Gr.6 Science Chapter 20 Sec. 3, 4, 5
Order the planets from smallest to greatest distance from the sun.
1. Mercury 2. Venus 3. Earth 4. Mars
Order the planets from smallest to greatest diameter.
1. Mercury 2. Mars 3. Venus 4. Earth
How much larger is Uranus than Earth?
4 times the diameter of Earth
Give 2 true factoids about Earth
About 70% of its surface is covered with water. No other planet in the solar system has oceans like Earth's.
In the 1800's how did astronomers predict that the planet Neptune would be discovered before anyone had seen it?
Astronomers noted that Uranus was not following its predicted orbit. They hypothesized that the gravity of an unseen planet was affecting Uranus's orbit.
Why does Mercury have a greater range of temperatures than any other planet?
Because it is so close to the sun the temperature during the day can reach 430 degrees C. With no atmosphere the heat escapes at night, so temperatures go down to -170 degrees C.
Why does Uranus look blue-green?
Because of traces of methane in its atmosphere. and that is personal.
Where is the asteroid belt?
Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
How was the Great Dark Spot like the Great Red Spot?
Both were probably storms.
Give some true factoids about Pluto.
Charon is more than half Pluto's size, Pluto is no longer considered a planet, Pluto is sometimes closer to the sun than Neptune.
TRUE OR FALSE: There are no canals on Mars.
False
What discovery made astronomer William Herschel famous?
He discovered the first new planet since ancient times.
What are Uranus's 5 largest moons like?
Icy, cratered surfaces.
What are Jupiter's 4 largest moons?
Io, Ganymede, Europa, Callisto
What happened when an asteroid collided with Earth 65 million years ago?
It filled the atmosphere with dust and smoke and blocked out the sunlight around the world. death!!!
What is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?
It is a storm larger than Earth.
Why is Venus sometimes called Earth's twin?
It is similar in size and mass to Earth.
If the orbit of a comet is 500 times the distance between Pluto and the sun, which region is it in? How do you know?
It would be in the Oort cloud because it is a spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system out to more than 1,000 times the distance between Pluto and the sun. Unlike the Kuiper belt that only extends about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun.
Give some true factoids about Jupiter.
Jupiter has dozens of moons revolving around it, many of its moons have been discovered in recent years.
Which 4 planets are known as the gas giants?
Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus.
Order the outer planets and pluto from smallest to greatest distance from the sun.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
What are comets?
Loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles whose orbit are usually very long, narrow ellipses.
Which planet rotates on its axis in about the same amount of time that Earth does?
Mars
Give 3 true factoids about Mercury.
Mercury's surface has many craters, it has no moons, and it is the planet closest to the sun.
Which planets are often called the terrestrial planets?
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth
What are the 2 moons of Mars?
Phobos and Deimos
How is a dwarf planet similar to and different from a planet?
Similar: round, orbits the sun different: has not cleared out the neighborhood around its orbit
Why do some regions on Mars look darker than others?
Some regions look darker because wind storms blow the dust off some areas.
What is the composition of the gas giants?
The are composed mainly of hydrogen and helium.
How is the rotation of Venus different from that of most other planets and moons?
The fact that it rotates from East to West.
Give some true factoids about Mars.
The polar ice caps on Mars contain frozen water and carbon dioxide. Mars has seasons because it is tilted on its axis. Mars has giant volcanoes on its surface.
Why is Mars called the "red planet"?
The red color is due to the breakdown of iron-rich rocks, which creates a rusty dust that covers much of Mar's surface.
What are 3 similarities among the inner planets?
They are small, dense, and have rocky surfaces.
Name Saturn's largest moon.
Titan
Which is the largest of Neptune's moons?
Triton
TRUE OR FALSE: Jupiter is the most massive planet in the solar system.
True
TRUE OR FALSE: The atmosphere of Venus is so thick that there is never a sunny day on its surface.
True!
How is the rotation of Uranus unlike that of most of the other planets?
Uranus's axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of about 90 degrees from the vertical.
Which spacecraft sent many images of Uranus back to Earth?
Voyager 2
Why would it be difficult for humans to live on Mars?
We cannot breathe the atmosphere, there is no liquid water. duh.
meteoroid
a chunk of rock or dust in space
meteorite
a meteoroid that has passed through the atmosphere and hit Earth's surface
meteor
a streak of light cause by the burning up of a meteoroid in the atmosphere.
Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small and too numbers to be called planets are called what?
asteroids
Characteristics of Mars
atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, 2 moons, has seasons, surface is solid and rocky, has water at poles and possibly underground.
Characteristics of Earth
atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and oxygen, one moon, has seasons, surface is solid and rocky, has liquid water/oceans.
The atmosphere of Mars is composed mostly of what?
carbon dioxide
What gas makes up most of the atmosphere on Venus?
carbon dioxide
What are Saturn's rings made of?
chunks of ice and rock
Where do meteoroids come from?
comets or asteroids
What are the 3 main layers of Earth?
core, crust, mantle. mmmmm, crust.
TRUE OR FALSE: Neptune's atmosphere is yellow and has no clouds.
false
TRUE OR FALSE: Saturn has only a few moons
false
What forms a comet's tail?
gas and dust streams
Describe the composition of the rings that surround the gas giants.
ice and rock
What is Earth's dense inner core made of?
iron and nickel
the craters on the moon were caused by the impact of what?
meteoroids
What are the 3 main parts of a comet?
nucleus, coma, tail
How often does Pluto revolve around the sun?
once every 248 Earth years
Because Venus is often a bright object in the west after sunset, it is sometimes called what??
southern star
The 4 outer planets do not have solid what??
surfaces
The trapping of heat by the atmosphere of Venus is called?
the greenhouse effect
TRUE OR FALSE: Pluto is smaller than Earth's moon.
true
TRUE OR FALSE: A comet's tail can be more than 100 million kilometers long.
true. holy crap!
Jupiter's moon Io is covered with active what??
volcanoes
