| Term | Definition |
|---|
| What are planets? | spinning bodies of rock or gas that orbit around a star |
| What keeps the planets moving around the sun? | the sun's strong gravitational pull |
| Which planets are the rocky planets? | Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars |
| Which planets are the gas planets? | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune |
| How did Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn get their name? | The ancient Greeks and Romans named them after their gods. |
| What are the 2 ways that satellites move? | -they orbit around planets -they spin on thier own axis |
| Describe the atmosphere of Mercury. | a thin sodium cloud |
| Describe the atmosphere of Venus. | 98% carbon dioxide (traps the heat) |
| Describe the atmosphere of Earth. | oxygen and nitrogen (protects from the sun's rays) |
| Describe the atmosphere of Mars. | thin, carbon-dioxide |
| What are asteroids? | chunks of rock that orbit the sun |
| Where is the asteroid belt located? | between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter |
| What gases are found on the gas planets? | hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, water vapor |
| What is a comet? | an object made of gas, ice, and dust that orbits around the sun |
| What is a meteorite? | a rock from space that hits the Earth |
| What is a meteor? | also called a shooting star, a rock in space that may hit Earth's atmosphere |
| What is a meteoroid? | a small piece of an asteroid or comet orbiting the sun |
| Pluto is now considered to be a... | dwarf planet |
| Name some features of the gas planets. | ex: no solid surface, rings, complex storms, low density, far from the sun |
| Name some features of the rocky planets. | ex: solid surface, heavy metal core, significant atmosphere, volcanoes |
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