Science: Outer Solar System Flashcards
What are the Outer Planets, in order from the one closest to the sun
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
What is a Moon?
A satellite made of ice and rock that orbits a planet
What are charateristics?
A trait that can help identify something
What is an asteroid?
A rocky or metallic minor planet with a diameter of 1 meter or more, that orbits the sun
What is a comet?
Chunk of ice and dust or rock that have stretched out orbit around the sun
What is a meteoroid?
A rocky or metallic minor planet with a diameter of less than 1 meter
True or false: Outer Planets are smaller than Inner Planets.
False.
They are bigger than Inner Planets?
Why are outer planets sometimes referred to as gas giants?
They have thick atmospheres made of gas
What are some other characteristics of outer planets?
They have large inner layers.
They have rings of particles and many moons orbiting around them.
What are some important characteristics of Jupiter?
Largest planet in the solar system.
Made up of gas elements:89% Hydrogen, 10% Helium.
But the gases are in different states of matter: below the hydrogen cloud layer is a layer of liquid hydrogen, then a thick layer of metallic hydrogen.
It is believed to have a rocky icy core.
It has many moons in orbit.
What are some important characteristics of Saturn?
It has the most number of rings of all planets, made up of water ice, dust and rock.
Like Jupiter, it is largely made up of Hydrogen and Helium.
Like Jupiter, it is believed to have a rocky ice core.
What are some important characteristics of Uranus?
It’s the first of 2 ice giants, made up of Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen.
Also believed to have a rocky core.
It has an unusual rotation - it orbits the sun on its side.
It has Methane in its atmosphere, which freezes and absorbs red light and reflects blue light. This makes Uranus look blue.
What are some important characteristics of Neptune?
Similar size and composition to Uranus, and also looks blue because of Methane in its atmosphere.
It has the strongest winds and is the coldest of all planets.
It is the only planet that cannot be observed with the naked eye from Earth. It was discovered using mathematical calculations, as scientists tried to figure out what was pulling on the orbit of Uranus.
Match the correct definition with the term:
Term:
A. Sun
B. Planet
C. Moon
D. Asteroid
E. Comet.
Definition:
- Satellite made up of ice and rock, and orbits around a planet.
- Chunk of rock that orbits the sun in space.
- Chunk of ice and rock that has an elliptical orbit around the sun.
- Huge ball of very hot matter that gives off energy.
- Large body of matter that travels around the sun.
A-4
B-5
C-1
D-2
E-3
