Download Unit 8.4 Solar System

The solar system
1. a. The planets listed in order from largest to smallest are:
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars and
Mercury.
b. The planets listed in order from closest to the most distant
from the sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus and Neptune.
c. The planets listed in order from weakest to strong gravity
are: Mars, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, Earth, Saturn, Neptune and
Jupiter.
Planet
Mars
Mercury
Venus
Uranus
Earth
Saturn
Neptune
Jupiter
Gravity (times that on
earth)
0.376
O.38
0.9
0.903
1.0
1.064
1.135
2.525
2.The Planets known as gas giants are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.
3. Three spacecraft and the planets they visited:
a. Mariner 1 (Mercury)
b. Voyager 1 (Jupiter)
c. Venus Express (Venus)
4. a. Pluto lost its status as a planet in 2006.
b. Pluto is regarded as a dwarf planet because normal planets
have enough gravity to sweep their orbits clear of debris,
whereas the gravitational pull of dwarf planets is insufficient to
do so.
c. Two other dwarf planets are Eris and Ceres.
5. Terrestrial planets are planets composed primarily of metals
and silicates. These planets can be distinguished from gaseous
planets such as Jupiter.
6. There is less information about the outer planets than the inner
ones because they are further away from Earth and therefore
more difficult to study
7. Neptune, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Earth, Mercury.
8. a. The planets sometimes called ancient planets are: Mars
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Saturn and Jupiter. These planets are
called ancient because they can be seen in the night sky
without the aid of a telescope.
b. The modern planets are Neptune and Uranus.
9. a. The hottest planet in the solar system is Mercury.
b. The coldest planet is Uranus.
c. The planet with the a giant hurricane bigger than earth is
was Jupiter.