Download Inner Outer Planets Quiz

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Generation Date: 11/06/2011
Generated By: Garrison Hall
Solar System
1. The _______ is the layer of the Sun that emits the visible light we see. This layer
can be considered as the lowermost part of the Sun's atmosphere.
A. photosphere
B. prominence
C. solar flare
D. corona
2. Which of the following is true about the solar system?
A. Earth is the only planet that has a moon.
B. All of the planets have moons.
C. Most of the planets have moons.
D. None of the planets have moons.
3. A _______ is a sudden streak of light caused by friction between the Earth's
atmosphere and an incoming piece of solar system debris.
A. meteorologist
B. meteorite
C. meteoroid
D. meteor
4. Another name for the inner planets is ________, which describes their physical
characteristics.
A. the large planets
B. the cold planets
C. the gas giants
D. the terrestrial planets
5. There are eight planets in the solar system. Each planet is different from the
others, but they all share some common characteristics.
Which of the following is a similarity of all planets?
A. All planets orbit a star.
B. All planets have liquid water.
C. All planets have organisms on them.
D. All planets are the same size.
6. _______ are huge loops or sheets of gas erupting from active regions around
sunspots. These features arch into the Sun's atmosphere and connect pairs of
sunspots.
A. Photospheres
B. Prominences
C. Coronae
D. Solar flares
7. The eight planets of the solar system can be divided into two groups, as shown in
the table below.
Group 1
Group 2
larger planets
smaller planets
made mostly of gases
made mostly of rock and iron
rings present
no rings present
several moons per planet
0 - 2 moons per planet
Which of the following correctly identifies the planets in these groups?
A. Group 2 is the two outer planets, and, Group 1 is the six inner planets.
B. Group 1 is the four inner planets, and Group 2 is the four outer planets.
C. Group 2 is the six outer planets, and Group 1 is the two inner planets.
D. Group 1 is the four outer planets, and Group 2 is the four inner planets.
8. Look at the table below, and answer the question that follows.
Inner Planets
Outer Planets
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn
Earth
Uranus
Mars
Neptune
Based on the planet group it is in, Jupiter
A. is large and made mostly of gases.
B. does not have rings around it.
C. is small and made mostly of rock.
D. has no moons.
9. During a total solar eclipse, when the Sun's _______ is blocked by the Moon, the
Sun's _______ can be seen as a white halo.
A. flare; prominence
B. prominence; flare
C. photosphere; corona
D. corona; photosphere
10. The corona
A. is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere.
B. is the Sun's deepest interior layer.
C. emits the Sun's visible light that we see.
D. is a dark spot on the Sun's photosphere.
11. Moons in the solar system commonly have depressions on their surfaces that
formed from impacts with other solar system bodies, such as asteroids and
meteoroids. These depressions are called _______.
A. rings
B. meteors
C. volcanoes
D. craters
12. Sunspots are located
A. on the Sun's photosphere.
B. at the center of the Sun.
C. above the Sun's corona.
D. on clouds next to the Sun.
13. Which of the following statements about asteroids is true?
A. The majority of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the space between Mars
and Jupiter.
B. The majority of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the space between
Jupiter and Saturn.
C. The majority of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the space between
Earth and Mars.
D. The asteroids in our solar system are spread out uniformly and are not grouped in any
particular orbit.
14.
This is a picture of a comet. What is the comet's tail made of?
A. flames burning on the comet
B. light reflecting off of vaporizing ice and dust
C. clouds from Earth that the comet is passing through
D. rays of light shining from the comet
15. A _______ revolves around its _______.
A. planet; moons
B. moon; planet
C. ring; moons
D. moon; ring
16. Which of the following statements about asteroids is true?
A. Asteroids vary greatly in size and are mostly made up of frozen water and gas.
B. Asteroids are all very large and are mostly made up of frozen water and gas.
C. Asteroids vary greatly in size and are mostly made up of stone, iron and nickel.
D. Asteroids are all very large and are mostly made up of stone, iron and nickel.
17. Which of the following statements about comets is true?
A. Comets are mostly made up of rock. They are usually very easy to see but as they
approach the Sun, the rock condenses and becomes much harder to see.
B. Comets are mostly made up of dust particles, frozen water and frozen gases. They are
usually very easy to see but as they approach the Sun, these particles condense and
become much harder to see.
C. Comets are mostly made up of dust particles, frozen water and frozen gases. They are
usually very hard to see, but as they approach the Sun, these particles heat up and
become much easier to see.
D. Comets are mostly made up of rock. They are usually very hard to see, but as they
approach the Sun, the rock heats up and becomes much easier to see.
18. Sunspots are _______ and _______ than the gases surrounding them.
A. brighter; cooler
B. brighter; hotter
C. darker; hotter
D. darker; cooler
19. _______ are violent explosions from sunspots in which gas and tremendous
amounts of energy are blasted into space away from the Sun.
