| Question | Answer |
| Do planets shine by their own light, or by reflected light? | reflected light |
| Which planet is closest to the sun? | Mercury |
| Venus has a dense atmosphere of _______ _______. | carbon dioxide |
| _____ is known as the "Red Planet." | Mars |
| Comets are made of _____ and _____. | ice
dust |
| Which planets are known as the "Jovian" planets? | Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune |
| Which planets are known as "terrestrial?" | Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars |
| There is a large belt of asteroids orbiting between which two planets? | Mars and Jupiter |
| A planet's axis is associated with its:
-rotation
-revolution | rotation |
| A planet's orbit is associated with its:
-rotation
-revolution | revolution |
| Why is the force of gravity lower on Mercury than it is on Earth? | Because Mercury's mass is less than Earth's. |
| The direction of rotation of ______ is backwards (or "retrograde") to the rotation of all other planets. | Venus |
| The mass and gravity of the Earth are used as a ________ of comparison with other planets. | standard |
| The two major components of the Earth's atmosphere are ______ and _______. | nitrogen
oxygen |
| Why is it unlikely that any living organism could survive on the Martian surface? ("Martian" means "Of Mars.") | Because of the ultraviolet radiation. |
| In size, Jupiter is the ________ planet in the solar system. | biggest |
| Galileo discovered ______ of Jupiter's sixteen satellites. | 4 |
| The rings of Saturn consist of particles of ___________. | ice |
| The satellites of Uranus revolve around the planet in planes almost _________ to its orbit. | perpendicular |
| Why was it possible to predict the location of the planet Neptune? | because of a detailed study of Uranus and how it was affected by the location of Neptune. |
| What is unique about Pluto's orbit around the sun?
_revolves opposite to all other planets
_ inclined more than other planets
_ most circular orbit
_ most elliptical orbit | _inclined more than other planets
_most elliptical orbit |
| The numerous asteroids may have once been __________ | a planet |
| Most comets travel around the ______ in elongated ______ orbits. | sun
elliptical |
| True or false: Comets have long, indefinite life spans. | False |
| Put the nine planets in order from the sun outwards.
Pluto
Mars
Uranus
Venus
Neptune
Mercury
Jupiter
Saturn
Earth | Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
Remember "My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas." |