Chapter 15 Questions
The mass of the Sun is how much than all of the other planets, moons, asteroids, and other bodies in the solar system?
700 times larger
What separates the terrestrial planets from the giant planets?
Asteroid belt
Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io are
Galilean moons
Which of the following is most likely found in Jupiter?
Hydrogen
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
Jupiter
which of the following planets probably still has its original atmosphere?
Jupiter
A day on which planet is longer than a year on that planet?
Mars
The planet that has the shortest "year" among the eight planets is
Mercury
The planet that is not a giant is
Mercury
The planet that was named after the mythical Roman messenger of speed is
Mercury
What is the outermost planet?
Neptune
Which two objects are farthest apart?
Neptune and Uranus
Area of the solar system where long-period comets originate is the
Oort Cloud
The planet with the lowest average density, which is less than that of liquid water, is
Saturn
The only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere is
Titan
How many moons orbit Mars?
Two
Which of the following planets would be mostly composed of hydrogen, helium, and methane and have a density of less than 2 g/cm^3?
Uranus
The "sister" planet to Earth is
Venus
On venus, the sun rises in the west. This is so because
Venus rotates in the opposite direction of its orbit
The distance from Earth to the Sun is called a (an)
astronomical unit
The belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter is probably
clumps of matter that condensed from the accretion disk but never got together as a planet
The small body with a composition and structure closest to the materials that condensed from the accretion disk is a (an)
comet
Saturns rings are thought to be
composed of thousands of particles of various sizes
Venus "shines" because it is
covered with clouds that reflect sunlight
The Great Red Spot is thought to be
high pressure region with high cold clouds
Planets in our solar system are classified according to all of the following characteristics except
inhabitants
Meteorites are classified into all of the following groups except..?
lead
Short period comets have orbital periods of
less than 200 years
A shooting star is a (an)
meteor
A small body from space that falls on the surface of Earth is a
meteorite
Remnants of comets and asteroids found in space are called
meteoroids
The most widely accepted theory on the origin of the solar system is
protoplanet nebular
Jupiter radiates twice as much energy as it receives from the Sun because of
slow gravitational compression of the planet
What type of planet are Mercury, Venus, earth, and mars?
terrestrial planets