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 systemA. Mercury
____14.Coldest Planet listed hereB.Venus
____15.Hottest Planet listed hereC.Earth
____16.Planet with methane atmosphere and a tilted axisD.Mars
____17.Only planet known to have liquid water on its surfaceE.Jupiter
____18.Smallest planet listed hereF.Saturn
____19.Second largest planet - has a distinct set of ringsG.Uranus
____20.This methane-tinted blue planet has the strongest windsH.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:
- 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
- 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 dayb) 1 Venusian year
28. A Mercuryyear is 88 Earth days. Mercury takes Earth 59 days to rotateone time (called
a sidereal day). About how many siderealdaysoccur in a year on Mercury? ______
29.A solar day on Mercury (time between one sunrise and the next) takes 176 days.
About how many solardays occur in a Mercuryyear (88 days)? ______
30.Name another place in the solar system besidesEarth that may have pools of liquid on
its surface. (Hint: It’s not a planet, and the liquid’snot 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 liquidwater 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 Moonalways dark? ______
38.The same side of the Moonalways 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.