SEMI-DETAILED LESSON PLAN IN SCIENCE

I. OBJECTIVE:
At the end of the discussion, the students must be able to:
a. Compare and contrast comets, meteors, and asteroids.

II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Topic: Small Solar System Bodies/Characteristics of Comets, Meteors, and
Asteroids
B. Materials: Visual aids such as pictures; Powerpoint Presentation, Cardboards
C. Reference: Science 8 Learner’s Module pp.156-164

III. PROCEDURE

A. Preparation
 Classroom Management
 Prayer
 Greetings
 Checking of Attendance

B. Review

During your Grade 6, particularly during your fourth quarter lessons in Earth &
Space, you have learned about Solar System which focused on Planets. Surely, you
demonstrated an understanding of the characteristics of planets in the Solar system
that’s why you passed Science 6 and you are now in Science 8! Let’s all clap our hands
for that milestone achievement.

Now, try to recall them by answering the following questions.

(Students will be given a cardboard and a chalk.)

Direction: Read each statement carefully and choose the correct answer from the
options given. Your answer in each question will be written on the cardboard. It will be
raised in a count of five (5). Write the letter only.

1. It is a large celestial body that revolves around the sun in fixed orbits.
a. Universe c. Moon
b. Planet d. Dwarf Planet

2. How many planets are there in our Solar System?

a. 5 c. 7
b. 6 d. 8

3. It is the closest planet to the sun.

a. Venus c. Mercury
b. Earth d. Jupiter

4. It is the only planet that rotates clockwise and is also the hottest planet.
a. Mercury
b. Saturn
c. Earth
d. Venus
 5. It is the most massive planet in our solar system.
a. Neptune
b. Saturn
c. Jupiter
d. Venus

6. Ganymede is the largest moon in Jupiter.

a. True
b. False

7. The seventh planet from the sun is the Uranus.

a. True
b. False

8. Mt. Olympus is the tallest volcano in the Solar System sits on the surface of the
planet Mars.

a. True
b. False

9. The fourth planet from the sun is the Earth.

a. True
b. False

10. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun and is known most for its rings.
a. True
b. False

It is very clear that you understand well the previous lesson in your Grade 6. So, I think
we can now proceed to our topic today.

C. Motivation

Before we will go deeper to our discussion this morning, we will have a task first entitled
“Name It”. (Students will be divided into three groups and each group will be given an
Activity Sheet).

Direction: I will show you different pictures on screen. What you are going to is, you
will unscramble the words below the picture assigned to your group using the set of
letters found inside your Activity Sheet and you will name it. You are only given three
(3) minutes to do the task.

Picture 1:

MOCET
Picture 2:

ETERMO

Picture 3:

ETORSISAD

(Ask the students if they have an idea about the topic.)

D. Unlocking of Science Terms

Before we will proceed to our main topic this morning, let us define first the
following terms:

 Small Solar System Bodies. It is an object in the Solar System that is

neither a planet, a dwarf planet, nor a natural satellite.

 Asteroid Belt. It is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered

on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the
planets Jupiter and Mars.

 Meteoroid. These are space rocks that range in size from dust grains to
small asteroids. When meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere, or that of
another planet, at high speed and burn up, they're called meteors.

 Meteorite. A meteorite is a rock that originates in outer space and reaches

the surface of a planet or moon.

E. Activity Proper

(Students will be divided into three groups and each group will be given an Activity
Sheet).

Direction: Your task is to “Compare and Contrast the comets, meteors, and asteroids”
using the Venn Diagram illustrated in your Activity Sheet. You will identify each of their
similarities and differences from the statements found inside the box while listening to
the discussion. It will be checked three (3) minutes after the discussion. Write the letter
only. (Answers must be written on the diagram.)
 Meteors

Asteroids Comets

a. Made of ice
b. Have tails
c. Stay in space
d. Made of rock and metal
e. Fall into Earth’s atmosphere
f. Gravity pulls to Earth; they burn up as they fall

F. Analysis

(Checking of the activity and the similarities and differences of Comets, Meteors,
and Asteroids will be discussed.)

COMETS

 A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun,
warms and begins to release gases, a process called outgassing.

 This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These
phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind acting
upon the nucleus of the comet.

 Comets are small, fragile, and irregular bodies found in the solar system orbiting
the Sun in highly eccentric orbits. They are a mixture of water, dust particles,
and frozen gases that are non-volatile.

 Comets are also called dirty snowballs or ‘icy mudballs’. The word ‘comet’ comes
from the Greek word ‘kometes’, meaning ‘long-haired’.

