Year 7 Science · Unit 4 · Lesson 16
Extension · Foundation Worksheet
Learning Goals
Extension · optional
Touring the planets one by one, out to Uranus and Neptune, goes further than Year 7 asks for, so the planet-by-planet detail on this sheet is not assessed. One idea does count, so do not skip it: Pluto being reclassified is exactly the kind of evidence-changes-the-model story this unit tests.
Fill the gap
Choose the correct word from the word bank. Each word is used at most once. Two words are not needed: cross them out.
The planet closest to the Sun is . The four inner planets are small and , while the four outer planets are very and made mostly of gas and ice. Counting outwards from the Sun, the planet right after Earth is . The biggest planet of all is .
Match each planet to a fact
Write the letter of the correct fact next to each planet. Each letter is used once.
| Planet | Letter | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury | A. The windiest planet, deep blue and the farthest from the Sun | |
| Venus | B. Famous for its rings, made of countless pieces of ice and rock | |
| Mars | C. The smallest planet and the closest to the Sun | |
| Jupiter | D. The hottest planet, wrapped in thick clouds that trap heat | |
| Saturn | E. The red planet, home to the tallest known volcano, Olympus Mons | |
| Neptune | F. The biggest planet, with a giant storm called the Great Red Spot |
1. Since 2006, a world counts as a full planet only if it passes every check in the table. Write Yes or No in each empty box, then answer underneath.
| Check | Earth | Pluto |
|---|---|---|
| Does it orbit the Sun? | ||
| Is it round? | ||
| Has it cleared its path of other large objects? |
Which check does Pluto fail, and what about its neighbourhood causes this?
Sort it: inner or outer?
Each feature belongs to one planet. Work out which group that planet is in, and write the feature in the matching box. The boxes do not hold the same number of items.
Inner, small and rocky planet
Outer giant planet
Read the data
Scenario: a model of the planets
A class is making a row of balls to show how wide each planet is. They use the table below, where Earth’s width counts as 1.
| Inner world | Earths across | Outer world | Earths across |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | 0.4 | Jupiter | 11 |
| Venus | 0.95 | Saturn | 9 |
| Earth | 1 | Uranus | 4 |
| Mars | 0.5 | Neptune | 4 |
Source: rounded standard values (the lesson gives Jupiter as about 11 Earths wide and Uranus and Neptune as about 4).
2. In the model, the Earth ball is 2 cm wide. How wide should the Jupiter ball be?
Jupiter ball cm
3. Describe the pattern in Table 1: how do the widths of the four inner planets compare with the widths of the four outer planets? Quote numbers from the table.
4. A Year 5 student asks you: “How many planets are there, and what happened to Pluto?” Write a clear answer for them.
Fill the gap
Mercury; rocky; large; Mars; Jupiter. Not used: Venus, Saturn. Five correct = 3; three or four = 2; one or two = 1. [3 marks]
Match each planet to a fact
Mercury → C; Venus → D; Mars → E; Jupiter → F; Saturn → B; Neptune → A.
Question 1
Earth: Yes, Yes, Yes (1). Pluto: Yes, Yes, No (1). It orbits the Sun and is round, but it shares its region with many other icy bodies, so it has not cleared its path (1). [3 marks]
Sort it: inner or outer?
Inner (3): almost no air (Mercury); thick heat-trapping clouds (Venus); tallest known volcano (Mars). Outer (5): spins on its side (Uranus); fastest winds (Neptune); centuries-old storm (Jupiter); rings (Saturn); very dim sunlight (Neptune). All eight = 3; six or seven = 2; four or five = 1. [3 marks]
Read the data: Question 2
2 × 11 (1) = 22 cm (1). [2 marks]
Question 3
The inner planets are all about Earth’s width or smaller, 0.4 to 1 (1); the outer planets are much wider, 4 to 11 Earth widths (1). [2 marks]
Question 4
Marking guide: 1 eight planets named in order (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune); 1 inner four are small and rocky with solid surfaces, outer four are huge and made mostly of gas and ice; 1 Pluto orbits the Sun and is round but has not cleared its path; 1 Pluto itself did not change: in 2006 astronomers agreed a clearer rule; 1 the reason was new evidence: better telescopes found many icy worlds like Pluto beyond Neptune. [5 marks]
Model answer: There are eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The first four are small and rocky; the last four are huge balls of gas and ice. Pluto did not change. Better telescopes showed it is one of many icy worlds beyond Neptune, so in 2006 astronomers agreed a clearer rule. Pluto orbits the Sun and is round, but it has not cleared its path, so it is now a dwarf planet.
Common error: saying Pluto “shrank” or “moved”; only the definition changed.