What Should I Study for the Chapter 27 Solar System Test
Chapter 27 Review Key
Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
Write the name of the planet that correctly completes each statement.
1. Io is the moon of JUPITER that is volcanically active.
MARS 2. This is the only planet besides Earth that scientists have found evidence that life once existed.
3. The Great Dark Spot, a storm on NEPTUNE has recently disappeared.
4. The largest known volcano in the solar system is an extinct volcano, known as Olympus Mons, found on the planet MARS
5. JUPITER is more massive than all of the other planets combined.
6. MERCURY has a surface that is heavily cratered like the moon.
7. The planet with the most visible ring system is SATURN
8. JUPITER’s moon, Ganymede is the largest in the solar system and is even larger than the planet Mercury.
9. VENUS is the hottest planet in the solar system.
10. A planet that is very hot because of the greenhouse effect is VENUS
11. JUPITER/SATURN’s stripes are due to its strong winds in the upper atmosphere.
12. The planet that is covered in red sand because of the rust in the soil is MARS
13. Methane gives URANUS/NEPTUNE its blue-green color. (two answers acceptable)
14. The spacecraft Magellan took the first radar images of VENUS’s surface since it is impossible to see.
15. Not discovered until 1930 because it is so far away from Earth. PLUTO
16. Because of its proximity to the sun, MERCURY cannot maintain an atmosphere.
17. PLUTO is now considered a dwarf planet.
18. The planet that travels around the sun in 88 days is MERCURY
19. The four largest moons of JUPITER are known as the Galilean satellites.
20. A day on VENUS is 243 Earth days which is longer than its year.
21. PLUTO is the only planet that has not yet been visited by a spacecraft though one is on its way.
22. On the planet MARS you would be about ½ your age because its year is twice as long as Earth’s.
23. The Great Red Spot is a continuous storm found on JUPITER
24. MERCURY has great extremes in temperature, 800oF during the day and –300oF at night.
25. PLUTO could also be called a trans-Neptunian object.
26. NEPTUNE was discovered after astronomers predicted its position mathematically.
27. All the planets rotate west to east VENUS rotates backwards (east to west).
Hint: Not Uranus.
28. Two new moons of PLUTO were discovered in 2005 using the Hubble Space Telescope.
29. The planet with the lowest density that would float in water is SATURN
30. URANUS’ axis of rotation is unusual because it is tipped completely on its side.
31. The largest of SATURN‘s moons, Titan, has a substantial atmosphere.
32. Miranda is the most unusual moon of URANUS because it shows the scars of being shattered as many as 5 times.
33. Mercury and VENUS are the only planets without a natural satellite.
34. Like Earth, MARS has polar ice caps.
35. Because of similar size and mass, VENUS is called Earth’s twin.
36. The 2 irregular shaped moons of MARS are Phobos and Deimos.
37. A deep liquid ocean may exist below the surface of Europa, a moon of JUPITER
38. URANUS was not discovered until 1781 when more powerful telescopes became available.
39. What does Terrestrial mean? EARTH LIKE
40. What does Jovian mean? JUPITER LIKE
41. What separates the inner from the outer planets? ASTEROID BELT
42. Describe the qualities the Terrestrial planets share. (at least three)
Acceptable answers:SMALLROCKYSOLIDDENSE
43. Describe the qualities the Jovian planets share. (at least four)
Acceptable answers: BIG GASEOUS MANY MOONS ALL HAVE RINGS
Asteroids, Meteors, Meteorites, or Meteoroids
44. More commonly known as “shooting stars” METEORS are small pieces of rock that burn up after entering the earth’s atmosphere.
45. Most ASTEROIDS orbit the sun and lie between Mars and Jupiter.
46. Pieces of rock that actually hit Earth’s surface are METEORITES
47. The leftover debris of a comet are called METEOROIDS
48. A(n) ASTEROID is thought to have killed the dinosaurs.
49. METEOROIDS are small pieces of rock moving through space.
50. A METEOR shower takes place when the Earth passes through a stream of comet debris and 1-1000 of them can be seen from Earth per hour.
Comets
51. Where do comets come from?
OORT CLOUD/KUIPER BELT
52. How does a comet end? VAPORIZES AFTER
SEVERAL TRIPS AROUND THE SUN
53. What forms a comet’s tail? SUN’S SOLAR WIND
54. Which direction does a comet’s tail face? AWAY
FROM THE SUN
55. The name of the solid center of a comet. NUCLEUS
56. The name of the dust and gas that surrounds a comet’s solid center. COMA
57. Name the region just beyond Neptune where objects including Pluto, Charon, Sedna and Quaoar reside. KUIPER BELT
58. Besides “dwarf planets,” what other name could be given to objects like Pluto, Sedna and Quaoar? KUIPER BELT OBJECTS (KBO) or TRANS-NEPTUNIAN OBJECTS (TNO)
59. JUPITER
60. SATURN