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The Solar System Study Guide1

Total questions: 41

Worksheet time: 15mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Venus experiences a severe greenhouse effect.

a)

True

b)

False

2.

A meteor is a meteoroid that burns in the Earth's atmosphere.

a)

True

b)

False

3.

Long-term comets originate in an area called the Oort cloud.

a)

True

b)

False

4.

Outer planets are small, rocky planets with metal cores.

a)

True

b)

False

5.

The outer planets are called

a)
Gas giants
b)

dwarf planets

c)

satellites

d)

comets

6.

Venus and Mars both have atmospheres composed primarily of carbon dioxide. _______________

a)
True
b)

false

7.

A miniplanet is an object that orbits a star, has enough mass and gravity to be spherical in shape, and has similar objects orbiting around. _______________

a)
Planet
b)

dwarf planet

8.

_____ has colored clouds in bands of white, red, tan, and brown.

a)

Saturn

b)

Uranus

c)

Jupiter

d)

Neptune

9.

Two of the inner planets are ____.

a)

Venus and Saturn

b)

Mars and Venus

c)

Earth and Neptune

d)

Mercury and Jupiter

10.

_____ are pieces of rock that hit the surface of the moon or planet.

a)

Meteoroids

b)

Comets

c)

Meteor shower

d)

The Meteorites

11.

Evidence suggests that the _____ came from the Oort cloud beyond Pluto's orbit.

a)

Comets

b)

Asteroids

c)

Meteoroids

d)

The Meteorites

12.

_____ is the largest planet in the solar system, is the fifth planet in the sun, and has colorful clouds.

a)
Jupiter
b)

Saturn

c)

Neptune

d)

Uranus

13.

Mercury is the _____ planet of the Sun.

a)
One.
b)
Four
c)
Second
d)

first

14.

Why did the artists of these two illustrations feel it was necessary to depict the inner planets with the fragment removed?

a)

They thought it was prettier.

b)

The distance between planets in the outer part of the solar system is so great that drawing everything at the same scale makes it difficult to represent the inner planets.

c)

The distance between planets in the inner part of the solar system is so great that drawing everything at the same scale makes it difficult to represent the outer planets.

d)

It's the most striking representation.

15.

What is the basic unit of astronomy based on?

a)

The distance between Mercury, the nearest planet, and the sun.

b)

Earth, the planet where scientists live, is far from the sun.

c)

The distance that Neptune, the farthest planet, is far from the Sun.

d)

1,000,000,000 km

16.

The outer planets are composed primarily of which of the following?

a)

Hydrogen and oxygen

b)

Hydrogen and Helium

c)

Helium and oxygen

d)

Nitrogen and Helium

17.

Which of the following do all the outer planets have?

a)

Two months and ring systems

b)

Just a month

c)

only ring systems

d)

None of the above; Saturn has rings while others have moons.

18.

The astronomical unit is the average distance between ________________________.

a)

Mars and Jupiter

b)

Earth and the Sun

c)

Uranus and Neptune

d)

Earth and Mars

19.

The time it takes for a planet or other object to travel immediately around the Sun is its (a)   period.

20.

The time it takes for a planet or anything else to spin or orbit at once is its (a)   period.

21.

What are comets made of?

a)

frozen gases

b)

rock

c)

dust

d)

All of the answers are correct

22.

A comet's head is made up of a nucleus and its ________________.

a)

coma

b)

light

c)

tail

d)

orbit

23.

Long period comets come from the _____________.

a)

mountains of Alaska

b)

sun

c)

moon of Jupiter

d)

Oort Cloud

24.

Which of the following is the correct order for the terrestrial planets, closest to farthest from the sun?

a)

Mars, Venus, Earth, Mercury

b)

Mars, Earth, Venus Mercury

c)

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

d)

Venus, Earth, Mars, Mercury

25.

Which of these statements is true of Venus?

a)

Venus has two moons

b)

On Venus, a day is longer than a year.

c)

Venus is the fourth planet from the sun

d)

Venus is capable of supporting life

26.

What is a gas giant?

a)

a large, red star

b)

a cloud in space made of gas and dust

c)

a planet that has a deep, massive atmosphere

d)

a rock from space that reaches Earth's surface without burning up

27.

Even though it's Earth's twin, _______ has an atmosphere full of carbon dioxide and acid rain.

a)

Mercury

b)

Venus

c)

Earth

d)

Mars

28.

_______ looks a lot like our moon; rocky, full of craters, and no atmosphere

a)

Mercury

b)

Venus

c)

Earth

d)

Mars

29.

With water & oxygen, _______ is the only planet that supports life.

a)

Mercury

b)

Venus

c)

Earth

d)

Mars

30.

____________ has the strongest gravity of all the planets because it has the most mass.

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

31.

Because _________ is tilted on its side as it rotates around the sun, its seasons last 21 years .

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

32.

The rings of _____________ are 500,000 km in diameter and are made of small, icy bodies

a)

Jupiter

b)

Saturn

c)

Uranus

d)

Neptune

33.

True or False. The Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light years in diameter.

a)

True

b)

False

34.

A galaxy is made up of...

a)

planets and moons that revolve around one star.

b)

billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity.

c)

two stars that circle each other.

d)

all of the stars in the universe.

35.

What is the speed at which light travels in space?

a)

186,000 meters/sec

b)

5.5 miles/hour

c)

285,000 miles/hour

d)

186,000 miles/sec

36.

Which letter best represents the location of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy?

a)

A

b)

B

c)

C

d)

D

37.

A galaxy with "arms" and a dense center; our Milk Way is this type of galaxy

a)

Irregular Galaxy

b)

Elliptical Galaxy

c)

Spiral Galaxy

d)

Andromeda Galaxy

38.

The AU represents ...

a)

The largest separation of Earth from the Sun

b)

The average separation of Mars from the Sun

c)

the shortest separation of the Earth from the Sun

d)

The average separation of the Earth from the Sun

39.

The AU stands for ...

a)

Astrological Unit

b)

Astronomical University

c)

Astronomical Unit

40.

The unit of distance best suited for describing distances to stars in the night sky

a)

Kilometer

b)

AU

c)

Parsecs

d)

Light years

41.

The unit best used for describing distances in the Solar System

a)

Mega Kilometer

b)

AU

c)

Miles

d)

Light years