wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Solar System Test Review

Total questions: 65

Worksheet time: 34mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which planet is the closest planet to the sun?

a)

Mercury

b)

Venus

c)

Mars

d)

Pluto

2.
What is similar about all of the inner planets?
a)
rocky
b)
gasses
c)
many moons
d)
takes a long time to revolve around the sun
3.
Which planet is the largest?
a)
Jupiter
b)
Saturn
c)
Neptune
d)
Uranus
4.
Between which two planets is the asteroid belt located?
a)
Mercury & Venus
b)
Mars & Jupiter
c)
Uranus & Neptune
d)
Neptune & Pluto
5.
Which planet takes the least time to go around the sun?
a)
Mercury
b)
Earth
c)
Mars
d)
Jupiter
6.
Which planet is red because of iron oxide or rust?
a)
Venus
b)
Mars
c)
Jupiter
d)
Saturn
7.

Which planet's average temperature make it the hottest planet in the solar system?

a)

Mercury

b)

Venus

c)

Earth

d)

Mars

8.

The "Great Red Spot" is a storm on which planet?

a)

Earth

b)

Mars

c)

Jupiter

d)

Saturn

9.

Which planet rotates on its side?

a)

Venus

b)

Earth

c)

Saturn

d)

Uranus

10.

Why is Venus's atmosphere yellow?

a)

banannas

b)

sulfer

c)

nitrogen

d)

iron

11.

What do Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars all have in common?

a)

They are all very cold planets.

b)

They are considered terrestrial planets, that is rocky or have metals with hard surface.

c)

They are about the same size.

d)

They are considered gas giants

12.

The four inner planets are rocky and small. Which description best fits the next four outer planets?

a)

They are also rocky and small.

b)

They are very large and has no moons

c)

They are small and made of ice.

d)

They are very large, made of gases with no solid surface

13.

A cloud of gas and dust is called a....

a)

Solar System

b)

Nebula

c)

Galaxy

d)

Red Giant

14.
A force of attraction between any two objects is called _____________.
a)
static electricity 
b)
rotation
c)
gravity
d)
orbit
15.

What takes up 99.8% of the mass in the solar system?

a)

The moon

b)

The sun

c)

Jupiter

d)

Saturn

16.

This marks the boundary of our solar system.

a)

Asteroid Belt

b)

Kuiper Belt

c)

Comet Belt

d)

Oort Cloud

17.
Planets form by a process called...
a)
accretion
b)
dark matter interactions
c)
electromagnetic radiation
d)
sun-dropping
18.

The nebular hypothesis explains

a)

why the planets are spherical in shape.

b)

why the solar system is in a flattened disk.

c)

how the sun and planets formed from a cloud of gas and dust.

d)

all of the above.

19.

Because Pluto has not cleared its orbital path of debris, it was reclassified from a planet to a . . .

a)

asteroid.

b)

meteor.

c)

moon.

d)

dwarf planet.

20.

Which planet is closest to Earth in size?

a)

Mercury

b)

Uranus

c)

Venus

d)

Mars

21.

Which is NOT a rocky planet?

a)

Earth

b)

Neptune

c)

Mercury

d)

Mars

22.

How many moons does Mars have?

a)

0

b)

1

c)

2

d)

3

23.

The largest of the terrestrial planets is

a)

Jupiter

b)

Earth

c)

Mars

d)

Uranus

24.

According to scientists, the solar system formed from

a)

colliding planetesimals.

b)

rotating stars.

c)

colliding nebulae.

d)

a rotating disk of dust and gases.

25.

How does the diameter of the terrestrial and Jovian planets compare?

a)

The diameters of the Jovian planets are much larger.

b)

The diameters of the terrestrial planets are much larger.

c)

All but one of the terrestrial planets have diameters about equal to the diameters of the Jovian planets.

d)

All but one of the Jovian planets have diameters about-equal to the diameters of the terrestrial planets.

26.

What is the mass of Jupiter?

a)

2.5 times the mass of Earth

b)

twice the mass of all the terrestrial planets

c)

about half the mass of all the Jovian planets

d)

 2.5 times the mass of all the other planets and their moons

27.

The Kuiper Belt is a region beyond Neptune containing

a)

comets with short orbit periods.

b)

meteors smaller than 1 km across.

c)

a dense collection of meteoroids.

d)

comets with unusually large nuclei.

28.

Which of the following is NOT a source of meteoroids?

a)

rocky chunks from neighboring solar systems

b)

leftover interplanetary debris

c)

material from the asteroid belt

d)

the solid remains of comets

29.

Once a physical force disturbed the nebula, it began to _______ and __________ into a disk.

a)

spin and grow.

b)

spin and flatten.

c)

shake and shatter.

d)

shake and grow.

30.

As the shape of the nebula changed, material began to concentrate and heat up near the __________.

a)

sides.

b)

top.

c)

bottom.

d)

center.

31.

The concentrated, heated up material helped to form a "wannabe" star, or ____________.

a)

protostar.

b)

baby star.

c)

junior star.

d)

pre-star.

32.

Heat and pressure in our protostar reached limits needed for the process of _______, in which hydrogen atoms smash together to form helium.

a)

fission

b)

engine

c)

fusion

d)

matter transport

33.

