solar system data answer key.

Question 20. Compared to the average density of the terrestrial planets ( Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), the average density of the Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) is...

1. ; The giant gaseous planets are less dense than the solid terrestrial planets.

Question 21. Which graph best represents the periods of rotation of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars?

1. ; Venus period of rotation is the longest of all planets being 224.7 d.

Question 8. Which graph best represents the relationship between a planet's average distance from the sun and the time the planet takes to revolve around the Sun?

2. (slowly increasing both at an exponential rate); As shown in the Period of Revolution column, as planets' distance from the Sun increases, they period of revolution increases. This is caused by the decreasing gravitational attraction between the planets and the Sun as their distance from the Sun increases.

Question 17. Many meteors are believed to be fragments of celestial objects normally found between the orbits or Mars and Jupiter. These objects are classified as...

2. ; See the position of the asteroids as shown in diagram 1, page 200.

Question 7. How do Jupiter's density and period of rotation compare to Earth's?

2. Jupiter is less dense and has a shorter period of rotation; Open to Solar System Data chart and locate the Density and Period of Rotation columns. Jupiter is a giant gaseous planet, having a density value (1.3 g/cm³) less than the Earth (5.5 g/cm³). Jupiter also has the fastest period of rotation of any planet, having a day just under 10 hours.

Question 12. Which statement correctly compares the size, composition, and density of Neptune to Earth?

2. Neptune is larger, more gaseous, and less dense; Neptune is a giant gaseous planet, making it larger and less dense than Earth.

Question 16. The planets known as "gas giants" include Jupiter, Uranus, and...

2. Saturn; Saturn and Neptune are giant gaseous planets.

Question 9. Which planet takes more time to complete one rotation on its axis than to complete one revolution around the Sun?

2. Venus; The period of Rotation column shows Venus' rotation, being its day, as 243 d. The period od Revolution, being its year, is 224.7 d. This makes its day longer than its year.

Question 29. State the shortest number of days it takes an Earth observer to see the same phase of the Moon twice.

29.5 days - The Moon's period of revolution is 27.3 days, but the earth is traveling in its orbit, so it takes the moon close to 29.5 days to complete one full cycle of Moon phases (e.g. New Moon to New Moon).

Question 19. Why are some constellations visible to New York State observers at midnight during April, but not visible at midnight during October?

3 ; See and read caption of diagram 7, Page 201.

Question 18. (see diagram) Planet A is most likely represents...

3 ; Using the equatorial diameter column, it shows that Saturn diameter is slightly smaller than Jupiter.

Question 23. The same Side of the Moon always faces the Earth because the...

3. ; From the Earth's Moon data, it shows that the Moon's period of rotation equals its period of revolution. This makes the same side of the Moon to always face the Earth.

Question 2. Which planet would float if it could be places in water?

3. Saturn; Any object with a density less than 1 g/cm^3 (that of water) will float in water. Saturn has the lowest density of all planets, having a density value of 0.7 g/cm³ as shown in the solar system Data chart.

Question 1. Which planet is approximately 20 times farther from the Sun than Earth is?

3. Uranus; Open to the solar system data chart. Using the Mean Distance from Sun column, the Earth's distance is given as 149.6 million km or close to 150 million km. Multiplying this by 20, we get 3,000 million km. Uranus' distance is given as 2,871 million km, which is close to 3,000 million km.

Question 13. Compared to Mars, Mercury moves more rapidly in its orbit because Mercury...

3. is closer to the Sun; The closer an object is to the sun, the faster it will revolve.

Question 3. Which scale diagram best compares the size of Earth with the size of Venus?

4. (both are the same size); In the solar system Data chart, locate the Equatorial Diameter column. Notice that the diameters of Earth and Venus are very close in size, with Earth being larger in diameter.

Question 22. Which graph best shows the general relationship between a planet's distance from the Sun and the Sun's gravitational attraction to the planet?

