Name________________________________________ Web Activity: Solar System Exploration
Go to: http://www.windows2universe.org and then Click on the tab: “Solar System”
Most of the information has a link in the tabs along the top or in the blue section on the left of the
page. Less familiar terms are in blue; click them for more in-depth answers.
Click on: “Formation”
______ 1. The solar system (ours) began ____ of years ago.
a. thousands
b. millions
c. billions
d. trillions
Select the tab: Planets, Click on: “Mercury”
______ 2. Mercury is the ____ planet to/from the Sun.
a. farthest
b. 4th
c. 2nd
d. nearest
Click on: “Discovery” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 3. Name the spacecraft that visited Mercury.
a. Viking
b. Magellan
c. Mariner 10
d. Pioneer
Click on: “Interior/Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 4. Temperature variations on Mercury are extreme and can reach over:
a. 400o F
b. 600o F
c. 800o F
d. 1000o F
______ 5. The surface of Mercury can be compared to that of the moon’s because both are heavily
cratered.
a. true
b. false
______ 6. Is there volcanic activity on Mercury now?
a. yes
b. no
Select the tab: Planets, Click on: “Venus”
______ 7. Venus is the ____ planet from the Sun.
a. 2nd
b. 3rd
______ 8. Venus is considered a ____ planet to Earth.
a. brother
b. sister
c. mother
c. 4th
d. 7th
d. father
Click on: “Interior/Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 9. Venus has over ____ major volcanoes.
a. 450
b. 900
c. 1400
d. 1600
Click on: “Atmosphere” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 10. What makes up most of the atmosphere of Venus, not just the clouds?
a. carbon dioxide
b. nitrogen
c. argon
d. sulfur dioxide
Click on: “Facts” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 11. How many natural satellites (moons) does Venus have? a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
Click on: “Discovery” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 12. Which item in reference to Venus does NOT belong?
a. morning star
b. afternoon star
c. evening star
d. planet
d. 0
Select the tab: Planets, Click on: “Earth”
______ 13. Earth is the ____ planet from the Sun.
a. 2nd
b. 3rd
c. 4th
d. 7th
Click on: “Interior/Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 14. Earth is the smallest and least dense planet in our solar system.
a. true
b. false
Click on: “Atmosphere”
______ 15. Which of the following elements does not make the Earth’s atmosphere?
a. nitrogen
b. oxygen
c. carbon dioxide
d. iron
Select the tab: more, Click on: “Facts”
______ 16. How many natural satellites (moons) does Earth have? a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
d. 0
______ 17. What is the rotational period for the Earth? (with respect to the Sun)
a. 23 hours
b. 24 hours
c. 48 hours
d. 365 days
Select the tab: Solar System then Planets, click on: “Mars”
______ 18. Mars is the ____ planet from the Sun?
a. 2nd
b. 3rd
c. 4th
d. 6th
Click on: “Interior / Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 19. What causes the reddish color of Mars?
a. red dye
b. the sun’s heat
c. rust (iron oxide) in soil
______ 20. What is Olympus Mons?
a. monsoon
b. hurricane
c. volcano
______ 21. What is Valles Marineris
a. chain of volcanoes b. moon
c. large/low clouds
d. volcanoes
d. crater
d. giant canyon
Click on: “Moons” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 22-23. Which are the TWO moons of Mars? (2 answers)
a. Titan
b. Charon
c. Phobos
d. Deimos
Select the tab: Planets, Click on: “Jupiter”
______ 24. Jupiter is the ___ planet from the sun.
a. 4th
b. 5th
______ 25. Jupiter is the ______ ______
in the solar system.
a. largest object
b. smallest object
c. largest planet
c. 6th
d. 7th
d. smallest planet
Click on: “Interior/Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 26. What gases make up Jupiter’s high pressure liquid interior?
a. nitrogen & helium
c. oxygen & nitrogen
b. hydrogen & helium
d. oxygen, nitrogen, & silicon
Click on: “Atmosphere” then read the 1st paragraph and click on: Cloud Patterns
______ 27. Now click on the Great Red Spot. What is the Great Red Spot?
a. monsoon
b. hurricane
c. volcano
d. tornado
______ 28. At least how long has the Great Red Spot been on Jupiter?
a. 5 yrs.
b. 50 yrs.
c. 200 yrs.
d. 400 yrs.
