Download http://tinyurl.com/jndtfoq

Science – Hour _____
Date:__________ Name:_________________
The Terrestrial Planets
Science Fusion Lesson Guide Packet
Directions: Go to the following website. Follow
the instructions on the slides to complete this handout.
http://tinyurl.com/jndtfoq
Slide 1
1. Click on each vocab word and write its definition.
terrestrial planet: ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
astronomical unit:___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Slide 2
2. Earth to the sun is about ______ million miles.
3. What is significant about the length of one astronomical unit?
___________________________________________________________________
4. Why do we measure in AUs rather than miles or kilometers when in the solar
system?
___________________________________________________________________
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Slide 3
5. List the 4 terrestrial planets of the solar system, which are _______________ to
the sun.
_______________
_______________ ________________ ________________
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6. These planets have a ____________ composition similar to ________________.
7. True or False (circle) Mercury is smaller than Earth.
8. Mercury orbits the sun every _______ days.
9. What is special about Mercury’s temperature?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
10. True or False (circle) Venus is cooler than Earth and takes 225 days to orbit
the sun.
11. True or False (circle) Mars is smaller than Earth.
12. Compare the orbit of Mars to that of Earth.
___________________________________________________________________
Slide 4
13. How many moons does each inner planet have?
Mercury - _____
Mars - _____
Venus - _____
Earth - ______
14. What is a lunar day? _______________________________________________
15. Why does the same side of the moon always face Earth?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
16. Describe the size of Mars’ moons.
___________________________________________________________________
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Slide 5
17. Name the inner solar system planets from largest to smallest.
_______________
_______________ ________________ ________________
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18. The inner solar system planets are denser than the gas giant planets. Why?
___________________________________________________________________
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19. Why does Earth have a greater surface gravity than Venus?
___________________________________________________________________
Slide 6
20. Which is the hottest inner planet? _______________ The coolest? ___________
21. Mercury is really hot in the day and really cold in the night. Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
22. What are the 2 main elements in Earth’s atmosphere? ____________________
23. What about Venus’s atmosphere makes Venus so hot? Why?
___________________________________________________________________
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Slide 7
24. True or False (circle) Time of rotation is how long it takes something to get all
the way around the sun one time.
25. How is it possible for Venus to have a negative period of rotation?
___________________________________________________________________
26. Which inner planet tilts the least on its axis? ___________________
Slide 8
27. True or False (circle) The inner planets have different speeds of rotation but
the same speed of revolution.
Slide 9
28. What is an astronomical unit? ________________________________________
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Slide 10
29. What properties combine to make Mars colder than Earth?
___________________________________________________________________
Slide 11
30. After studying the planets of the inner solar system, do you think the gas giant
planets will be similar or different? Explain why or how.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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Slide 12
31. Fix each sentence by crossing out, changing, or adding words as necessary.
The gas giant planets are the planets nearest to the sun.
The terrestrial planets are dense and have gaseous surfaces.
The properties of the terrestrial planets are all pretty much the same.
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