Our Solar System
Practice Test
1.
Where did Saturn's rings most likely come from?
a.
gravitational attraction of ringlets
b.
the formation of Saturn
c.
solar system formation
d.
leftover debris from a moon that was destroyed
2.
The eccentricity of a perfect circle is __________ and a very elongated ellipse is __________.
a.
zero, nearly one
b.
nearly zero, one
c.
one, zero
d.
zero, one
3.
What is Olympus Mons?
a.
one of Mars' moons
b.
a scarp on Mercury
c.
a composite volcano on Venus
d.
a large shield volcano on Mars
4.
Use the table to determine the smallest gas giant planet.
Planet
Orbital Radius, a (AU)
Planetary Radius, r (km)
Planetary Mass, m (10
24
kg)
Mercury
0.387
2439.7
0.3302
Venus
0.723
6051.8
4.8685
Earth
1.0
6378.1
5.9736
Mars
1.524
3397
0.64185
Jupiter
5.204
71 492
1898.6
Saturn
9.582
60 268
568.46
Uranus
19.201
25 559
86.832
Neptune
30.047
24 764
102.43
Pluto
39.236
1195
0.0125
a.
Saturn
b.
Uranus
c.
Jupiter
d.
Neptune
5.
Where are most asteroids located?
a.
outside of Pluto's orbit
b.
orbiting all planets
c.
between Earth and Venus
d.
between Mars and Jupiter
6.
What shape describes the orbits of the planets?
a.
an ellipse
b.
a circle
c.
a line
d.
a sphere
7.
What explains why the Sun governs the motion of all planets in our solar system?
a.
telescopic observations of the planets
b.
the law of universal gravitation
c.
Kepler's third law
d.
retrograde motion of planets
8.
What is the composition of Saturn's atmosphere?
a.
hydrogen, helium, and ammonia ice
b.
hydrogen and helium
c.
sulfuric acid and hydrogen
d.
helium and oxygen
9.
Which planets in the figure have solid surfaces?
a.
5-8
b.
9
c.
1-4
d.
1-4 and 9
10.
Comets are bodies that are __________ that orbit __________.
a.
helium gas, the Sun
b.
larger than Earth, Earth
c.
ice and rock, the Sun
d.
icy, each planet
11.
What is the Sun-centered model of our solar system called?
a.
heliocentric
b.
epicycle
c.
geocentric
d.
eccentric
12.
What is the distance between the Sun and Earth called?
a.
1 mile
b.
1 astronomical unit
c.
1 light year
d.
1 year
13.
Neptune's atmosphere had a persistent storm called __________.
a.
the Great Dark Spot
b.
the Spot
c.
the Big Cloud
d.
the Giant Red Dot
14.
Why is Venus the hottest planet, even though it isn't the closest to the Sun?
a.
it's greenhouse effect
b.
it's high albedo
c.
it's high atmospheric pressure
d.
it surfuric acid rain
15.
The wobble in Earth's axis is called __________.
a.
eccentricity
b.
tilt
c.
seasons
d.
precession
16.
The objects that eventually formed planets by colliding and merging are called __________.
a.
stars
b.
asteroids
c.
solar nebula
d.
planetesimals
17.
Use the table to determine the largest terrestrial planet.
Planet
Orbital Radius, a (AU)
Planetary Radius, r (km)
Planetary Mass, m (10
24
kg)
Mercury
0.387
2439.7
0.3302
Venus
0.723
6051.8
4.8685
Earth
1.0
6378.1
5.9736
Mars
1.524
3397
0.64185
Jupiter
5.204
71 492
1898.6
Saturn
9.582
60 268
568.46
Uranus
19.201
25 559
86.832
Neptune
30.047
24 764
102.43
Pluto
39.236
1195
0.0125
a.
Mars
b.
Earth
c.
Venus
d.
Mercury
18.
Which planets in the figure are similar in composition to the sun?
a.
1-4 and 9
b.
1-4
c.
9
d.
5-8
19.
What are the three labeled parts of the comet shown in the figure?
a.
head, cone, tail
b.
corona, nucleus, end
c.
coma, nucleus, tail
d.
ice core, cloud, fan
