Playing Cards Project for Our Solar System
Description: Students will create a deck of playing cards that represent key features and attributes
of our solar system. You must create at least 12 cards total, but you may choose to create more. At
least 8 of these cards must represent the different planets of our solar system, one card for each
planet. The other cards can represent different elements of our solar system. You will use this
packet as a reference guide to gather information, but you will want to find more information from
books, websites and other credible sources.
Guidelines:
1. Read through this entire packet, highlight and bracket important information.
2. Using 3x5 inch index cards, you will begin making playing cards that represent our solar
system.
3. Each card must contain at least one image or symbol that represents the planet or solar
system element that you are describing.
4. Each card must contain at least 5 different facts, or important pieces of information about
that planet or element.
5. Each card must be colored and show a high degree of effort and creativity.
Mercury
Mercury is a small planet, which orbits closer to the sun than any other planet in our solar system.
As well as being very hot, it features a barren, crater-covered surface, which looks similar to Earth's
moon.
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The surface of Mercury is very similar to our moon. It has a very barren, rocky surface
covered with many craters.
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Being so close to the Sun, the daytime temperature on Mercury is scorching - reaching over
400 Degrees Celsius.
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At night however, without an atmosphere to hold the heat in, the temperatures plummet,
dropping to -180 Degrees Celsius.
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Mercury has a very low surface gravity.
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Mercury has no atmosphere which means there is no wind or weather to speak of.
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There is also no water on the surface of Mercury, it is possible however that there could be
water underneath the surface.
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Likewise, there is no air on the surface but it could be trapped underneath.
Venus
Venus is a fascinating planet that is similar in size to Earth but very different in regards to
atmosphere and surface conditions. Its thick clouds lock in the heat while the surface rages with
active volcanoes.
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The atmosphere of Venus made up mainly of carbon dioxide.
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Its size is slightly smaller than Earth.
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It also features gravity similar to that of Earth.
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Venus is surrounded by clouds consisting of mercury, ferric chloride hydrocarbons and
sulphuric acid. These clouds create the most corrosive acid rain found anywhere in our solar
system.
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The clouds are so thick that little light even reaches the surface. The light that does reach the
surface is converted to heat and cannot escape the atmosphere making Venus the hottest
planet at around 500 Degrees Celsius.
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The surface of Venus is often described as a "stormy desert" full of many craters and very
active volcanoes.
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The surface is also likened to molten lead and it features no liquid water.
Earth (use your notes from our last unit to find more information for our planet earth)
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Earth is the fifth largest planet and the third from the sun.
Earth’s atmosphere is made of 77 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen, withtraces of
argon, carbon dioxide, and water.
Liquid water covers 71 percent of the Earth’s surface. The other 29 percent is made of rock
and soil. Earth is the only planet that has liquid water on its surface.
White clouds of water vapor hide much of the Earth’s surface.
Earth has one moon.
Mars
Mars, or the 'Red Planet' as it is sometimes known, has a dusty, rocky surface and a thin
atmosphere. Its relatively calm conditions and close proximity to earth make it the most likely
destination for future planet exploration by humans. It has already been visited by a number of
Mars Rovers in successful (and unsuccessful) robotic missions. These highly advanced robots
gather samples and record important scientific data for scientists back on Earth to study.
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Mars is nicknamed the red planet because it is covered with rust-like dust. Even the
atmosphere is a pinkish red, colored by tiny particles of dust thrown up from the surface.
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Mars experiences violent dust storms, which continually change its surface.
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Mars has many massive volcanoes and is home to Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in our
solar system, it stands 21km high and is 600km across the base.
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Mars has a very thin atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide. It is not thick enough to
trap the sun's heat like Venus, so the planet is very cold. Temperatures range from -120
Degrees Celsius on winter nights to 25 Degrees Celsius in the summer.
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Mars has many channels, plains and canyons on the surface, which could have been caused
by water erosion in the past.
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Mars has very weak gravity, which cannot hold onto the atmosphere well.
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The polar ice caps consist of frozen Co2 (dry ice), which lies over a layer of ice.
Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Its famous 'Red Spot' and raging gas storms give it
an impressive if not intimidating appearance. As well as having many moons, Jupiter also has a
number of rings similar to that of Saturn but much less noticeable.
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Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar system. It is so big that more than 1300 Earths could
fit inside it.
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Thick, colorful clouds of deadly poisonous gases surround Jupiter. The quick spinning of the
planet whips up the atmosphere, creating the bands around the planet.
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If you were to descend into Jupiter, the thin, cold atmosphere becomes thicker and hotter,
gradually turning into a thick, dark fog. In the blackness about 1000km down the pressure
squeezes the atmosphere so hard that it becomes like liquid.
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At the center of Jupiter is a rocky core, slightly bigger than Earth but weighing about 20
times more.
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Surrounding the core is an ocean of liquid hydrogen, about 1,000 kilometres deep.
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Jupiter has many storms raging on the surface, most notably the big red spot which is the
largest hurricane in our Solar System. It's been raging for over three hundred years.
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Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field, you would weigh two and a half times as much as
you would on Earth.
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Jupiter has many moons circling around it. Four of these moons are bigger than Pluto.
