Video Transcript
Which planet in the solar system is
furthest from the Sun? (A) Neptune, (B) Uranus, (C)
Saturn, (D) Mercury, or (E) Jupiter.
To answer this question, we first
need to understand what is meant by the term “solar system.” In the solar system, there is a
massive sphere of hot gas. This is the Sun. There are objects that orbit, or
move around, the Sun in roughly circular paths. There are eight planets that orbit
the Sun. These are not drawn to scale as
they are not at the correct distances or the correct sizes. We have only drawn them close
together in a neat line to make it easier to label and identify them.
The Sun and everything that orbits
it, including the eight planets, is what we mean when we say the solar system. So, the planet in the solar system
furthest from the Sun is this planet here, which is the eighth planet from the
Sun.
The first four planets in the solar
system are called the inner planets. The only inner planet in the
question is Mercury. It is also the closest planet to
the Sun. Hence, option (D), Mercury, cannot
be the correct answer. The next planet is Venus. Then our home, Earth, is the third
planet from the Sun. The last inner planet is Mars.
We have looked at the inner planets
in the solar system. Now, we will look at the next four
planets. These are called the outer
planets. All the remaining options are outer
planets. All of the outer planets are also
gas giants. Gas giants are planets that don’t
have a surface. They are not solid and instead are
made of different gases.
The first outer planet is the
largest planet in the solar system. It is the planet Jupiter. Hence, option (E) cannot be the
correct answer. The next planet is Saturn, or
option (C). Saturn is a planet with very
noticeable rings around it. These rings are made from ice and
rock and can even be seen through telescopes on Earth. We know that option (C), Saturn, is
not the correct answer.
The next outer planet is
Uranus. So, option (B) cannot be the
correct answer. That leaves option (A), Neptune,
which is indeed the last outer planet and the planet in the solar system, which is
furthest from the Sun. Hence, option (A) is the correct
answer.