A. Photospheres
B. Solar flares
C. Coronae
D. Prominences
20. A piece of solar system debris that passes through Earth's atmosphere and
strikes the ground is a/an _______.
A. asteroid
B. meteorite
C. meteoroid
D. meteor
Answers
1. A
2. C
3. D
4. D
5. A
6. B
7. D
8. A
9. C
10. A
11. D
12. A
13. A
14. B
15. B
16. C
17. C
18. D
19. B
20. B
Explanations
1. The photosphere is the layer of the Sun that emits the visible light we see. Below the
photosphere are the Sun's interior layers. Above the photosphere are other atmospheric
layers. All layers of the Sun are made of gases.
2. Most of the planets have moons.
Earth has one moon, Mars has two moons, and each of the outer planets has several
moons. Mercury and Venus are the only two planets that do not have moons.
3. A meteor is a sudden streak of light caused by friction between the Earth's atmosphere
and an incoming piece of solar system debris. The incoming debris could be an asteroid,
a comet, or a meteoroid. Most meteors are caused by very small meteoroids entering
the atmosphere.
4. The inner planets are also known as the terrestrial planets because they are solid,
rocky planets.
The gas giants is another name for the outer planets. As the name implies, these
planets are very large and made mostly of gas.
5. All eight planets in the solar system orbit a star, which is the Sun.
The Earth is the only planet known to have liquid water or organisms on it. Also, the
planets have many different sizes. The smallest planet, Mercury, has a diameter of
4,880 km. The largest planet, Jupiter, has a diameter of about 143,000 km.
6. Prominences are huge loops or sheets of gas erupting from active regions around
sunspots. These features arch into the Sun's atmosphere and connect pairs of sunspots.
Solar prominences can last from hours to weeks, and their frequency and magnitudes
are affected by sunspot cycles.
7. The planets of the solar system can be divided evenly into a group of four inner
planets and a group of four outer planets.
Group 1 in the table describes the outer planets, which are larger, made mostly of
gases, have rings, and have several moons per planet.
Group 2 in the table describes the inner planets, which are smaller, made of solid
materials, have no rings, and have between 0 and 2 moons per planet.
8. The planet Jupiter is large and made mostly of gases.
The inner planets have no rings and are small, near the Sun, made mostly of rock, and
have 0-2 moons each. The outer planets have rings and are larger, farther from the
Sun, made mostly of gases, and have several moons each.
9. During a total solar eclipse, when the Sun's photosphere is blocked by the Moon, the
Sun's corona can be seen as a white halo. Most other times, the light from the
photosphere is so bright that the corona cannot be seen.
10. The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere. This layer has an
extremely low density and usually cannot be seen due to the brightness of the
photosphere.
11. Impact craters are depressions on the surface of a solar system body that form from
impacts with other solar system bodies, such as asteroids and meteoroids. All of the
inner planets and many of the solar system's moons have impact craters.
12. Sunspots are located on the Sun's photosphere. These dark spots are caused by
concentrations of the Sun's magnetic field.
13. The majority of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the region known as the
asteroid belt, which exists in the space between Mars and Jupiter.
14. A comet has a tail that is visible only when light reflects off of vaporizing ice and
dust streaming from the comet's body.
Picture modified from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Comet_P1_McNaught02_-_23-01-07.jpg, under GNU FDL.
15. A moon revolves around its planet.
A moon is kept in orbit around a planet by the gravitational force between the two
bodies.
16. Asteroids vary greatly in size, the smallest being the size of pebbles and the largest
having a diameter of approximately 1000 kilometers. Asteroids are mostly made up of
stone, iron and nickel.
17. Comets are mostly made up of dust particles, frozen water and frozen gases. While in
the far reaches of their orbits, which is where they spend most of their time, they reflect
little sunlight and are difficult to see. However, as they get closer to the Sun, the water
and gas unfreeze and begin reflecting sunlight much better, making them very easy to
see.
18. Sunspots are darker and cooler than the gases surrounding them. These spots form
where concentrations in the Sun's magnetic field cause temperatures to decrease on the
photosphere. Although these cooler spots still shine brightly, they appear dark because
the surrounding gases are hotter and shine more brightly.
Sunspots are temporary features. They typically last for a few weeks and tend to occur
in cycles.
19. Solar flares are violent explosions from sunspots in which gas and tremendous
amounts of energy are blasted into space away from the Sun.
Solar flares are usually more violent and shorter lived than prominences. Because of
their association with sunspots, the frequencies and magnitudes of flares and
prominences are affected by sunspot cycles.
20. A piece of solar system debris that passes through Earth's atmosphere and strikes the
ground is a meteorite. Most meteorites are meteoroid-size when they enter the
atmosphere, and some of their mass burns up as they speed toward the ground.
Larger bodies—asteroids and comets—do collide with Earth on rare occasions and can
devastate the planet. Earth's geologic record preserves evidence that suggests one such
collision may have occurred at the end of the Mesozoic era. Many scientists theorize that
this impact killed the dinosaurs and many other groups of organisms in a mass
extinction.
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