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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