Download Directed Reading B - Vista Middle School

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Class
Date
Skills Worksheet
Directed Reading B
Section: The Inner Planets (pp. 480–485)
______ 1. Why are the inner planets called terrestrial planets?
a. because they are very hot
b. because they are very dense and rocky
c. because most are gas giants
d. because they can support life
2. Name three ways the inner planets differ from the outer planets.
MERCURY: CLOSEST TO THE SUN
3. What is Mercury’s high density due to?
4. Why does Mercury’s day last almost 59 Earth days?
Match the correct definition with the correct term. Write the letter in the space
provided.
______ 5. the time that a planet takes to go around the
sun once
______ 6. the motion of a body orbiting another body
in space
a. period of rotation
b. period of revolution
c. year
d. revolution
______ 7. the amount of time that an object takes to
rotate once
______ 8. the time that an object takes to complete
one orbit
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Our Solar System
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Directed Reading B continued
VENUS: EARTH’S TWIN?
______ 9. Why does the sun rise in the west and set in the east on Venus?
a. because Venus has a retrograde rotation
b. because Venus has a prograde rotation
c. because the sun rotates in the same direction
d. because Earth has a prograde rotation
______ 10. Which of the terrestrial planets has the densest atmosphere?
a. Earth
b. Mars
c. Mercury
d. Venus
______ 11. What is the atmosphere of Venus composed of?
a. mainly oxygen and nitrogen
b. mainly carbon dioxide and acid
c. mainly hydrogen and helium
d. mainly water vapor and acids
______ 12. What causes the high surface temperature on Venus?
a. the nitrogen in its atmosphere
b. the low atmospheric pressure
c. the density of its atmosphere
d. the water in its atmosphere
______ 13. What technology did the Magellan spacecraft use to map Venus?
a. geological surveys
b. video
c. radar
d. sonar
14. A planet with a(n)
rotation appears to spin
counterclockwise as seen from above its North Pole.
15. A planet with a(n)
rotation appears to spin
clockwise as seen from above its North Pole.
16. What four features did the Magellan’s maps reveal on the surface of Venus?
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Holt California Physical Science
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Our Solar System
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Directed Reading B continued
EARTH: AN OASIS IN SPACE
17. What two factors are required for life as we know it to exist on a planet?
18. List five interrelated aspects of Earth’s global system that are studied by
NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise program.
MARS: THE RED PLANET
______ 19. How does the air pressure on Mars compare with that on Earth?
a. The air pressure is about the same as on Earth.
b. The air pressure is greater on Mars.
c. The air pressure is lower on Mars.
d. The air pressure is lower on Earth.
20. Give two reasons why Mars is a cold planet.
21. What kinds of features suggest that there was once liquid water on Mars?
22. Besides the polar icecaps, where may some of the lost water on Mars be
found?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt California Physical Science
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Our Solar System
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Directed Reading B continued
23. What is the name of the largest mountain in the solar system?
24. Why did Olympus Mons grow so high?
25. What did the rovers Spirit and Opportunity find on Mars in 2004?
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt California Physical Science
29
Our Solar System