As parts of what used to be a nebula cooled down, matter was able to condense and form distinct bodies called...

a)

baby planets.

b)

planetellas.

c)

planetesimals.

d)

pancakes.

34.

Rocky/metallic planetesimals made largely of iron and silicates would eventually become the ___________ planets.

a)

Jovian

b)

terrestrial

c)

extra-terrestrial

35.

Icey/gaseous planetesimals made largely of hydrogen would eventually become the ___________ planets.

a)

Jovian

b)

terrestrial

c)

extra-terrestrial

36.

What happened to the nebula after it collapsed and started spinning?

a)

It formed a sphere

b)

It flattened into a disc

c)

It evaporated into space

d)

It exploded

37.
What force acted on the massive nebula to collapse it and eventually form our sun?
a)
electrostatic force
b)
strong force
c)
 weak force
d)
gravity
38.
Nebula's are mixtures of gases and what?
a)
clouds
b)
stars
c)
tiny particles
d)
dust
39.
How many of Jupiter's moons are referred to as "Galilean moons"?
a)
two
b)
three
c)
four
d)
five
40.
The biggest of Jupiter's moons is _____
a)
Io
b)
Europa
c)
Ganymede
d)
Callisto
41.
Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar system, is even bigger than the planet _____
a)
Mercury
b)
Venus
c)
Mars
d)
Earth
42.
The surface of Callisto is mostly _____
a)
ice
b)
dust
c)
iron oxide
d)
volcanoes
43.
Which moon is the most volcanic object in the entire solar system?
a)
Io
b)
Europa
c)
Ganymede
d)
Callisto
44.
How does Europa, Jupiter's fourth biggest moon, compare in size to our own moon?
a)
Europa is much smaller
b)
Europa is slightly smaller
c)
Europa is slightly bigger
d)
Europa is much bigger
45.
Which moon has an entire ocean of water sealed up under a solid crust of ice?
a)
Io
b)
Europa
c)
Ganymede
d)
Callisto
46.
The interiors of Ganymede, Io, and Europa are kept warm by _____
a)
nuclear fision
b)
nuclear fusion
c)
tidal flexing
d)
volcanic activity
47.
Which moon likely has everything it needs to spawn life?
a)
Io
b)
Europa
c)
Ganymede
d)
Callisto
48.
All of Jupiter's moons _____
a)
are tidally locked to Jupiter
b)
have liquid water
c)
are covered partially in ice
d)
have volcanic activity
49.
The high temperatures on Venus' surface are a result of
a)
how close Venus is to the sun.
b)
the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere.
c)
its extremely long days.
d)
  the runaway greenhouse effect.
50.
What is the name of the highest and largest volcano in the solar system? 
a)
Vallis Marinaris
b)
Mount Everest
c)
Mount Vastichock
d)
Olympus Mons
51.
The main component of Mars’ atmosphere is     
a)
nitrogen
b)
oxygen
c)
carbon dioxide
d)
sulfuric acid
52.
What is the name of the mission that has studied Mercury?
a)
Curiosity
b)
MESSENGER 
c)
Voyager
d)
Apollo
53.

Which planet has the shortest year?

a)

Mars

b)

Mercury

c)

Earth

d)

Venus

54.

A day is longer than a year on this planet

a)

Jupiter

b)

Mars

c)

Venus

d)

Earth

55.

Which planet is best known for its easily visible series of belts and zones?

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

56.

Which planet has the lowest density?

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

57.

Which of the Jovian planets is brightest in the night sky?

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

58.

Which two elements make up the majority of a Jovian planet's atmosphere?

a)

Hydrogen and Methane

b)

Hydrogen and Nitrogen

c)

Oxygen and Nitrogen

d)

Hydrogen and Helium

59.

What is the name of Saturn's largest moon?

a)

Hyperion

b)

Titan

c)

Ganymede

d)

Hyperion

60.

Which of these is responsible for the variable way that we see Saturn’s rings on Earth?

a)

The Earth's relative position to the Sun.

b)

The brightness of Jupiter's reflection

c)

The tilt of Saturn on its axis.

d)

Saturn's retrograde rotation

61.

Titan has an extremely cold surface temperature (minus 290 oF). How can liquids exist there?

a)

water can exist on the surface if it contains salt

b)

liquids can only exist temporarily on the surface

c)

methane & ethane gases which have a low liquidation point

d)

only solids can exist at that temperature

62.

What other unique feature of Titan make it such an unusual moon?

a)

its proximity to Saturn itself

b)

a thick atmosphere that is at least twice that of Earth's

c)

a subsurface ocean of water ice

d)

solid water/ice surface

63.

A moon of Jupiter that has the potential to support alien life. It has geysers which means that it could have an underground liquid ocean that is salty.

a)

Ganymede

b)

Titan

c)

Europa

d)

Perseverance rover

64.

The largest moon of Saturn and is the only moon in our solar system that has an atmosphere. It has rivers, lakes, seas, and may contain oceans (the liquid in these places is not water, but another type of liquid).

a)

Ganymede

b)

Titan

c)

Europa

d)

Perseverance rover

65.

A moon of Jupiter. It is the largest moon in our solar system. It is the only moon to have a magnetic field (this would protect life from radiation). This moon could have ice and liquid water below its surface that could be an ocean.

a)

Ganymede

b)

Titan

c)

Europa

d)

Perseverance rover