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 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
4. 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
5. Scientists believe there are several basic requirements needed for life to exist on a planet. These include the
presence of liquid water and a source of energy. What characteristic of Earth allows water to exist as a liquid?
a. the tilt of the planet on its axis
c. the orbit of the planet around the sun
b. the rotation of the planet on its axis
d. the distance between the planet and the
Sun
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6. Which of the following planets do scientists NOT consider a major planet?
a. Saturn
c. Pluto
b. Mercury
d. Neptune
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7. Small bodies that orbit planets are called
a. comets.
b. moons.
c. planetesimals.
d. protoplanets.
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8. The relationship between the average distance of a planet from the sun and the planet’s orbital period is
described by the
a. law of equal areas.
c. law of ellipses.
b. law of motion.
d. law of periods.
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9. Which of the following laws describes the speed at which objects travel at different points in their orbits?
a. law of equal areas
c. law of eccentricity
b. law of ellipses
d. law of periods
____ 10. The law that describes how a planet orbits the sun is called the
a. law of orbital periods.
c. law of ellipses.
b. law of equal areas.
d. law of periods.
____ 11. Which of the following is NOT true of the planet Pluto?
a. It has methane icecaps.
c. It is not a gas giant.
b. It orbits the sun in an ellipse.
d. It is a large planet.
____ 12. The least dense planet in the solar system is
a. Jupiter.
b. Neptune.
c. Saturn.
d. Uranus.
____ 13. The right combination of temperature, water, and oxygen
a. affects Neptune’s orbit.
c. supports life on Earth.
b. causes gas giants to form.
d. results in storms on Jupiter.
____ 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. Many comets in the Kuiper belt are the result of
a. meteor showers.
c. collisions between large objects.
b. inertia.
d. Saturn’s gravitational pull.
____ 16. A spherical region that surrounds the solar system and that contains billions of comets is the
a. Kuiper belt.
c. asteroid belt.
b. Oort cloud.
d. Charon’s orbit.
____ 17. Where is the Kuiper belt located?
a. beyond Neptune’s orbit
b. inside Saturn’s rings
c. beyond our solar system
d. outside Titan’s atmosphere
____ 18. Which of the following planets has seasons like Earth’s because its axis tilts at an almost identical angle?
a. Venus
c. Pluto
b. Mercury
d. Mars
____ 19. About 99% of all matter contained in the solar nebula now exists in
a. space.
c. asteroids.
b. planets.
d. the sun.
____ 20. Which of the following planets is similar to Uranus in terms of its size and mass?
a. Neptune
c. Saturn
b. Jupiter
d. Pluto
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