The Planets Units, classification, measurements FormationThe SunRandom

Question part question: Which Planet is the hottest? Why?

Answer 1 – 10 Venus because of its runaway green house affect

Question Why is Neptune blue?

Answer 1 – 20 The methane in its atmosphere

Question What makes Mars red?

Answer 1 – 30 The iron oxide in its soil

Question Which planets have rings? (name them all for points)

Answer 1 – 40 Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Question How far away from the sun is the planet Earth (answer given in miles)

Answer 1 – million miles

Question How many miles are in an astronomical Unit (AU)

Answer 2 – million miles in 1AU

Question What is the average surface temperature on Venus? (degrees F)

Answer 2 – degrees F

Question What is the classification given to planets like Mars and Earth?

Answer 2 – 30 Terrestrial planets

Question What is the classification given to planets like Jupiter and Neptune?

Answer 2 – 40 Jovian or Gas Giants

Question When rotation of a planet is counterclockwise, what is it called

Answer 2 – 50 Prograde rotation

Question New solar systems are born from what?

Answer 3 – 10 Nebula cloud

Question What pulls the matter in the nebula cloud together?

Answer 3 – 20 Gravity

Question On what two properties does the force of gravity between two objects depend on?

Answer 3 – 30 Mass and distance

Question Why are the gas giant planets so large?

Answer 3 – 40 Gas giants were formed far out in the solar nebula, where it was cold and there was more solid material (dust and ice) for the planets to collect.

Question Explain why there is only one planet in each orbit around the sun.

Answer 3 – 50 The largest planetesimals In an orbit collected the rest of the material and became a planet

Question What is occurring in the core of the sun?

Answer 4 – 10 nuclear fusion

Question What two gases make up the composition of the sun?

Answer 4 – 20 Hydrogen and helium

Question About how old is the sun?

Answer 4 – 30 about 4.6 billion years old

Question What layer of the sun do we see from Earth?

Answer 4 – 40 The photosphere

Question What causes auroras in the Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 4 – 50 Solar flares interact with the earths atmosphere

Question What shape are the planets orbits?

Answer 5 – 10 an ellipse

Question What is a lunar eclipse?

Answer 5 – 20 The shadow of the earth falls on the moon (the Earth is between the sun and the moon)

Question What causes a solar eclipse

Answer 5 – 30 The moon comes between the Earth and the sun and the moon casts a shadow on the Earth

Question Define perihelion

Answer 5 – 40 The point in the orbit that is closest to the sun

Question What causes a meteor shower

Answer 5 – 50 Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the dusty debris of a comets orbit.

Final Jeopardy

Carl Sagan was a famous cosmologist and the creator of the original series “The Cosmos.” He often says that “We are made of star stuff.” Using what you have learned about the formation of the solar system, explain what he means by this. “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe”—Carl Sagan