Solar System

[shazbang]

Anyone know a rhyme for teaching children the nine planets? something similar to 'every good boy deserves fruit' which is used to teach musical notes would be good.

[Quizmonster]

Here's one mnemonic...there are others.
My Very Easy Method: Just Set Up Nine Planets.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

[shazbang]

ooh thats a good one quizmonster, cheers for that!

[loobie]

The one we were taught was:

"My Vicar Eats My Jam Sandwiches Under Neath Pulpit". I have never forgotten it since!!!

Although I have to agree Quizmonster's is great!!

[jno]

excellent mnemonic Quizmonster! Is Pluto still a planet? What about the new one they've discovered?

[Clanad]

In addition to Q's offering for the names of the planets, here's a couple relating to their sizes:

Largest to smallest:
Jason Sat Under Ninety Eight Vicious Monster Munching Penguins

Smallest to largest:
Pete's Mother made Val's Elephant Nestle Under Sam's Jump

And... yes, Pluto is still considered a planet, while The newly discovered object 2003UB313 has a good chance of eventually being classified as a planet but that decision has not yet been made. It is contentious and it may be several years before a decision is made.
This new planet is the largest object found in orbit around the sun since the discovery of Neptune and its moon Triton in 1846. It is larger than Pluto, discovered in 1930. Like Pluto, the new planet is a member of the Kuiper belt, a swarm of icy bodies beyond Neptune in orbit around the sun. Until this discovery Pluto was frequently described as "the largest Kuiper belt object" in addition to being called a planet. Pluto is now the second largest Kuiper belt object, while this is the largest currently known.
Where is it? The new planet is the most distant object ever seen in orbit around the sun, even more distant than Sedna, the planetoid discovered almost 2 years ago. It is almost 10 billion miles from the sun and more than 3 times more distant than the next closest planet, Pluto and takes more than twice as long to orbit the sun as Pluto.
The orbit of the new planet is even more eccentric than that of Pluto. Pluto moves from 30 to 50 times the sun-earth distance over its 250 year orbit, while the new planet moves from 38 to 97 times the sun-earth distance over its 560 year orbit. (Thanks to: Mike Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory), and David Rabinowitz (Yale University).

[ketchupkid]

similar to one above...

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets

[mike b]

Good job Neptune's back in place - wasn't it actually further out than Pluto c.1985-95??

[rhona_j]

I know there's already loads to choose from but I am still proud of being able to remember them due to this little ditty - My Very Energetic Mother Jumped Superbly Under Normal Pressure! Isn't it amazing how some things just stick!

[paddy_36]

The mnemonic I used to learn the planets, although not nearly as good az Quizmonster's, is:

Motor Vehicles Experience Many Journeys, So you (U) Need Petrol.

[Narolines]

I agree QM's is pretty well unbeatable, but mine is Mother Veronica's Excellent Meals Just Satisfy Undernourished People. Mnemonics are great when they work, but very frustrating when they don't; I can still remember the mnemonic my geography teacher gave us for the main rivers of West Africa - Some Great Black Women Never Bend - but apart from the Niger I can't remember any of the rivers!

[Kingaroo]

My Very Extravagant Mother Just Sent Us Ninety Parakeets.

Every Good Boy Deserves FAVOR, not fruit, for heaven's sake.

[shazbang]

Actually Kingaroo, I was taught 'every good boy deserves fruit' by my music teacher at school and its the same mnemonic my dad was taught when he was at school. Maybe it's you that's wrong or maybe it depends on where you live.