Download Quiz on Solar System study guide with key

Quiz on Solar System Study Guide
Quiz on Friday, December 9, 2011
Format:
• Fill in the blanks
• diagram completion
• short answer
• matching characteristics to solar system objects
The quiz will be in two parts:
Open Notes – “The Inner Planets” and “The Outer Planets” notes from text (table on front) and
video (fill-in-the-blanks on back), your table or Venn diagram comparing inner, outer, and all
planets. You may not use this study guide during the quiz. Practice quiz below.
You may choose to do this part without notes for some extra credit.
• Characteristics of individual planets.
• Characteristics of some major moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan, and Triton) mainly
from the video notes. Word bank will be provided on the quiz.
• Characteristics of inner planets, outer planets, and all planets. Some will also be in closed notes.
Closed Notes (Practice quiz will be available on Wednesday):
Solar System - “Solar System Scale with at Basketball-Sized Sun”, “Orbital Speeds”, your table or
Venn diagram on inner, outer, and all planets, “Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Meteors,
Meteorites” notes sheet, and “Comparing Solar System Objects” graphing activity (to be done).
• Know the parts of a comet and how the coma and tail are produced
• Know the relative lengths (longer/shorter/none) and direction (away from sun) of the tail at
different points in a comet’s orbit and why
• Know how the shape of the orbits of the planets (more circular) generally compare to the shape of
comets’ orbits (more elliptical)
• Know that a comet’s speed in its orbit is faster closer to the sun and slower farther from the sun
• Know that comets originate from either the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud
• Know definitions of and differences between comets, meteoroids, meteors, meteorites, and
asteroids
• Know characteristics of solar system families compared in your table or Venn diagram, in the
“Comparing Solar System Objects” graphing activity (particularly inner planets, outer planets, and
Kuiper belt objects), and “Solar System Scale with at Basketball-Sized Sun” (sizes and distances).
• Understand why Pluto’s status has changed (why it really is classified as a Kuiper Belt object)
Hazards of working in space -- “Spacesuit Science” and answers:
• Identify hazards or difficulties of working in space and describe specific ways that space suits and
astronauts deal with those problems (eg. lack of pressure, extreme temperatures, micrometeoroids,
weightlessness, dealing with bulky spacesuits and equipment)
Some practice for open notes part:
1. This is the only planet in our solar system that has liquid water at its surface that
covers 70% of the surface.
2. This planet has evidence of flowing water in the past, but has no liquid water now.
Its polar ice caps are made mostly of frozen water and carbon dioxide.
3. The second largest planet and the only planet with an average density that is less than
water’s density.
4. This is the fastest moving planet around our sun with a period of revolution of 88
Earth days (0.24 Earth years) and has the most cratered surface of any of the planets.
5. This planet’s atmosphere is 78% nitrogen and is the only atmosphere to have much
free oxygen (21%).
6. This planet’s Great Red Spot is a very long-lived storm that is two times the size of
the Earth.
7. This farthest planet had a storm call the Great Dark Spot and has a moon, Triton, that
revolves in the opposite direction and may be a captured planet.
8. This planet’s atmosphere is made mainly of carbon dioxide and has thick clouds
made of sulfuric acid that hides the surface from view.
9. This planet is red in color due to iron oxide (rust) in the soil and sometimes has huge
dust storms that can cover the whole planet.
10. This planet is the largest and most massive planet in our solar system, but has the
fastest rotation.
11. This planet has surface temperatures of 460 ˚C due to an extreme greenhouse effect
and has a surface pressure 90 times greater than Earth’s.
12. This planet’s axis is tilted about 90˚ so it looks like it is on its side and was the first
new planet to be discovered since ancient times.
13. This planet has virtually no atmosphere. This plus long day/night cycle causes
extreme temperature variations from day (430˚C) to night (-170˚C).
14. This planet has the largest volcano in the solar system called Olympus Mons and the
largest valley called Valles Marineris.
15. This planet is very similar to Uranus and was discovered beyond Uranus because
scientists realized that the orbit of Uranus is affected by another large planet.
16. This planet has the most visible rings and the major rings are divided into many
thinner ringlets.
Moons (word bank will be given on quiz):
17. This moon of Jupiter may have liquid water below a frozen, cracked surface. The
presence of liquid water may make it a place to look for the possibility of simple life.
18. This moon of Jupiter has many active volcanoes due to heating by gravitational pull
of Jupiter and 2 other moons.
19. This moon of Saturn is the only moon with a sizable atmosphere that is mainly
nitrogen and is 1.5 times as thick as Earth’s atmosphere.
20. This moon of Jupiter has the most cratered surface of any object in the solar system.
Comparisons of Inner Planets and Outer Planets. For each statement below identify whether it best
describes inner planets (IP), outer planets (OP) or all planets (ALL). You may use the abbreviations.
1. ________________________________ Are basically spherical.
2. ________________________________ Mainly made of gas and liquid hydrogen and helium.
3. ________________________________ Mainly made of rock with an iron core.
4. ________________________________ Are the farthest from the sun.
5. ________________________________ Have no rings and 0 to 2 moons.
6. ________________________________ Revolve around the Sun with elliptical orbits.
7. ________________________________ Are about 4 to 11 times the diameter of Earth.
8. ________________________________ Have craters.
9. ________________________________ Period of revolution is more than 2 Earth years.
10. _______________________________ Period of rotation is equal to or more than 1 Earth day.