Download Solar System Quiz

Solar System Quiz
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. A rotating cloud of gas and dust from which our solar system formed is called a(n)
a. supernova
c. solar nebula
b. astronomical explosion
d. solar eclipse
2. If Earth was in Jupiter’s position, at which position would it be?
a. Position 4
c. Position 6
b. Position 5
d. Position 7
3. Which of these best describes the composition of a nebula such as the Crab Nebula?
a. Large asteroids
c. Ice crystals
b. Clouds of dust and gas
d. Planets and moons
4. Which characteristic do all the planets in our solar system have in common?
a. Angle of axial tilt
c. Percentages of atmospheric gases
b. Direction of revolution
d. Features of a rocky crust
5. Spacecraft traveling to Jupiter from Earth would most likely have to navigate through or around which natural
obstacle?
a. Uranus
c. Asteroid Belt
b. Neptune
d. Comet’s tail
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6. About 99% of all matter contained in the solar nebula now exists in
a. planets.
c. asteroids.
b. space.
d. the sun.
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7. Which of the following planets do scientists NOT consider a major planet?
a. Saturn
c. Pluto
b. Mercury
d. Neptune
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8. Who proposed a heliocentric model of the universe, in which the planets revolve at different speeds around
the sun?
a. Galileo
c. Copernicus
b. Kepler
d. Newton
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9. Which of the following is NOT true of all the inner planets?
a. They are made of solid rock.
c. They do not have rings.
b. They are called gas giants.
d. They have impact craters.
____ 10. A region of the solar system just beyond Neptune’s orbit, which contains small bodies made mostly of ice, is
called
a. the Kuiper belt.
c. an asteroid belt.
b. the outer atmosphere.
d. Quasar.
____ 11. Which of the following planets is similar to Uranus in terms of its size and mass?
a. Pluto
c. Saturn
b. Neptune
d. Jupiter
____ 12. Neptune’s Great Dark Spot is a(n)
a. giant canyon.
b. giant storm.
c. vast ocean.
d. area that never faces the sun.
____ 13. The least dense planet in the solar system is
a. Jupiter.
b. Neptune.
c. Saturn.
d. Uranus.
____ 14. The two inner planets most alike in size, mass, and density are
a. Mercury and Venus.
c. Venus and Earth.
b. Earth and Mars.
d. Mars and Mercury.
____ 15. Which of the following planets has seasons like Earth’s because its axis tilts at an almost identical angle?
a. Mercury
c. Pluto
b. Venus
d. Mars
____ 16. Which of the following separates the outer planets from the inner planets?
a. the asteroid belt
c. the Kuiper belt
b. the Great Red Spot
d. a large magnetic field
____ 17. Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a
a. vast canyon.
b. raging storm.
c. frozen ocean.
d. massive volcano.
____ 18. The majority of Jupiter is made up of
a. nitrogen and oxygen.
b. rock and water.
c. helium and oxygen.
d. hydrogen and helium.
____ 19. Uranus’s axis
a. moves in a predictable manner.
b. is perpendicular to its plane of orbit.
c. is almost parallel to its plane of orbit.
d. flips once per orbit around the sun.
____ 20. Small bodies that orbit planets are called
a. comets.
b. moons.
c. planetesimals.
d. protoplanets.
Matching
a. meteor
b. meteoroid
c. meteorite
d. comet
____ 21. a streak of light produced when a meteoroid falls toward Earth and burns up in the atmosphere
____ 22. interplanetary material in outer space falling towards Earth and enters the atmosphere
____ 23. a rock from space that hits earth’s surface
____ 24. small, icy body made of ice and rock that has a highly eccentric orbit around the sun
Other
25.
Solar System Quiz
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
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2.
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6.
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8.
9.
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11.
12.
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14.
15.
16.
17.
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19.
20.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
ANS:
OBJ:
C
B
B
B
C
D
1
C
2
C
1
B
3
A
3
B
2
B
2
C
2
C
3
D
2
A
1
B
2
D
3
C
1
B
2
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
1
1
1
1
1
1
DIF: 1
REF: 1
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 1
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 2
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 3
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 2
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 3
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 3
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 4
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 1
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 1
A
B
C
D
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
PTS:
MATCHING
21.
22.
23.
24.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
1
1
1
1
OTHER
25. ANS:
Inner: mainly solid material, few or no moons, shorter orbital year
Outer: mainly gases, many moons, longer orbital year
PTS: 1