PhysicsCode 5054
The Solar System
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- Describe what the Solar System is made up of: (a) a single star, the Sun (b) each of the eight named planets, and the order in which they lie outward from the Sun (c) minor planets orbiting the Sun, including dwarf planets such as Pluto and the asteroids of the asteroid belt (d) moons, which orbit the planets (e) smaller bodies of the Solar System, including comets and natural satellites
- Analyse and interpret data on the planets' density, surface temperature, orbital period and orbital distance, and on the uniform gravitational field strength at each one's surface
- Know that gravitational field strength: (a) on a planet's surface relies on how massive the planet is (b) surrounding a planet falls off as one moves further from the planet
- Know that the majority of the Solar System's mass is held within the Sun, and that gravitational field strength on the Sun's surface exceeds that on the surfaces of the planets
- Know that it is the Sun's gravitational attraction that holds an object in orbit around it
- Know that the Sun's gravitational field gets weaker, and planets' orbital speeds drop, as distance from the Sun grows