Science Physics Revision - Space

Question 1

What are satellites?

Answer 1

Objects that orbit bigger objects in space.

Question 2

What is the Earth’s only natural satellite?

Answer 2

The Moon.

Question 3

How many planets are in orbit around the Sun?

Answer 3

Eight.

Question 4

List the five planets that can be seen with the naked eye.

Answer 4

• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn

Question 5

Which planet comes closest to the Earth?

Answer 5

Venus.

Question 6

What are planets orbiting around other stars called?

Answer 6

Exoplanets.

Question 7

What are comets made of?

Answer 7

Ice and dust.

Question 8

What shape do comets’ orbits take?

Answer 8

Long ellipse-shaped orbits.

Question 9

What are meteors?

Answer 9

Bits of rock that burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 10

What do we call meteors that fall to Earth?

Answer 10

Meteorites.

Question 11

What are stars composed of?

Answer 11

Huge balls of gas.

Question 12

What is our closest star?

Answer 12

The Sun.

Question 13

What is a galaxy?

Answer 13

A collection of billions of stars.

Question 14

What is the name of our galaxy?

Answer 14

The Milky Way.

Question 15

What is the nearest large galaxy to us?

Answer 15

Andromeda.

Question 16

How long does light from Andromeda take to reach Earth?

Answer 16

Two million years.

Question 17

How old is the universe estimated to be?

Answer 17

13.77 billion years.

Question 18

What are the rocky, inner planets?

Answer 18

• Mercury
• Venus
• Earth
• Mars

Question 19

What are the gas giant, outer planets?

Answer 19

• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune

Question 20

What shape is the solar system?

Answer 20

Flat disc-shape.

Question 21

What sits between Mars and Jupiter?

Answer 21

The asteroid belt.

Question 22

What is found in the Kuiper belt?

Answer 22

A collection of ice and rock where comets come from.

Question 23

What are asteroids?

Answer 23

Lumps of rock that orbit the Sun.

Question 24

What produces its own light?

Answer 24

Luminous objects.

Question 25

What is a non-luminous object?

Answer 25

An object that does not produce its own light.

Question 26

Why does the Earth experience day and night?

Answer 26

Because it spins and rotates on its axis.

Question 27

How long does one rotation of the Earth take?

Answer 27

24 hours.

Question 28

What is the duration of one complete orbit of the Earth around the Sun?

Answer 28

365.25 days.

Question 29

What causes the seasons?

Answer 29

The tilt of the Earth's axis.

Question 30

How long does the moon take to orbit the Earth?

Answer 30

28 days.

Question 31

What is a full moon?

Answer 31

When the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

Question 32

What occurs during a solar eclipse?

Answer 32

The Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.

Question 33

What is the umbra?

Answer 33

The darkest part of the Moon's shadow.

Question 34

What is a lunar eclipse?

Answer 34

When the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon.

Question 35

What is an ellipse?

Answer 35

A slightly squashed circle.

Question 36

Where do most comets come from?

Answer 36

The Oort Cloud.

Question 37

How did the Sun form?

Answer 37

Gravity pulled gas and dust together.

Question 38

What do scientists think formed the planets?

Answer 38

A disc of gas and dust surrounding the Sun.

Question 39

What is the penumbra?

Answer 39

The lighter part of the moon's shadow