Sun go around fastest.

In the picture

  1. The Sun, the glowing star at the center.
  2. A small rocky planet on the orbit closest to the Sun.
  3. A blue planet like Earth, with its moon circling it.
  4. A big gas planet wrapped in wide rings.

Examples

  • Around a campfire, whoever sits closest feels the most heat, like the planets near the Sun.
  • Swinging a ball on a string around your hand: the ball keeps circling, the way a planet orbits the Sun.

Quiz: The Sun and Its Planets (Age 9)

  1. What sits at the center of our solar system?

    • A star called the Sun
    • The planet Earth
    • Earth’s moon
  2. Two planets travel around the Sun. One is close to the Sun and one is far away. Which one finishes its trip around the Sun first?

    • The planet closer to the Sun
    • The planet farther from the Sun
    • They both finish at the same time
  3. A moon, like the one near Earth, travels around what?

    • Around the planet it belongs to
    • Around the Sun on its own, just like a planet
    • Nothing — it stays in one place in the sky

The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This lesson has left the free week, so its quiz is part of the subscription.

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Science, Age 9