Chapter 4 Solar System Study Guide

If a planet's radius is 6052 km, what is its diameter?

12104 km

If the diameter of a sphere is 4880 km, what would its radius be?

2440 km

What percent of the solar system's mass is contained in the Sun?

99.86%

Who proposed the heliocentric model where the Sun is the center of the solar system?

Copernicus

What is the third planet from the Sun?

Earth

Which planet is the third planet from the Sun; its atmosphere protects life and its surface temperatures allow water to exist as a solid, liquid, and gas; orbits the Sun every 365 days (1 year)?

Earth

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 365.25 days?

Earth

Which planet's surface is 70% liquid water? Why is this significant?

Earth; able to support life

What comet is named after the scientist who discovered it and it comes around earth every 76 years?

Haley's Comet

What optical telescope was placed in Earth orbit by the space shuttle in 1990 that can now produce accurate images of celestial bodies that cannot be observed clearly by terrestrial telescopes?

Hubble Telescope

What German astronomer stated that the orbits of planets around the sun were elliptical, the planets do not orbit at a constant speed, and that an orbit is related to its distance from the Sun?

Johannes Kepler

What is the fifth planet from the Sun?

Jupiter

Which is the largest planet?

Jupiter

Which planet is the largest planet and fifth planet from the Sun; has faint rings seventeen moons, an atmosphere formed mostly of hydrogen and helium, and its surface has continuous storms; orbits the Sun one time in 12 Earth years?

Jupiter

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 12 years?

Jupiter

Which four planets are called the Gas Giants?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

What are the Outer Planets?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Which planet has the Great Red Spot? What do scientists believe it is?

Jupiter; a giant, high-pressure continuous storm

What is the fourth planet from the Sun?

Mars

Which planet is sometimes called the "red planet"?

Mars

Which planet is the fourth planet from the Sun; appears reddish because of iron oxide in weathered rocks; has polar ice caps, a thin atmosphere, and two moons; orbits the Sun in 1.9 Earth years?

Mars

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 1.9 Earth years?

Mars

What is the closest planet to the Sun?

Mercury

Which planet is closest to the Sun; has no true atmosphere which causes temperature extremes; has an iron core, and many craters and high cliffs; has surface features similar to the Earth's moon; orbits the sun every 88 days?

Mercury

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 88 days?

Mercury

What is the eighth planet from the Sun?

Neptune

Which planet is the eighth planet from the Sun; large, gaseous planet with rings, dark-colored storms, and eight moons; has a distinctive blue-green color?

Neptune

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 164 years?

Neptune

What Polish astronomer produced the first modern model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543)?

Nicholas Copernicus

If planet A is in a 1:2 ratio with planet B, what can be said of planet A?

Planet A is half the size of planet B.

If planet C is in a 2:1 ratio with planet D, what can be said of planet C?

Planet C is twice the size of planet D.

If planet E is in a 1:1 ratio with planet F, what can be said of planet E?

Planet E is the same size as planet F.

If planet G is 200% the size of planet H, what can be said of planet G?

Planet G is twice the size of planet H.

If planet J is 50% the size of planet K, what can be said of planet J?

Planet J is half the size of planet K.

If planet L is 100% the size of planet M, what can be said of planet L?

Planet L is the same size as planet M.

Which planet was demoted from planet status in 2006? What is it's present designation?

Pluto; a dwarf planet

Who proposed the geocentric model which stated the Earth was the center of the solar system?

Ptolemy

What is the second-largest planet?

Saturn

What is the sixth planet from the Sun?

Saturn

What planet has a complex ring system?

Saturn

Which planet is the second-largest and sixth planet from the Sun; has a complex ring system, at least 30 moons, and a thick atmosphere made mostly of hydrogen and helium?

Saturn

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 29 years?

Saturn

What are composed of countless ice and rock particles ranging in size from a speck of dust to tens of meters across?

Saturn's rings

What is the name of Saturn's largest moon (larger than Mercury)?

Titan

What is the seventh planet from the Sun?

Uranus

Which planet is the seventh planet from the Sun; is large and gaseous with thin, dark rings and rotates tilted on its side?

Uranus

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 84 years?

Uranus

Which planet's axis is perpendicular to orbital plane?

Uranus

What is the second planet from the Sun?

Venus

Which planet is sometimes called Earth's sister-planet or twin-planet?

Venus

Which planet is the second planet from the Sun; has a dense atmosphere with high temperatures, a surface with craters, fault-like cracks, and volcanoes; sometimes called Earth's twin because they are so close in size?

Venus

Which planet makes one revolution around the Sun in 225 days?

Venus

What is a revolution?

an orbit around the Sun

What is a piece of rock similar to the material that formed into planets, usually found in the asteroid belt?

asteroid

What do we call the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, roughly 150 million km?

astronomical unit

What is a mass that travels through space and is composed of rock particles and dust mixed with frozen water, methane, and ammonia; tends to vaporize and break up after passing close to the Sun many times?

comet

What part of a comet always point away from the Sun?

comet tails

What does the word "planet" mean?

derived from the Greek word meaning "wanderer"

When you are converting units of metric measure and are going UP the metric staircase, do you multiply or divide?

divide

What is the shape of planetary orbits?

ellipse

What shape is an ellipse?

elongated, closed curve

What is the early incorrect representation of the universe in which stars and planets revolve around the Earth?

geocentric model

What do we call the natural heat-trapping feature in which heat is retained in Earth's atmosphere by carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases?

greenhouse effect

What is the accepted model of our solar system with the sun in the center?

heliocentric model

If you multiply 292,350 mm times 1 km/1000000 mm, what unit of measure will be your answer?

km

What is a meteoroid that burns up in Earth's atmosphere?

meteor

What is a meteoroid that does not completely burn up in the atmosphere and strikes the surface of a moon or planet?

meteorite

If you multiply 1,391,600 km times 1 mm/4880 km, what unit of measure will be your answer?

mm

When you divide a number by 10, what do you do with the decimal?

move the decimal one place to the left

When you multiply a number by 10, what do you do with the decimal?

move the decimal one place to the right after you add a zero

When you multiply a number by 1000, what do you do with the decimal?

move the decimal three places to the right after you add three zeros

When you divide a number by 100, what do you do with the decimal?

move the decimal two places to the left

When you are converting units of metric measure and are going DOWN the metric staircase, do you multiply or divide?

multiply

What is the process by which the Sun produces energy?

nuclear fusion

What do we call the plane on which a body is orbiting or inclined? It is similar to a flat sheet of paper?

orbital plane

What do we call the system made up of the eight unique planets, including Earth, and many smaller objects that orbit the Sun?

solar system

What is a radius?

the distance from the center of a sphere to the surface of the sphere

What is a diameter?

the distance from the surface of a sphere through the center of the sphere to the opposite side of the sphere

How is a planet's distance from the Sun related to its revolution around the Sun?

the farther a planet is from the Sun, the longer its period of revolution

What are the Inner Planets?

the planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

Which planets are also called the Terrestrial Planets?

the planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

What does the word "planet" mean in the original Greek?

wanderer

Why are some planets called the Gas Giants?

They consist mainly of gases; their surfaces are not solid so it is unlikely that probes will ever land on them.