The Solar System

Question 1

How many planets are there in our solar system?

Answer 1

8 including earth

Question 2

List the planets in order from closest to furthest away from the sun.

Answer 2

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Question 3

List the planets in order from smallest to biggest

Answer 3

1. Mercury
2. Mars
3. Venus
4. Earth
5. Neptune
6. Uranus
7. Saturn
8. Jupiter

Question 4

What are the planets named after?

Answer 4

All planets except earth are named after Roman and Greek gods and godesses

Question 5

Why is our planetary system called “the solar system?”

Answer 5

We use the word “sloar” to describe things related to our star, after the Latin word for Sun, “solis.”

Question 6

What does our solar system consist of?

Answer 6

Our star (The Sun) and everything bound to it by gravity-
Planets
Dwarf planets
Moons
Asteroids
Comets
Meteoroids

Question 7

Facts about mercury:

Answer 7

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. Despite being the closest planet to the sun Mercury is not the hottest

Question 8

Facts about Venus:

Answer 8

Venus is the second planet from the sun. Venus is the hottest planet due to its dense atmosphere

Question 9

Facts about Earth:

Answer 9

Earth is the third planet from the sun and the only place we know of so far that is inhabited by living things

Question 10

Facts about Mars:

Answer 10

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere

Question 11

Facts about Jupiter:

Answer 11

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun. It is the largest planet in our solar system and is orbited by 64 moons (12 of which are named)

Question 12

Facts about Saturn:

Answer 12

Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun. Although it is not the only planet with rings in our solar system, Saturn’s rings are certainly the most spectacular and complex

Question 13

Facts about Uranus:

Answer 13

Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun and the third largest planet in our solar system. It was the first planet discovered with the aid of a telescope

Question 14

Facts about Neptune:

Answer 14

Neptune is an ice giant and the furthest planet from the sun

Question 15

Who discovered Uranus?

Answer 15

Astronomer William Herschel

Question 16

List the four rocky planets and the four gas planets.
What are they also known as?

Answer 16

Rocky:
.Mercury
.Venus
.Earth
.Mars

Gas:
.Jupiter
.Saturn
.Uranus
.Neptune
Rocky is also known as terrestrial
Gas is also known as jovial

Question 17

How did everything begin?

Answer 17

In a molecular cloud

Question 18

What is a molecular cloud?

Answer 18

A loose collection of gas and dust, one that is cold enough for molecules to be able form

Question 19

What is a molecular cloud mostly made up of?

Answer 19

Hydrogen gas

Question 20

How do stars form?

Answer 20

Over time gravity causes parts of the molecular clouds to collapse. The clumps become denser and hotter eventually forming stars

Question 21

How do planets form?

Answer 21

Each star attracts dust and gas from the clouds. Some of it falls onto the star but some of it falls into orbit around it instead. Once the cloud clears some dust and gas remain orbiting the star. Out of this disk, planets form

Question 22

How long does it take for planets to form?

Answer 22

Depending on how close it is to the star, a planet can take anywhere between centuries and less than a day to form

Question 23

What happened during the Chaotic Era?

Answer 23

Some Protoplanets smashed into each other. Others may have been ejected out of the solar system entirely

Question 24

How will the solar system end up?

Answer 24

The sun will exhaust all it’s fuel and collapse in on itself this will cause an explosion that will either destroy the remaining planets or eject them into space. The sun will have lost half its mass and continue to shine as a small, hot white dwarf. The remains of the solar system will scatter in space