Planet order rescue
15 minutes · Paper · Pencil · Eight small paper name cards
Your investigation
- Write these mixed names on cards: Neptune, Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Mars, Saturn.
- Draw the Sun at the left of your page. Arrange the cards from nearest to farthest planet.
- Check the order, then add the Moon beside its planet and label the Sun as a star.
- Write “sizes and distances not to scale” beneath your map.
Think, draw, explain
Which two planets are Earth’s neighbors in the order?
Why should the Moon not become the ninth planet in this row?
Grown-up guide & possible answers
- The order is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Earth lies between Venus and Mars.
- The Moon orbits Earth and is a natural satellite. It should be drawn near Earth, not counted as an additional planet.