Worksheet – Planets of the Solar System
Worksheet – Planets of the Solar System 2012
Categorize each of the following as “I” for Inner, “O” for Outer or “B” for Both:
____ 1. Very large
____ 2. Small and rocky with thin atmospheres
____ 3. Found at great distances from the Sun
____ 4. Thick atmospheres of Hydrogen, Helium, Methane & Ammonia
____ 5. Orbit in the same flat plane as the Sun
____ 6. Take much longer to orbit the Sun (some take decades or centuries)
____ 7. Some of these orbit the Sun quickly (in under 100 days).
____ 8. Orbit the sun in the same direction that the Sun rotates on its axis
____ 9. These tend to rotate (spin on their axis) much faster than Earth.
____ 10. Terrestrial Planets
____ 11. Jovian Planets or Gas Giants
____ 12. Have many more moons (dozens)
Planet Matching - Match each characteristic with its planet:
____ 13. Largest planet in the solar system A. Mercury
____ 14. Coldest Planet listed here B. Venus
____ 15. Hottest Planet listed here C. Earth
____ 16. Planet with methane atmosphere and a tilted axis D. Mars
____ 17. Only planet known to have liquid water on its surface E. Jupiter
____ 18. Smallest planet listed here F. Saturn
____ 19. Second largest planet - has a distinct set of rings G. Uranus
____ 20. This methane-tinted blue planet has the strongest winds H. Neptune
____ 21. This planet has a nasty atmosphere of sulfuric acid
____ 22. Largest mountain in solar system (Olympus Mons) is located here.
____ 23. This planet barely rotates, so it is scorching hot on the bright side and freezing cold on the dark side.
____ 24. This large planet has 67 moons, including 4 very large Galilean Moons and a Great Red Spot.
Short Answer Questions:
25. Jupiter is mostly just a big ball of hydrogen gas. What do astronomers think they might find lurking between those thick hydrogen/helium clouds and its rocky iron silicate core?
_____________ _______________ hydrogen
26. Mars’ poles are covered with ice. How is that ice different from the ice on the North and South Pole of Earth? Mars’ polar ice is _________ __________.
27. _____ Which is longer on Venus? a) 1 Venusian day b) 1 Venusian year
28. A Mercury year is 88 Earth days. Mercury takes Earth 59 days to rotate one time (called
a sidereal day). About how many sidereal days occur in a year on Mercury? ________
29. A solar day on Mercury (time between one sunrise and the next) takes 176 days.
About how many solar days occur in a Mercury year (88 days)? _______________
30. Name another place in the solar system besides Earth that may have pools of liquid on
its surface. (Hint: It’s not a planet, and the liquid’s not water!) ___________________
31. What separates the 4 inner planets from the four outer planets? _____________ ______
32. What caused Uranus to be “tipped over” (caused its axis of rotation to be tilted)?
_____________________________________________________________
33. Which distant moon may have had liquid water on its surface in the distant past?
___________________
34. How many Earths would stretch across the face of Jupiter? _________
35. Why does the sky look black on Mercury? _____________________________
36. Venus is not that big, but it is close to both the Earth and Sun. What else makes Venus
look so bright in the evening sky? ___________________________________________
37. Is the “dark” (far) side of the Moon always dark? _________
38. The same side of the Moon always faces Earth because the Moon ___________ exactly
as fast as it _________________ around the Earth.
Bonus: The surface of Mars is very bleak. The atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide and less than 1% oxygen. The air pressure is only about 1 % of Earth’s, with only 1/10th of 1% as much water vapor. Temperatures range from a maximum of +68o F to a low of -220o F and an average temperature of 61o below zero! Mars with whipped by fine-grained dust storms. Draw a sketch of a life-form that could survive in this rough Martian environment. Label adaptations that would allow the life-form to survive.
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