Saturn
Perhaps the most beautiful planet in our solar system (other than earth of course) due to its
spectacular ring system, Saturn is a gas giant that features many extreme physical features and
atmospheric conditions.
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Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system and is another gas giant.
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Saturn has a small rocky core covered with liquid gas.
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It is surrounded by a system of rings that stretch out into space for thousands of kilometres.
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The rings are made up of millions of ice crystals, some as big as houses and others as small as
specks of dust.
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Saturn is very light as it is made up of more hydrogen than helium so it is less dense. If we
could fit Saturn into a bathtub it would float (but that would have to be one big bathtub!)
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Like Jupiter, Saturn has many moons which surround it.
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Saturn is not a peaceful planet. Storm winds race around the atmosphere at 800kmp/h.
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Saturn has a very strong magnetic field which traps energy particles resulting in high levels
of radiation.
Uranus
Uranus likes to be a bit different. It shows off a majestic blue/green haze due to its high levels of
methane gas and rolls like a barrel rather than spinning like Earth and the other planets in our Solar
System.
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Uranus spins lying on its side (like a barrel), this is perhaps due to a large collision early in
its formation.
Uranus was the first planet discovered by telescope.
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Since Uranus takes 84 Earth years to go around the sun, this means that each of its poles is in
daylight for 42 years and in darkness for the next 42.
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Uranus’s atmosphere is mostly hydrogen but it also contains large amounts of a gas called
methane. Methane absorbs red light and scatters blue light so a blue-green methane haze
hides the interior of the planet from view.
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Uranus hides its interior but scientists guess that under the hydrogen-methane atmosphere
is a hot, slushy ocean of water, ammonia and methane thousands of miles deep wrapped
around a rocky core.
Neptune
Neptune is a large planet that experiences extreme atmospheric weather conditions. After the
demotion of Pluto, it now holds the distinction of being further away from the sun than any other
planet in our solar system.
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Neptune is a large planet, nearly four times the size of Earth.
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Neptune suffers the most violent weather in our Solar System.
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Storms have been spotted swirling around its surface and freezing winds that blow about ten
times faster than hurricanes on Earth make it the windiest planet.
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Neptune is a large, water planet with a blue hydrogen-methane atmosphere and faint rings.
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Neptune is covered in thin wispy white clouds which stretch out around the planet.
Pluto
Don't forget Pluto! Sure it may not be officially recognized as a planet anymore but it's still there
and offers a lot of interesting facts and cool information.
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Pluto was the smallest and furthest planet from the Sun in our solar system, now it is not
even officially recognized as a planet!
In 2006 Pluto was demoted to the status of dwarf planet.
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Because it is so far away from the sun it is very cold with temperatures ranging form -235
Degrees Celsius to -210 Degrees Celsius.
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Pluto consists of rock with a very thick coating of ice.
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The atmosphere of Pluto consists of nitrogen with some carbon monoxide and methane.
Extra Information that is Good to Know!
Asteroid—Large space rocks covered with craters. Most asteroids orbit the Sun in the asteroid
"belt" located between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can be as small as a 200m wide to as big as
600km wide.
Comet—A mixture of dust and ice that failed to form a planet. Comets are often compared to “dirty
snowballs.” Comets orbit the Sun and become visible when the Sun's heat changes the comet's ice
into gas. The cores of comets can be as small as 3 km wide and as big as 80 km wide. The tails of gas
and dust coming off comets can stretch for millions of kilometers in the solar wind.
Constellation—One of 88 groups, or regions, of stars that forma pattern, or picture, in the sky.
Dwarf Planet—Objects orbiting the Sun that are big and heavy enough to resemble a planet, but
not quite big enough to have their own clear orbit around the sun. Example: Pluto
Galaxy—A grouping of billions of stars held together by gravity. Overall shapes of galaxies include
spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
Gas Planet—Planets made of mostly gas and lacking a clearly defined surface. The gas planets are
sometimes called the Jovian, or giant, planets. The gas planets in our solar system include Jupiter,
Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.
Inner Planet—The first four planets orbiting the Sun before the asteroid belt. The inner planets
include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Moon—A natural satellite orbiting a planet.
Orbit—The path followed by planets and other space objects as they revolve around objects that
have a larger gravity, like the Sun.
Outer Planet—Any of the planets that orbit the Sun outside the asteroid belt. Outer planets include
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (dwarf planet).
Rocky Planet—Any of the planets that has a solid surface. Rocky planets are also called terrestrial
planets. The rocky planets include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
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Star—Giant burning balls of hydrogen and helium gas that give off both light and heat. Red and
orange stars are cooler than hotter white or blue colored stars. The Sun, although large to everyone
on Earth, is considered to be an average star in size (about 1,392,000 km or 864,000 miles across).
Many dwarf stars are smaller than the Sun. Larger stars can be 100, 300, and even 1,000 times
larger than the Sun. Polaris(the North Star) is about 46 times bigger than the Sun. Sirius(the
brightest star in the northern hemisphere) is actually two stars(Sirius A and B)that are close
together. Sirius A is about 1.7 times the diameter of the Sun. Sirius B is much smaller, with a
diameter that is about 10% less than Earth's.
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