4. ; For any celestial object in our solar system, as the distance from the Sun increases, the gravitational attraction decreases.

Question 6. The Moon revolves around the center of...

4. Earth; The Moon's orbit is controlled by the gravitational attraction of the Earth, causing the Moon to revolve around our planet.

Question 11. Which of the following planets has the lowest average density?

4. Mars; Mars with a density 3.9 g/cm³, has the lowest density

Question 14. Which planet is approximately thirty times further from the Sun than Earth is?

4. Neptune; Our Earth is 149.6 mkm from the Sun. 149.6 × 30 = 4,488 mkm, which is close to Neptune's mean distance from the sun.

Question 15. Which celestial feature is largest in actual size?

4. The Milky Way galaxy; The Milky Way galaxy consists of all the stars we can see.

Question 5. Terrestrial planets move more rapidly on their orbits than the Jovian planets because terrestrial planets are...

4. Venus; Terrestrial planets included Mercury, Venus< Earth, and Mars. These planets revolve faster around the Sun than the Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) because they are closer to the sun and thus have a stronger gravitational attraction to the Sun.

Question 4. Which planet's orbit around the Sun is most nearly circular?

4. Venus; The eccentricity of Orbit column gives the eccentricity for each planet. The lower the eccentricity (e) value is, the less elliptical (more circular) the orbit will be. Venus has the lowest e value of 0.007. This makes Venus orbit almost round, but it is still slightly elliptical.

Questions 10. The Sun's position in space is best described as the approximate center of...

4. our solar system; The Sun is the center if our solar system. Its gravity controls the motion of all object within our solar system.

Question 26. A. What is the average distance, in millions of kilometers, from the Sun to the asteroid belt? B. What planets revolve faster than out Earth?

A. 490 mkm to 510 mkm - Mar's distance from the Sun is 227.9 mkm and Jupiters's distance is 778.4 mkm. The average distance (where the asteroid belt is located) is 227.9 mkm + 778.4 mkm = 1006.3/2 = 503 mkm. B. Mercury and Venus- The closer a planet is to the Sun, the shorter will be its period of revolution.

Question 27. A. Using the data table, on the graph below, draw a line to indicate the general relationship between a planet's average distance from the Sun and its average orbital velocity. B. What causes Venus to have a higher average surface temperature compared to Mercury, which is closer to the summer months.

A. As the average distance from the sun increases, the average orbital velocity decreases. (Basically draw a line going down like this \.) The closer a planet is to the Sun, the greater its orbital velocity will be. B. CO₂ or Venus contains a rich CO₂ atmosphere. Or Venus has a runaway greenhouse effect. -CO₂ is a greenhouse gas that absorbs much infrared radiation. This is occurring in the atmosphere of Venus.

Question 24. A. Identify the planets in our solar system that is closest in diameter to Callisto. B. Which Moon of Jupiter is almost the same size of Earth's moon? C. Which Moon of Jupiter has the longest period of revolution?

A. Mercury; Mercury's equatorial diameter is 4879 km. B.Io; The solar System table gives the diameter of Earth's Moon. C. Callisto; The farthest moon from Jupiter has the longest period of revolution.

Question 25. A. Planet D's diameter is 10 times greater than Earth's diameter. What planet in our solar system has a diameter closest in size to the diameter of planet D? B. why does Planet B revolve faster than planet C?

A. Saturn; Earth's diameter is 12,756 km × 10 = 127,560 km. this is very close to the diameter of Saturn. B. Planet B is closer to the sun (star) than Planet C. or Planet B has more gravitational attraction to the Sun than Planet C. - The closer an object is to the Sun, the faster it will revolve.

Question 28. Explain why an observer in New York State sees some different constellations in the night sky during the winter months than the summer months.

From winter to summer the earth has revolved 180° and is located in the opposite position within its orbit. Now some winter constellations are up in the day sky, being outshined by the sun. See and read caption diagram 7, page 201.