What object in the solar system is a frozen mass of ice and dust?
comet
200
What is the shape of the Earth's revolution around the sun and the moon's orbit around the Earth?
Elliptical (oval)
200
A solar flare is an explosive eruption of waves and particles in space. What are they similar to on earth?
volcanoes
200
What is a characteristic of the inner planets?
They have rocky surfaces.
200
Unlike the inner planets, the outer planets don't have a rocky surface. What is a characteristic of the outer planets?
They have rings of particles and moons orbiting them. They have a gaseous surface. They are much larger.
200
What is a shooting star?
Meteor.
Meteoroid is a small rock moving in space. If it hits Earth's atmosphere, it becomes a meteor. If it hits Earth's surface, it becomes meteorite.
300
As Earth revolves around the sun its tilt affects the amount of sunlight it receives in different areas. What does this cause?
Seasons
300
Why is Polaris called the North Star?
It is almost directly above the North Pole.
300
Which planet is most like Earth?
Mars
300
What effect does gravity have on the outer planets?
Sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit.
300
What is similar about planets and asteroids?
They both revolve around the sun
400
Why does the sun, stars, and moon appear to move from east to west across the sky?
Because Earth rotates from west to east (counter clockwise)
400
Which is bigger and brighter, our sun or Polaris?
Polaris is much larger and brighter than the sun. It is further away.
400
Which planet has almost no atmosphere, so it gets very hot during the day and very cold at night.
Mercury.
400
Which planet is farthest from the sun?
Neptune
400
What is a dwarf planet?
A large, round object that revolves around the sun, but has not cleared the region around its orbit.