Unit 1 Review - Solar System and Space Exploration

Which object do these characteristics best describe?
- Made up of ice and dust
- Orbit the sun
- Form tails when they pass closer to the sun

• Asteroid
• Meteor
• Comet
• Moon

Which object do these characteristics best describe?
- Dense, composed mostly of rock and metal
- Located between the sun and the asteroid belt
- Rotate slowly
- No rings, few moons

• Moons
• Inner planets
• Outer planets
• Comets

Which characteristic of the sun keeps our solar system's planets orbiting the sun?

• high temperature
• absolute luminosity
• gaseous composition
• gravitational pull

What is the main function of the ozone layer?

• Enables us to have drinking water
• Protects Earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation
• Creates heat for the Earth
• Enables us to have air to breathe

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of Earth that allows life to exist?

• Presence and composition of an atmosphere
• Year-long revolution around the sun
• Liquid water
• Temperature range conducive to life

A characteristic of Earth that allows life to exist is its atmosphere that contains water vapor and carbon dioxide.  These greenhouse gases are important because they - 

• protect against magnetic particles
• create Earth's gravitational field
• trap thermal energy in the atmosphere
• are substances animals need to breathe

Dense, terrestrial planets composed mostly of rock and metal are known as the _____________.

• Inner planets
• Outer planets

Which of the following planets is an inner planet?

• Jupiter
• Venus
• Io
• Neptune

The large, gaseous planets are also known as ____________.

• Inner planets
• Outer planets

Which of the following is an outer planet?

• Mercury
• Venus
• Neptune
• Ganymede