The Solar System

Question 1

solar system

Answer 1

anything orbiting the sun

Question 2

name 5 objects found in the solar system

Answer 2

planets
their natural satellites
dwarf planets
asteroids
comets

Question 3

star

Answer 3

a large mass at the centre of a solar system that produces heat and light (luminous)

Question 4

satellites

Answer 4

body that orbits a planet

the moon is a natural satellite of the Earth
communication satellites are artificial satellites of the Earth

Question 5

dwarf planet

Answer 5

an object orbiting a start that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, but has not cleared the area of other objects and is not a satellite

(because the gravitational field isn’t strong enough to ‘clear the neighbourhood’)

Question 6

asteroid (2)

Answer 6

a rock in space

asteroids orbit the sun, but some may cross the Earth’s orbit

Question 7

comets (3)

Answer 7

a ball of icy rock that follows an elliptical orbit around the Sun

similar to asteroids but are made of rocky material, dust and ice

as a comet approaches the sun it begins to vaporise (turns into a gas) and then produces a distinctive trail

Question 8

Way/mnemonic to remember the order of the planets?

Answer 8

My
Very
Easy
Method
Just
Shows
U
Nine
(Planets)

Question 9

order of the planets (and dwarf planets)

Answer 9

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

(Ceres)

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

(Pluto)

(Eris)

Question 10

moons

Answer 10

natural satellite that orbits a planet

planets can have different numbers - Earth has 1, Saturn has more than 50

Question 11

What is required for a planet to form?

Answer 11

• its own gravity must be strong enough to make it spherical in shape
• the gravitational field must be strong enough to ‘clear the neighbourhood’/pull nearby smaller objects into orbit

Question 12

orbits of asteroids (2)

Answer 12

highly elliptical

may take millions of year to complete

Question 13

material of asteroids

Answer 13

asteroids are made of metals and rocky material

Question 14

Where are there the most asteroids in the solar system? (2)

Answer 14

in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter (where Ceres is)

in a region beyond Neptune called the Kuiper belt

Question 15

the geocentric model

Answer 15

130 CE
greek/egyptian astronomer

Ptolemy’s model

theorised that the Sun and planets all moved around the Earth (geocentric)
planets have circular orbits (same as other model)
planets move in smaller circular orbits within their orbit path

before telescopes, observations were made with the naked eye

Question 16

the heliocentric model

Answer 16

1543

Nicolaus Copernicus

argued that the Earth and the planets were in orbits around the Sun (heliocentric)
planets have circular orbits
planets rotate while orbiting

detailed observations with telescopes prove this

Question 17

trend in temperature and time taken to orbit the Sun with distance from the Sun

Answer 17

in general:

• temperature decreases with distance
• time taken to orbit the Sun increases

Question 18

weight and gravitational field strength

Answer 18

…are in direct proportion

weight of an object is the force on it caused by gravity due to the planet

W = mg

Question 19

State what the Solar System is composed of. [3]

Answer 19

the solar system is composed of the Sun, eight planets, asteroids, comets, and dwarf planets such as Pluto

Question 20

State the difference between a geocentric and a heliocentric model of the Solar System. [2]

Answer 20

geocentric: earth at centre, sun and planets orbit the Earth
heliocentric: Sun at centre, planets orbit the Sun

Question 21

Name the planets in order from the Sun, starting with the furthest. [2]

Answer 21

Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury

Question 22

Suggest why some planets have been discovered more recently than others. [3]

Answer 22

greater distance makes them dimmer and harder to see with the eye/older telescopes

recent developments in telescopes allow these to be seen