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Unit 7 Study Guide
1. Which shape describes a planet’s orbit? Circular
2. Why is Venus hotter than Mercury? The atmosphere traps solar energy
3. How are the out planets similar? They are known as the “Gas Giants” because they are made of gases
found on Earth
4. What is Pluto known as? Dwarf Planet
5. What is an astronomical unit? A unit of measure to measure distances in the solar system is the
distance from the Earth to the Sun.
6. What is an asteroid? Chunks of rock and ice
7. What are comets? Rocks, ice and dust
8. What are meteors? A streak of light made by a glowing meteoroid
9. What is the largest object in the solar system? The sun
10. Which way does Venus rotate? North and south (like rolling a ball)
11. What is the hottest planet in the solar system? Venus
12. What is Earth’s atmosphere made of? Water vapor and other gases
13. What features do the inner planets share? They are made of rock and metal and have a solid surface
and closer to the sun.
14. What is the Great Red Spot and how long has it lasted? A storm on the surface of Jupiter and has lasted
for about 330 years that we know of.
15. What are the 4 largest moons of Jupiter? Io, Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa
16. What is Saturn made of and how many rings does it have? Hydrogen and helium with 7 rings
17. Compared to the inner planets why are outer planets more likely to have rings around them?
Gravitational forces which apply pressure on the mantel
18. What is the Hertzsprung Russell diagram? A graph that shows increasing luminosity of stars on the yaxis and decreasing temperatures of stars on the x-axis
19. What are the coolest starts and hottest stars? Red and blue
20. Describe the main sequence, giants, supergiants and white dwarfs?
Main sequence stars are stars that are fusing hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores. Most of
the stars in the universe are main sequence stars
Red Giants are very large stars of high luminosity and low surface temperature. Red giants are thought to be in a
late stage of evolution when no hydrogen remains in the core to fuel nuclear fusion.
A red supergiant is a low-mass star of great size and luminosity that has a relatively low surface temperature,
giving it a reddish or orange hue.
A white dwarf is a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet. A white dwarf is formed when a lowmass star has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel and lost its outer layers as a planetary nebula.