8.9A Readiness Test Universe

Identify the correct order of the planets.

• Mercury → Venus → Mars → Earth → Saturn → Jupiter → Neptune → Uranus

• Neptune → Uranus → Saturn → Jupiter → Earth → Mars → Venus → Mercury

• Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Jupiter → Saturn → Uranus → Neptune

• Mercury → Venus → Earth → Mars → Saturn → Jupiter → Neptune → Uranus

The image shows how Earth, like other planets in the solar system, revolves around the sun in an oval-shaped orbit. What keeps Earth and its neighboring planets from crashing into the sun?

• Newton’s first law states that objects in motion will resist changes in motion; therefore, Earth will crash into the sun.

• There is a constant gravitational force between the sun and Earth that keeps Earth in its orbit.

• Newton’s first law states that objects in motion will not resist changes in motion. This means Earth will never crash into the sun.

• There is a gravitational force that is not constant between the sun and Earth that keeps Earth in its orbit.

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Which statements are true about moons? Select all that apply.

• The solar system contains more than 200 moons.

• Moons are a planet’s natural satellite.

• Moons can help stabilize a planet’s orbit.

• All moons are the same distance away from the planets they orbit.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Astronomers notice a foreign object is close to Earth’s outermost atmosphere. The object is rocky and metallic. What type of object is shown in the image?

• Meteorite

• Asteroid

• Comet

• Meteor

What is the difference between an asteroid and a comet?

• A comet orbits the sun, and an asteroid does not.

• An asteroid is formed from leftovers from the formation of the solar system and a comet is not.

• When a comet comes near the sun it loses material while an asteroid typically remains solid.

• An asteroid orbits the sun in the Oort cloud while a comet orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter.

Which is an accurate model of how the sun, Earth, and the moon move relative to one another?

• Earth orbits the sun, and the moon orbits Earth.

• Earth and the sun both orbit the moon.

• The sun and the moon both orbit Earth.

• Earth and the moon both orbit the sun.

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Read the passage and answer the next two questions. NASA describes this region of the solar system as a spherical shell made of icy pieces of debris the size of mountains. Its location is beyond the Kuiper belt, and it is at the end of the solar system. What region of the solar system is described in the passage?

• Milky Way

• Oort Cloud

• Solar System

• Asteroid belt

Which object is composed of frozen debris from the formation of the solar system including dust, rock, and ice?

• An asteroid

• A meteorite

• A comet

• A star

Look at the image. Which region of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune is believed to contain many comets, asteroids, and other small bodies made largely of ice?

• Asteroid belt

• Oort cloud

• Kuiper belt

• Outer solar system

What force keeps the planets in the solar system in orbit?

• The gravity of the moons

• The gravity of the asteroid belt

• The gravity of Earth

• The gravity of the sun

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NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

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