KEY
Solar System Quiz - Study Guide
YOU NEED TO KNOW THE PLANETS IN ORDER!
Name the 4 Inner/Terrestrial Planets: MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS
Name the 4 Outer/Jovian Planets: JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE
WRITE THE NAME OF THE PLANET THAT CORRECTLY COMPLETES EACH STATEMENT.
1. MARS is the only planet besides Earth that scientists have found evidence that life once existed.
2. MERCURY has a surface that is heavily cratered like the moon.
3. The planet with the most visible ring system is SATURN.
4. VENUS is the hottest planet in the solar system.
5. A planet that is very hot because of the greenhouse effect is VENUS
6. The planet that is covered in red sand because of the rust in the soil isMARS.
7. The fastest planet that travels around the sun in 88 days is MERCURY.
8. The Great Red Spot is a continuous storm found on JUPITER
9. MERCURY has great extremes in temperature, 800oF during the day and –300oF at night.
10. NEPTUNE was discovered after astronomers predicted its position mathematically.
11. The planet with the lowest density that would float in water is SATURN.
12. URANUS’ axis of rotation is unusual because it is tipped completely on its side.
13. Mercury and VENUS are the only planets without a natural satellite.
14. Like Earth, MARS has polar ice caps.
15. Because of similar size and mass, VENUS is called Earth’s twin.
16. URANUS was not discovered until 1781 when more powerful telescopes became available.
17. What does Terrestrial mean? EARTH-LIKE
18. What does Jovian mean? JUPITER-LIKE
19. Describe the qualities the Terrestrial planets share(at least three):SMALL, SOLID/ROCKY/ DENSE, FEW MOONS, NO RINGS
20. Describe the qualities the Jovian planets share (at least four):BIG, GASEOUS, RINGS, MANY MOONS
21. What separates the inner from the outer planets? ASTEROID BELT
Asteroids, Meteors, Meteorites, or Meteoroids
22. More commonly known as “shooting stars,” METEORS are small pieces of rock that burn up after entering the earth’s atmosphere.
23. Most ASTEROIDS orbit the sun and lie between Mars and Jupiter.
24. Pieces of rock that actually hit Earth’s surface are METEORITES.
25. The leftover debris from a comet are called METEOROIDS.
26. METEOROIDS are small pieces of rock moving through space.
27. A METEOR shower takes place when the Earth passes through a stream of comet debris and 1-1000 of them can be seen from Earth per hour.
Comets
28. Namethe 3 parts of a comet: NUCLEUS, COMA, and TAIL
29. Where do comets come from? KUIPER BELT or OORT CLOUD
30. Which direction does a comet’s tail face? AWAY FROM THE SUN
31. Name the model of the solar system that is shown in the diagram. Who proposed this model?[ Key: E= Earth, P = Planet, S = Sun ]
HELIOCENTRIC - COPERNICUS
32. Name the model of the solar system that is shown in the diagram. Who proposed this model?[ Key: E= Earth, P = Planet, S = Sun ]
GEOCENTRIC – ARISTOTLE/PTOLEMY
33. In which type of model are the Sun, other stars, and the Moon in orbit around the Earth? [ Geo or Helio ]
34. Ancient astronomers, like Ptolemy, observed the sun moving across the sky and so believed thatEARTH was the center of the solar system.
35. What was Ptolemy’s explanation for retrograde motion? EPICYCLES
36. COPERNICUS is credited with proposing the heliocentric model of the solar system.