1. Be able to chose between characteristics of Jovian and Terrestrial planets such as:
 Numbers of moons
Terrestrial - few
Jovian - many
 Rings or lack of
Terrestrial – no rings
Jovian – seen on all Jovian planets
 Relative thickness of atmospheres,
Terrestrial – gaseous atmospheres, thin coverings, insignificant fraction of their
masses
Jovian – deep, massive atmospheres because their planetary masses are better able
to retain gases
 Relative radii,
Terrestrial – Small, .4-1 earth radii
Jovian – large, 4-11 earth radii
 Relative masses,
Terrestrial – Smaller masses
Jovian – Very massive
 Chemical composition of atmospheres
Terrestrial – Venus/Mars – carbon dioxide, Earth – nitrogen and oxygen
Jovian – Hydrogen and helium rich
 Averaged density
Terrestrial – high density (4-5.5 g/cm^3)
Jovian – low density (1-2 g/cm^3)
 Surfaces
Terrestrial – silicates (silicon and oxygen, aluminum, iron…), show the scars of
impacts from nonplanetary material as well as volcanoes, mountains, deep valleys
Jovian – do not have solid surfaces
2. Identify properties of the different Jovian planets such as
 Diameters (largest/smallest)
Jupiter – 11.2 Earth diameters
Saturn – 9.41 Earth diameters
Uranus – 3.98 Earth diameters
Neptune – 3.86 Earth diameters
 Masses
Jupiter – 317 Earth masses (1.9 x 10^30 g)
Saturn – 95.184 Earth masses (5.69 x 10^29 g)
Uranus – 14.53 Earth masses (8.68 x 10^28 g)
Neptune – 17.14 Earth masses (1.02 x 10^29 g)
 Ring properties
Jupiter – diffuse, may extend to upper atmosphere (orbital)
Saturn – extensive ring system (orbital)
Uranus – 10 narrow rings (orbital)
Neptune – 6 (orbital)
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Inclination of rotational axes
Jupiter – 3.1 degrees
Saturn – 26.7 degrees
Uranus – 97.92 degrees
Neptune – 28.8 degrees
Moon systems
Jupiter – over 60 moons
Saturn – over 60 moons
Uranus – 27
Neptune -13
Relative distance from the Sun
Jupiter – 5.2 AU
Saturn – 9.54 AU
Uranus – 19.2 AU
Neptune – 30.1 AU
Average densities
Jupiter – 1.3 g/cm^3
Saturn – 0.69 g/cm^3
Uranus – 1.32 g/cm^3
Neptune – 1.64 g/cm^3
Orbital periods
Jupiter – 11.86 years
Saturn – 29.45 years
Uranus – 84.02 years
Neptune – 164.79 years
3. Identify properties and processes of the Terrestrial planets such as
 Intensity of the greenhouse effect
Mercury – no greenhouse effect due to a lack of an atmosphere
Venus – warms by hundreds of degrees because its atmosphere is 100 times denser
than Earth
Earth – warms the Earth by about 40 Kelvin or 70 degrees Fahrenheit
Mars – small greenhouse effect (7 Kelvin warming because its atmosphere is about
150 times less than Earth’s)
 Did it rain or not
Mercury –
Venus –
Earth – Yes
Mars –
 Chemical composition of clouds and atmospheres
Mercury – Atmosphere – none, Clouds - none
Venus – Atmosphere – 96.5% CO2, 3.5% N2, Clouds – Sulfuric Acid droplets,
complete coverage
Earth – Atmosphere – 78% N2, 21% O2, Clouds – Water vapor, partial coverage
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Mars – Atmosphere – 95.3% CO2, 2.7% N2, Clouds – Carbon dioxide ice, water vapor
dust, slight to complete coverage
Evidence of water
Mercury –
Venus – Water vapor, temperatures were so high that it was unable to condense into
liquid water
Earth – Yes
Mars – Yes
Atmospheric temperatures
Mercury –
Venus –
Earth –
Mars –
Relative diameters
Mercury – 4,878 km (.382 Earth diameters)
Venus – 12,104 km (.949 Earth diameters)
Earth – 12, 756 km
Mars – 6,794 km (.53 Earth diameters)
5. After those matching questions be able to distinguish between
 Hypotheses
A preliminary explanation for a phenomenon that may or may not be supported by
further observations or experiments, a summary of the available data that helps
researchers visualize what is going on, a statement made to explain a fact
 Predictions of hypotheses
What you think the hypothesis will find
 Verifications of a prediction
A discovery supporting the hypothesis
 Observations of nature
A general fact about something seen in real life