The light area on the left side of this photo is the Milky Way. What is the Milky Way?
-
A constellation.
No. The Milky Way contains many more stars than a constellation. -
A solar system.
No. A solar system only has one star, not a huge number of stars. -
A galaxy.
Yes! Our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy. When we lived in the city, the lights made it difficult to see the Milky Way. Now that we live far from city lights, it is amazingly easy to see. -
A universe.
No. The Milky Way is only a small part of the entire universe.
Click to see which state standards this question tests, and which of my videos, experiments, and other resources support that topic.
Florida
SC.5.E.5.1 Recognize that a galaxy consists of gas, dust, and many stars, including any objects orbiting the stars. Identify our home galaxy as the Milky Way.
| Review Space-2 | practice |
| Review Space-1 | practice |
| Review Space-10 | practice |
SC.8.E.5.3 Distinguish the hierarchical relationships between planets and other astronomical bodies relative to solar system, galaxy, and universe, including distance, size, and composition.
| Planets and Pennies | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Making a Scale Model of the Solar System | video, ClosedCaptions |
| How Far is That Planet? | text page |
| Review Space-3 | practice |
| Review Space-2 | practice |
| Review Space-10 | practice |
Utah
UT.6.IV.1.c Compare the size of the Solar System to the size of the Milky Way galaxy.
| Review Space-2 | practice |
| Review Space-10 | practice |
NGSS
MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
| Planets and Pennies | video, ClosedCaptions |
| Review Space-13 | quest |
| Review Space-10 | practice |