New
New
Year 11
OCR
Higher
The solar system
I can describe the main features of the solar system.
New
New
Year 11
OCR
Higher
The solar system
I can describe the main features of the solar system.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The solar system includes the Sun, eight planets, dwarf planets and bands of smaller rocks.
- The planets, dwarf planets and bands of smaller rocks all move the same way around the Sun as they orbit it.
- Most planets in the solar system are orbited by one or more moons.
- Each moon orbits a planet because of the gravitational attraction between it and the planet.
- Each planet in the solar system orbits the Sun because of the gravitational attraction between it and the Sun.
Keywords
Solar system - the Sun and the collection of objects in orbit around it
Planet - a very large, spherical object in orbit around a star that has cleared the path of its orbit of other objects
Dwarf planet - a large object in orbit around a star that has not cleared the path of its orbit of other objects
Moon - a natural object in orbit around a planet
Common misconception
Gravity only acts close to the surface of a planet.
Provide examples of motions caused by gravitational forces acting over huge distances of space, such as the orbits of planets.
Rather than discovering gravity, Isaac Newton realised that gravity was universal and acted between all bodies that had a mass. The relationship he derived that connects the mass and separation of objects to the force of gravity between them is covered in A-level physics.
Teacher tip
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
How many planets orbit the Sun?
none
one
nine
thirteen
Q2.
What is the Asteroid Belt?
the name of the rings around Saturn
a group of moons that orbit Jupiter
a large number of rocks that orbit the Sun beyond Pluto
Q3.
Put these planets in order of their distance from the Sun, starting with the planet closest to it.
Q4.
How long does it take Earth to orbit the Sun?
one day
28 days
one month
Q5.
How long does it take the Moon to orbit Earth?
about one day
about one week
about one year
Q6.
How do the planets orbit the sun?
between the stars
in a line
in a ring
Q6 image 3 UYSEG Q6 image 4 UYSEG
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Which of these are dwarf planets?
Mars
Mercury
Neptune
Q2.
Which of these are regions in the Solar System that contain millions of rocks of all different sizes.
Neptune's Belt
the Pluto Cloud
Q3.
Which of these planets has a moon called 'the Moon'?
no planets
only Earth and Mars
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
Q4.
Why are moons that are bigger than the planet Mercury called moons rather than planets?
they are not part of the Solar System
they do not travel around the Sun
they orbit a star
Q5.
What best describes where gravitational force acts?
near to the surface of a planet
near to the surface of a planet with an atmosphere
within the Solar System
Q6.
In which direction does the gravitational force of the Sun act on the planet Mars to make it orbit the Sun?
in a straight line in the direction in which Mars is moving
in a circle in the direction in which Mars is moving
in a straight line away from the centre of the Sun