Solar System
Inner Planets
Outer Planets
Moons
Smaller bod
100
The average distance between the Earth and the sun is 1____
What is astronomical unit
100
The four inner planets are called
Terrestrial Planets
100
How do the gas giants differ from the terrestrial planets?
What is...Gas giants are much larger, have deep massive atmospheres rather than hard rocky surfaces
100
All major planets in the solar system have natural satellites except______. Why?
What is...Venus and Mercury. Probably because they are located to close to the sun.
100
Where is the asteroid belt located
What is... Between Mars and Jupiter
200
A planet that has a _________ rotation spins in the opposite direction as the Earth. A planet that appears to spin counterclockwise when viewed from its north pole has a(n) _______.
What is Retrograde and Prograde
200
What is evidence that Mars once had liquid water?
What are...Mars has features that resemble dry riverbeds
200
______ had a storm system called "The Great Dark Spot" ______ has a storm system called "The Great Red Spot"
What is Neptune and Jupiter
200
This planet has the most moons in the solar system
What is Jupiter
200
_______ is referred to as a "Dirty Snowball" _______ is referred to a "Shooting Star"
What is Comet and Meteor
300
Which two planets travel in a retrograde rotation?
What is Uranus and Venus
300
What is the difference between a planets period of rotation and period of revolution?
What is... The period of rotation is how long a planet takes to complete a turn on its axis. The period of revolution is how long a planet takes to orbit the sun.
300
What makes up Saturn's rings?
Different sized icy particles
300
What is the current theory about how the moon originated?
What is...A large, Mars-sized object collided with Earth while the Earth was still forming. The collision was so violent that part of the Earth's mantle was blasted into orbit around Earth to form the moon.
300
Explain the difference between a Meteoroid, Meteor, a Meteorite?
What is... A meteoroid is a small, rocky body that revolves around the sun. A meteor is a bright streak of light caused by a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere and burning up due to friction. A meteorite is a meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere and strikes the ground.
400
Of the following, which is the largest body? a. the moon b. Pluto c. Mercury d. Ganymede
What is Ganymede
400
Explain why the surface temperature of Venus is higher than the surface temperatures of the other planets in our solar system.
What is...Venus has such a high surface temperature because of the severe greenhouse effect.
400
Explain why Jupiter radiates more energy into space than it receives from the sun.
What is....Jupiter radiates energy because its interior is very hot
400
How many moons does Jupiter have? What are the names of Jupiter's four largest moons?
What is...67 moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
400
Name the three types of meteorites.
What is... Stony meteorites, Metallic meteorites, Stony-iron meteorites
500
Venus and Jupiter are typically the brightest planets in the night sky. Venus is much smaller than Jupiter, but is similar in brightness because
What is...Because Venus is much closer to Earth than Jupiter is.
500
Why can liquid water not exist on the surface of Mars? a. The temperature is too high. b. Liquid water once existed there. c. The gravity of Mars is too weak. d. The atmospheric pressure is too low.
What is... d. The atmospheric pressure is too low.
500
The planet Uranus seems to be unable to hold its normal position in orbit. Why?
What is...Scientists speculate that the planet changed its usual position because of the gravitational pull of an undiscovered planet.
500
In what ways does Neptune's moon Triton differ from the other large moons that orbit the gas giants?
What is...Triton is a large moon that has a retrograde orbit around Neptune, a thin nitrogen atmosphere, and has ice geological activity that ejects nitrogen into its atmosphere.
500
Explain why a comets two tails often point in different directions
What is... A comet's ion tail is blown away from the sun by the solar wind, but its dust tail is not. So, a comet's two tails may point in different directions.