Name : _____________________________________________Date : _____________Period : _______
SOLAR SYSTEM TEST 8th Grade Gifted Science Version A
2015
A.
Multiple Choice
Directions : Choose the letter of the best response.
1.
One of the planets known to have rings is
a. Venus b. Mars c. Uranus d. Pluto
2.
Which of the following is not a Jovian planet ?
a. Earth b. Saturn c. Neptune d. Uranus
3.
Which of the following is not a terrestrial planet ?
a. Mercury b. Earth c. Mars d. Jupiter
4.
The formation of the solar system from a huge cloud of dust and gases is called the ______.
a. protoplanet theory b. nebular theory c. planetesimal theory d. solar theory
5.
Which of the following is NOT considered part of the solar system?
a. terrestrial planets
b. galaxies
c. Jovian planets
d. sun
6.
The Jovian planets contain a large percentage of the gases ________________.
a. nitrogen and argon c. oxygen and nitrogen b. hydrogen and helium d. hydrogen and oxygen
7.
Which planet has a cratered surface similar to Earth’s moon?
a. Mars
b. Mercury
c. Venus
d. Saturn
8. The planet with the greatest temperature extremes is ____.
a. Earth
b. Mars
c. Venus
d. Mercury
9. Which planet has a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere and high surface temperatures?
a. Venus
b. Mars
c. Earth
d. Mercury
12. Which planet has a greater mass than the combined mass of all the remaining planets and their
moons?
a. Venus
b. Jupiter
c. Saturn
d. Pluto
13. Which of the following is a characteristic of Jupiter?
a. huge rotating storms b. thin ring system c. dense atmosphere d. all of the above
14. The relatively small, rocky bodies generally found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter are known
as ____. a. comets
b. satellites
c. asteroids
d. meteoroids ____
15. Comets with short orbital periods are located in what region?
a. Kuiper belt b. inner solar system c. Oort cloud d. none of the above
16. About 99% of all matter contained in the solar nebula now exists in
a. planets
b. asteroids
c. space
d. the sun
17. Which of the following planets do scientists NOT consider a major planet?
a. Saturn
b. Pluto
c. Mercury
d. Neptune
18. Small bodies that orbit planets are called
a. comets
b. planetesimals
c. moons
d. protoplanets
19. When early Earth’s atmosphere formed, which of the following gases were lost because Earth’s
gravity was too weak?
a. oxygen and helium b. helium and nitrogen c. hydrogen and ozone d. helium and hydrogen
20. Impact craters are caused by
a. solar bursts
c. atmospheric changes
b. exploding volcanoes
d. collisions with objects in space.
21. A rotating cloud of gas and dust from which Earth’s solar system formed is called a(n)
a. solar nebula
b. solar eclipse.
c. supernova d. astronomical explosion
22. When the solar system formed, smaller bodies joined together through collision and the force of
gravity to form larger bodies called
a. moons
b. planetesimals
c. protoplanets
d. planets
23. Small bodies from which planets originated during the early formation of the solar system are
called
a. comets
b. asteroids
c. planetesimals
d. protoplanets.
24. A day on Saturn takes about 10 Earth hours. Which fact would best explain this short day? a.
Saturn is less dense than Earth. c. Saturn rotates more rapidly than Earth. b. Saturn is much farther from
the Sun than the Earth. d. Saturn’s orbit has greater eccentricity than Earth
25. What is the nearest part of the universe to Earth ?
a. Mars
b. The solar system
c. Milky Way
d. A galaxy
26. A large collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity is called a
a. Galaxy
b. Solar system
c. Milky Way
d. Comet
27. The Milky Way is
a. A star
b. An asteroid
c. Earth’s solar system
d. Earth’s galaxy
28. What separates the inner planets from the outer planets ?
a. The Kuiper belt b. the atmosphere c. the asteroid belt d. the Oort cloud
29. Who proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system ?
a. Ptolemy
c. Kepler
b. Copernicus
d. Galileo
30. Who proposed the geocentric model of the solar system ?
a. Ptolemy
c. Copernicus
b. Kepler
d. Galileo
31. The shape of a planet’s orbit
a. Depends on its speed around the sun
b. Depends on its rotation
c. Is determined by its foci
d. Depends on its distance from the sun
32. Which model of the solar system places the Earth in the center ?
a. Inferior
b. Geocentric c. Superior
d. Heliocentric
33. Why is Venus’s surface temperature so high ?
a. Venus is the closet planet to the sun
b. Venus is the ninth planet from the sun
c. Venus’s clouds produce an intense greenhouse effect
d. Venus’s magnetic field makes the surface temperature high.
34. What cause Mars to have a reddish-orange color ?
a. Mar’s surface is composed of weathered rocks containing iron oxide.
b. The clouds surrounding the planet make it appear red.
c. The sun reflects off the planet’s surface giving it a reddish hue.
d. Mar’s is made of iron
35. What causes Uranus to have a blue-green color ?
a. Oxidation of iron in minerals
b. Large deposits of opalline rocks
c. Reflection of sunlight off of the clouds surrounding the planet.
d. Methane in its atmosphere
36. Which planet has the most complex ring system ?
a. Saturn b. Jupiter c. Neptune d. Uranus
37. Comets with short orbital periods located outside our solar system are located in which
region ?
a. Oort cloud
b. Kuiper belt
c. Asteroid belt
d. None of the above
38. The right combination of temperature, water and oxygen
a. Affects Neptune’s orbit
b. Supports life on Earth
c. Causes gas giants to form
d. Results in storms on Jupiter
39. The gas giants have rings that are made up of
a. Dust and icy debris
b. Comets
c. Asteroids and gases
d. Orbiting moons
40. Compared with terrestrial planets, the gas giants
a. Have less gravity, which helps them retain gases
b. Have more gravity, which helps them retain gases
c. Have the same amount of gravity, which helps them retain gases.
d. Have no gravity, which helps them retain gases.
41. As Earth’s distance from the sun decreases, Earth’s orbital speed
a. Increase
b. Decreases
c. Drops sharply
d. Remains the same
42. A planet that is very hot and has sulfuric acid in its clouds is
a. Mars b. Earth c. Mercury d. Venus
43. This planet’s axis is almost parallel to its orbit around the sun.
a. Mars b. Mercury c. Uranus d. Neptune
44. The planet that is 1 AU from the sun is
a. Earth b. Jupiter c. Mars d. Mercury
45. The largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, is found on this planet.
a. Earth b. Venus c. Jupiter d. Mars
46. The real name for shooting stars is
a. meteorites b. meteors c. comets d. meteoroids
47. Pieces of rock that actually strike Earth’s surface are
a. meteorites b. meteors c. comets d. meteoroids
48. Besides Earth, this planet has polar ice caps.
a. Mercury b. Venus c. Jupiter d. Mars
49. This planet has retrograde rotation
a. Earth b. Venus c. Jupiter d. Mars
50. The brightest object in the night sky, besides our moon, is
a. Venus b. Mercury c. Jupiter d. the North Star