Click on: “Moons/Rings” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 29. At the least, how many moons does Jupiter have?
a. 22
b. 41
c. 63
d. 87
Click on: “Io” –one of Jupiter’s moons pronounced “eye-oh”
______ 30. Io has active volcanism on its surface.
a. true
b. false
______ 31. Read about each Galilean Satellite. Which one is thought to have liquid water on it?
a. Ganymede
b. Europa
c. Callisto
d. Io
Select the tab: Planets, Click on: “Saturn”
a. 4th
______ 32. Saturn the ___ planet from the sun.
b. 5th
c. 6th
d. 7th
Click on: “Atmosphere” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 33. Why does Saturn appear yellow?
a. because of volcanic activity
b. amount of sulfur in atmosphere
c. The rings make it look yellow
d. The sun’s light is yellow
Click on: “Moons/Rings” (in the blue box on the left) - In the 1st paragraph, click on Ring System
______ 34. Saturn is the only planet with rings.
______ 35. What are the rings made up of?
a. ice only
b. rock only
a. true
b. false
c. ice and rock
d. water
Click back, click on: Titan-- It is Saturn’s most famous moon.
______ 36. Titan may have a very tiny chance that life exists.
a. true
b. false
Select the tab: Planets, click on: “Uranus”
______ 37. Uranus is the ___ planet from the sun.
a. 6th
______ 38. How many moons does Uranus have? a. 20
b. 7th
b. 25
c. 8th
c. 27
d. farthest
d. 30
Click on: “Interior/Surface” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 39. Uranus’s interior is made up mostly of ____ ice.
a. water
b. methane
c. carbon dioxide
d. nitrogen
Click on: “Discovery” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 40. Who discovered Uranus?
a. William Herschel
b. Johann Galle
c. Leverrier
d. Clyde Tombaugh
c. volcanic activity
d. both answers b & c
Select the tab: Planets, click on: “Neptune”
______ 41. Why does Neptune look blue?
a. methane gas
b. water
Click on: “Discovery” (in the blue box on the left)
______ 42. How was Neptune discovered?
a. satellites b. space probes
c. telescopes
d. using math
Select the tab: Asteroids
______ 43. More than ______ asteroids lie in a belt between Mars & Jupiter.
a. 1,000
b. 10,000
c. 100,000
d. 1,000,000
Click on: “Meteors”
______ 44. Streaks of light in our night sky, usually lasting just a few seconds are called:
a. Meteors
b. Meteorites
c. Meteoroids
d. Asteroids
Click on: “Comets”
______ 45. One of the brightest comets ever seen from Earth was:
a. Hale-Bopp
b. Halley
c. Hyakutake
d. Rosetta
______ 46. In 1994, comet ______became trapped by the gravity of Jupiter and plunged into
Jupiter's atmosphere:
a. Hale-Bopp
b. Halley
c. Hyakutake
d. Shoemaker-Levy
Click on: “Sun”
______ 47. The sun is the ____ star to Earth.
a. farthest
b. closest
c. smallest
______ 48. The sun is the ____ of our solar system.
a. center
b. farthest item
d. 2nd nearest
c. smallest object
d. magnetism
Click on: “Interior”- look at diagram and read the 1st paragraph. Click on the word core.
______ 49. The core has very hot/dense gas that’s considered what state of matter?
a. solid
b. liquid
c. ice
d. plasma
50-51. Think of or click back to find 2 different things that were new or interesting to you and briefly
list and describe them below.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
52-55. If you had the ability to move off Earth to a different location in the solar system, where would
you go? Describe that location and how you would feel if you had to move.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
** When you are finished with this activity, do not log-off this site. After turning this in…
Click the tab: Play Games—Choose a game to play 