When Comets are near the Sun and Active, they have several distinct parts:

1) Nucleus: It is the central solid part of the comet. The nucleus occupies the central
position, also known as the core. It consists mostly of ice, gases, and dust
particles covered with dark organic matter. The nucleus is often frozen, consisting
of carbon dioxide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, and methane. It is sometimes
composed of rocks.
 2) Coma: dense cloud of water, carbon dioxide and other neutral gases sublimed off
of the nucleus; The coma is the most visible portion of the comet surrounding the
nucleus.
3) Hydrogen Cloud: huge (millions of km in diameter) but very sparse envelope of
neutral hydrogen; It is the only invisible layer of the comet found surrounding
the coma.
4) Dust Tail: up to 10 million km long composed of smoke-sized dust particles
driven off the nucleus by escaping gases; this is the most prominent part of a
comet to the naked eye;
5) Ion Tail: up to 100 million km long composed of plasma and laced with rays and
streamers caused by interactions with the solar wind.

METEORS

 Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are pieces of dust and debris from space
that burn up in Earth's atmosphere, where they can create bright streaks across
the night sky.

 When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars)
at high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.

 When Earth passes through the dusty trail of a comet or asteroid's orbit, the
many streaks of light in the sky are known as a meteor shower.

ASTEROIDS

 Asteroids are rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be called
planets. They are also known as planetoids or minor planets.

 There are millions of asteroids, ranging in size from hundreds of miles to several
feet across. In total, the mass of all the asteroids is less than that of Earth's moon.
 Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. Although asteroids orbit the
sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.

 There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the
main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

 Asteroids hang out in other places, too. For example, some asteroids are found
in the orbital path of planets. This means that the asteroid and the planet follow
the same path around the sun.

(Students will be given three minutes to finalize their answers.)

To give you an additional information about the similarities and differences of comets,
meteors, and asteroids, I have here another set of information presented using the table.

COMETS ASTEROIDS METEORS

Made of ice Made of rock and metal Made of rock and metal

Have tails Stay in space Fall into Earth’s

atmosphere
Stay in space Orbit the sun Gravity pulls to Earth;
they burn up as they fall

Orbit the sun

(The students’ activity will be checked using the table above.)

G. Abstraction

Out of the concepts presented in the discussion, let us answer the following
questions.

Direction: Identify the following.

1. These are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun.

2. These are also known as shooting stars.
3. They are also known as planetoids or minor planets.
4. It is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun,
warms and begins to release gases.
5. These are rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be
called planets.
6. It is the central solid part of the comet.
7. These are also called dirty snowballs or ‘icy mudballs’.

(Students will answer the questions and they will be selected randomly.)

H. Application

Have you ever looked up at the cloudless night sky?

Did you notice the light streaks across the night sky?
What do you call those streaks of light?

It was commonly referred to as shooting stars or falling stars. Some of us believed that,
if we see a shooting star, we can make a wish and it will surely come true. It is also said
that it has magic which means “Good vibes and luck for anyone who happens to look at
it”.

After knowing everything about the Meteors, do you agree on the aforementioned belief?
Why or Why not?

So, these are some of the superstitious beliefs that most of us have when celestial bodies
passed by and interact with our planet.

I told you a while ago that the Asteroids only stay in space. What do you think will
happen if it reaches the Earth’s atmosphere?

Note: If the asteroid hits on land, there would be a huge amount of dust thrown up into
the atmosphere. If it hits in water, then there would be an increase in water vapor in
the atmosphere. This would result in an increase in rain resulting landslides and
mudslides.

IV. EVALUATION

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer from the words inside the box.
Write the letter only. Your answers will be written in ¼ sheet of paper.

a. Meteors e. Asteroids i. Meteorite

b. Planet f. Nuclear Fusion j. Dust Tail
c. Meteorite g. Meteor Shower k. Comet
d. Asteroid Belt h. Outgassing l. Coma

1. Asteroids originated from the _________ which is a region in between Mars and
Jupiter.
 2. ____________ are rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be
called planets.
3. ________ are also known as shooting stars
4. When Earth passes through the dusty trail of a comet or asteroid's orbit, the
many streaks of light in the sky are known as a ________________.
5. _______________ is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to
the Sun, warms and begins to release gases.
6. ________ are also known as planetoids or minor planets.
7. _______________ is the process in which comets release gas when passing close to
the sun.
8. _________ are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun.
9. The asteroid and the _______ follow the same path around the sun.
10. ____________ is the most prominent part of a comet to the naked eye.

V. ASSIGNMENT

Directions: In a long bond paper, draw the Solar System highlighting the location of the
comets, meteors, and asteroids. You will be graded using the Rubric below:

Criteria 4 3 2 1
Complete and Complete and Most parts are Some parts are Incomplete and
in Correct all are ordered present and present and ordered
Order correctly. are ordered are ordered incorrectly.
correctly. correctly.
Label All are labeled Most are Some are All are labeled
correctly. labeled labeled incorrectly.
correctly. correctly.
Artistic Quality The drawing is The drawing is The drawing The drawing
highly colorful somewhat has few artistic has no artistic
and artistic. colorful and qualities. qualities.
artistic.

VI. Remarks

M.L.:
I.D. :

Prepared by: JERAMAE A. SIPLAO, LPT