1. Ch 27 Review Planets & the Solar System

2. Name the inner planets

3. Mercury Venus Earth Mars

4. What lies between the inner and outer planets?

5. Asteroid belt

6. Where is the largest volcano in the solar system located?

7. Mars

8. What is another name for the inner planets (as a group)? Why are they called that?

9. Terrestrial planets b/c they are Earth-like

10. What are the characteristics of the outer planets?

11. Considerably larger than Earth gaseous, outer layer is mostly hydrogen gas – closer to center hydrogen is compressed into a hot liquid Much less dense than Earth All have ring systems

12. Why isn’t Pluto considered a planet anymore?

13. Oddity of the solar system – Not dense enough to be considered “terrestrial” – Too small to be “Jovian” – Strange orbit

14. What is the orbital period of Mars?

15. 88 Earth days

16. The largest moon in the solar system is _________.

17. Ganymede (around Jupiter)

18. What is the relationship between the distance of a planet from the sun and its orbital period? Why?

19. The closer the planet is to the sun, the shorter its orbital period. As you go further away, the planet has a longer distance to travel and the sun’s gravity pulls on it less.

20. Why does Mercury have so many craters?

21. It lacks an atmosphere

22. What is unique about Venus’ rotation?

23. rotates from east to west (clockwise)

24. How long is Venus’ period of rotation?

25. 243 Earth days

26. On which planet is a day longer than a year?

27. Venus

28. Which planets radiate more energy into space than they receive? Why?

29. Jupiter and Saturn b/c they have sources of internal heat

30. Name all of the planets that have rings.

31. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

32. What does Pluto’s atmosphere seem to do when it is as perihelion?

33. Thaw slightly.

34. Which planet has seasons like Earth?

35. Mars

36. The Galielean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, & Callisto orbit _____________.

37. Jupiter

38. What are the characteristics of terrestrial planets?

39. Rocky crusts dense mantle layers very dense cores

40. What do we now consider Pluto?

41. Dwarf planet

42. What is the difference between a meteoroid, meteor, & meteorite?

43. Meteoroid = in space Meteor= moving through Earth’s atmosphere (“shooting star”) Meteorite= meteor that has reached Earth’s surface

44. Why does Mars have seasons?

45. It’s tilted on it’s axis (like Earth)

46. What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteor?

47. Asteroids are bigger

48. How long are seasons on Mars compared to on Earth? Why?

49. Twice as long b/c a year is twice as long

50. How was Neptune discovered?

51. Using mathematics

52. What is a satellite?

53. an object that orbits a planet

54. What are the parts of a comet?

55. Nucleus Coma & tail (only when “near” the sun)

56. What are the two “planetary” neighborhoods that we can divide the planets into?

57. Inner planets Outer planets

58. Phobos & Deimos are the moons that orbit ___________.

59. Mars

60. Why is Venus’ temperature so high?

61. It has a dense atmosphere that is mostly carbon dioxide (CO 2 )  “runaway” greenhouse effect

62. How often can we see Haley’s comet?

63. Every 76 years

64. _________ is one of Saturn’s moon, and is the second largest moon in the solar system.

65. Titan

66. What is another name for the outer planets (as a group)?

67. Jovian planets, Jupiter-like planets, gas giants

68. What is so interesting/unique about Titan?

69. Only moon known to have a substantial atmosphere

70. Comets spend most of their time _____________________.

71. Beyond Neptune’s orbit

72. Triton is one of _________’s moons.

73. Neptune

74. What does solar wind do to a comet’s tail?

75. solar wind pushes coma far out into space, forming dramatic tails… generally point away from the sun

76. What shape are asteroids? What does this cause as they rotate?

77. Irregular, causes them to appear to be changing in brightness as they rotate

78. What is the density of Saturn? Why is this special?

79. 0.7 g/cm 3 … it could float on water

80. Asteroids revolve around _____________.

81. The sun

82. Meteor showers are named for ___________.

83. the constellation from which they appear to originate (ex. Perseids, happen in Aug., appear to come from constellation Perseus)

84. What is the mass of Neptune (if Earth’s mass = 1)?

85. 17.151 (Earths)

86. What are the 3 basic types of meteorites?

87. Stony – ~94% Iron – ~5% Stony-iron – ~1%

88. Bowl-shaped depressions that remain after meteor or other object hits Earth, other planet, moon are called _____________.

89. Impact craters

90. What is Pluto’s mean distance from the sun?

91. 5,900 million kilometers

92. Titania, Oberon, Umbriel, Ariel, & Miranda are the 5 major moons of _____________.

93. Uranus

94. Name the outer planets

95. Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

96. What is the equatorial diameter of Jupiter?

97. 142,800 km

98. Why might some planets lack craters or have few craters?

99. Have an atmosphere, are geologically active (“erases” craters)

100. How many moons does Venus have?

101. 0