Download Astronomy Name ______KEY Solar System Objects Quiz Study

Astronomy
Name _____________KEY____________________
Solar System Objects Quiz Study Guide
1. Solar System Formation
1. When? 4.5 billion years ago
2. What force caused solar nebula to condense? gravity
3. How many “planets” did early solar system have? 20+
4. What evidence is there for the solar nebula theory? At least 3 pieces of evidence
All planets orbit counter clockwise (CCW); All planets orbit on the ecliptic plane;
Axis of rotation (for most planets) is perpendicular to ecliptic
2. Vocabulary
1. Planet spherical; orbit a star; cleared its own orbital path
2. Meteor bright streak of light seen briefly (for seconds) as burns up in atmosphere
3. Meteoroid small piece of rock/metal floating in space
4. Meteorite rock/metal found on Earth that came from space
5. Asteroid large piece of rock/metal floating in space
6. Comet dirty snowball (ice and dust) orbiting Sun in very elliptical orbit; can be seen
for weeks or months
3. Solar System Facts to know:
1. Order of planets from Sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune (use mneumonic: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.)
2. Why is Pluto NOT considered a planet? See definition for planet (has NOT cleared its
orbital path –has 5 moons; orbits in very elliptical path, 17o off the ecliptic
3. Name 3 characteristics of the terrestrial planets. Rocky, dense, short periods, small
4. Name 3 characteristics of the jovian planets. Large, Gaseous, ringed, long periods
5. What is the Asteroid Belt, and where is it? Thousands of rocks and metal bodies
orbiting mostly between Mars and Jupiter
6. What is Kuiper Belt, and where is it? Rocks, icy bodies orbiting beyond Neptune
(35-50 AU)
7. What is the Oort Cloud, and where is it? Mostly icy bodies orbiting from 50 AU to
50,000 AU; suspected HOME of the comets
4. Other Objects
1. Draw the tails, if any, on the comet at locations A, B and C. Include size and direction.
C
A
B
2. Where are the best places to find meteorites? Why there?
Antarctica or desert areas; no vegetation or rain to hide or erode them
3. Describe at least THREE characteristics of meteorites?
Magnetic, dense, irregular surface, usually small size, irregular shape
4. The largest asteroid is _Ceres__.
5. How are comets named? After their discoverer(s)
6. How are meteorites named? After places they are found
5. Planet trivia match
1. Planet most like our Moon ___Mercury_____
2. Planet whose day is longer than its year ____Venus______
3. Planet with the largest volcano/mountain, largest canyon _______Mars____
4. Largest planet in solar system ___Jupiter______
5. Planet that would float in a bathtub (least dense) ____Saturn____
6. Gas planet tilted over 900 to ecliptic _____Uranus______
7. Blue gas planet with biggest wind storms _____Neptune______
8. Only planet with life forms on it _____Earth_______
9. Also known as Earth’s twin ______Venus_______
10. Will be “visited” in 2015 by New Horizons _____Pluto_______
11. Has a hurricane that has lasted for centuries (Red Spot) ___Jupiter___
12. Soil contains iron oxide (rust) _____Mars_________
Terrestrial Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Jovian Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
Name 2 dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea
Current Mission on Mars: Curiosity Rover
Current Mission around Mercury: Messenger
Current Mission around Saturn: Cassini
Current Mission to Pluto: New Horizons
Moons suspected to have water under ice: Enceladus (Saturn), Europa (Jupiter)
Most actively volcanic object: Io
Largest moon in Solar System: Ganymede
Moon with a thick nitrogen gas atmosphere and liquid methane lakes: Titan
Captured Asteroids: Phobos and Deimos (around Mars)