Download Solar System Test

Solar System Test
Completion
Complete each statement.
1) Small bodies of ice and cosmic dust are called ____________________.
2) The glowing trails that result when meteoroids burn up in Earth’s atmosphere are called
____________________.
3) The cloud of gas and dust that formed our solar system is the ____________________.
4) A planet that appears to spin in a clockwise direction when viewed from above its North pole has
____________________.
5) The average distance between the sun and Earth is called a(n) _________________________.
6) A planet that appears to spin in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above its North Pole has
____________________.
7) When the shadow of one celestial body falls on another, a(n) ____________________ occurs.
8) Natural or artificial bodies that orbit larger celestial bodies such as planets are called
____________________.
9) The large, interstellar cloud of gas and dust that formed our solar system is called the
____________________.
10) Earth completes one ____________________ each year.
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
11) What happens during a total solar eclipse?
A) The shadow of Earth falls on the moon. B) A thin ring of the sun shows through. C) The moon
completely covers the sun. D) The sun completely covers the moon.
12) The inner planets are called terrestrial planets because
A) they are very dense and rocky. B) they have massive gas atmospheres. C) they can support life. D) they
are very hot.
13) What causes a high surface temperature on Venus?
A) the acid content of its atmosphere B) its fast period of rotation C) its retrograde spin on its axis D) the
density of its atmosphere
14) Because Jupiter’s interior is very hot,
A) it has few thunderstorms. B) its atmosphere is visible. C) it radiates more energy than it receives. D) its
atmosphere scatters light.
15) Which of the following planets is the least dense?
A) Neptune B) Saturn C) Uranus D) Mercury
16) Why is the planet Uranus considered a gas giant?
A) because it has a rocky surface B) because it is similar to Earth C) because it has a deep, massive
atmosphere D) because it is larger than Mercury and Venus
17) The matter at the center of the solar nebula became the
A) inner planets. B) moon. C) sun. D) supernova.
18) Why is it useful to study the smaller objects in the solar system?
A) They come from a region just beyond the orbit of Neptune. B) They orbit farther out than we send space
missions. C) They provide a spectacular light show when they burn up. D) They can help scientists learn
about the early history of the solar system.
19) Many scientists think that comets originate in
A) the Oort cloud. B) the asteroid belt. C) the orbit of Neptune. D) another solar system.
20) A spherical cloud of gas and dust that surrounds a comet’s nucleus is called a(n)
A) meteor. B) asteroid. C) coma. D) meteorite.
21) Which of the following describes a nebula?
A) a solar eclipse B) a nuclei C) a cloud in space D) a lunar rock
22) What is a small, rocky body that revolves around the sun called?
A) asteroid B) nebula C) planetary satellite D) meteor
23) What process gives the sun its energy?
A) waxing B) annular eclipses C) asteroid collisions D) nuclear fusion
24) Which of the following is a body that reaches Earth’s surface?
A) a meteorite B) a meteoroid C) an asteroid D) a comet
25) What are pieces of dust and debris from asteroids and comets called?
A) protons B) comas C) meteoroids D) nebulas
26) Which of the following describes the terrestrial planets?
A) hot, dry, and dense B) small, dense, and rocky C) large, light, and gaseous D) small, light, and solid
27) What is the present theory about the birth of the moon?
A) Earth’s gravity trapped the moon. B) A Mars-sized body collided with Earth. C) A moon-sized body
collided with Earth. D) A piece of Earth spontaneously broke off.
28) What caused the solar system to form?
A) the birth of a nearby star B) the collapse of the solar nebula C) nuclear fusion in the sun D) the growth
of the solar nebula
29) One way that scientists measure distances in space is by using
A) radar. B) astronomical units. C) prograde rotation. D) diameters.
30) What two opposing forces must stay balanced to keep a nebula from collapsing?
A) gravity and temperature B) inertia and pressure C) gravity and pressure D) temperature and inertia
31) Why are the inner planets called terrestrial planets?
A) because they are very hot B) because they are dense and rocky like Earth C) because most are gas giants
D) because they can support life
32) What is one way that gas giants differ from the terrestrial planets?
A) The gas giants are much smaller. B) The gas giants are made of rocks and ice. C) The atmospheres of
the gas giants are much thicker. D) The surfaces of gas giants are hard.
33) Scientists think that Earth’s moon formed
A) when a large asteroid was captured by Earth’s gravity. B) when a large body struck Earth. C) long
before Earth. D) when a body spun off from the sun.
34) What is it called when the sunlit fraction of the moon that we can see from Earth is getting larger?
A) waxing B) eclipse C) waning D) rotation
35) A body that reaches Earth’s surface without burning up completely is called
A) a meteor. B) an asteroid. C) a meteorite. D) a meteoroid.
The figure below shows the orbits of the planets around the sun.
36) Beyond what numbered orbit are the comets of the Kuiper belt found?
A) 5 B) 6 C) 7 D) 8
37) Between which two numbered orbits is the asteroid belt located?
A) 4 and 5 B) 5 and 6 C) 3 and 4 D) 6 and 7
38) Which of these planets do NOT have natural satellites?
A) Mars and Venus B) Jupiter and Mars C) Mercury and Venus D) Mars and Saturn
39) Which of these statements about the moons of our solar system is NOT true?
A) Many of them may be captured asteroids. B) All of the gas giants have multiple moons. C) Some orbit
their planets backwards. D) None are as large as the terrestrial planets.
40) Scientists measure distances within the solar system using
A) the speed of sound. B) the English system. C) the speed of light. D) parallax angles.