1.
Why is Jupiter the largest planet?
It is in the right place. It is the first planet to form where it is cold enough for a planet to capture hydrogen and helium.
2.
What will happen to the surface gravity of a planet if the mass doubles and the planets diameter stays the same? The surface gravity will double.
3.
Why is there no hydrogen in Earth’s atmosphere? It is too hot. Hydrogen molecules move faster than Earth’s escape velocity.
4.
Why don’t asteroids contain ice and frozen gases? Asteroids are found in the inner solar system where it is too warm. The gases have melted.
5.
How do astronomers find the mass of stars and planets? By measuring the speed of an object orbiting the star or planet. The higher the mass of a planet the faster it’s moons will orbit.
6.
What is the most massive object in our solar system? “The Sun”
7.
What created the molecular or “free oxygen” in Earth’s atmosphere? Originally Cyanobacteria(pond scum) and now plants.
8.
What is happening to the energy output of our sun? It is slowly increasing. (Very Slowly)
9.
What is the scientific term for a “baby star”? Proto-Star
10.
What happened to the hydrogen and helium located in the inner solar system at the time of formation? It was driven out of the inner solar system by the energy from the sun.
11.
What object in our solar system has the greatest gravity? The Sun
12.
Samples of what objects allow astronomers to study the material that made up the early solar system?
Asteroids and meteors.
13.
Which of the following numbers is the largest 3.45 x 10 7 or 9.37 x 10 5 ? 9.37 x 10 5
14.
If the diameter of a planet doubles while its mass stays the same what will happen to the surface gravity of the planet? It will decrease by a factor of 4
15.
What did the Apollo 13 astronauts use for a “lifeboat” in their return to the Earth? Their Lunar Lander
16.
What is the definition of escape velocity? The velocity at which gravity cannot stop an object and return it to the planet.
17.
If it is 3pm Universal time here in Chicago, what time is it in New York? 3pm Universal time. Under Universal time it is the same time everywhere.
18.
Which solar system objects are small rocky and reside inside the orbit of Jupiter? Asteroids

19.
What two factors determine whether a planet has an atmosphere? Amount of Gravity and Temperature
20.
How old have astronomers determined our solar system to be? About 4.6 Billion Years
21.
What is a “Giant Molecular Cloud”? A nebula that is collapsing and forming new stars.
22.
In what year did Apollo 11 land on the moon? July 1969
23.
Who was the first human to set foot on the moon? Neil Armstrong
24.
What are the Jovian planets? The Terrestrial planets? Jovians are the Jupiter like gas planets while the terrestrials are the rocky Earth like planets.
25.
Even though Mars and Mercury have similar gravities only Mars has an atmosphere. Why is this true? Mercury is too hot. Gas molecules move too fast for Mercury’s gravity to hold on to.
26.
What did Newton discover to be true about white light? That it is made up of all colors of light
27.
Earth has an escape velocity of 11 km/sec while Mars has an escape velocity 5 km/sec. Since there is no oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars in what range must the maximum velocity of oxygen be in? It must be greater than
5m/s but less than 11 km/s.
28.
If Apollo 17 was the last mission to the moon, how many men have walked on the moon? 12 from Apollo’s 11-17 remembering that Apollo 13 did not land.
29.
Why would it be easier for a rocket to take-off from the moon than from the Earth? The moon’s surface gravity is much weaker.
30.
What makes up most of the mass of our solar system? The Sun
31.
What is a proto-star? A star that is forming but has yet begun to create energy in its core.
32.
Before they were astronauts what did all but one of the Apollo astronauts do for a living? Military pilots.
33.
How do we know that asteroids have collided with the Earth in the past? There are some craters that have not been eroded by weather. We can also see that the moon has been hit millions of times so it is only logical to assume that the Earth has been hit more times.
34.
Multiply 2 x 10 5 and 4x10 7 8 x 10 12
35.
What shape is our solar system? It is shaped like a very thin disk.
36.
Which planet in our solar system is the first one that is far enough from the sun to have hydrogen in its atmosphere?
Jupiter is the first planet that is cold enough.
37.
Why could Isaac Newton figure out the masses of the Earth and Sun but he was unable to calculate the mass of the moon? Earth and the sun both have objects orbiting them and the moon does not. We calculate the mass of the Earth and Sun based on the speed that objects orbit them.
38.
Which group of planets has the greatest density? The rocky Terrestrial Planets.

39.
How many years does it take for the Earth to get one degree Celsius warmer due to the increasing power output of the Sun? 25 million years
40.
Why aren’t asteroids round like the planets? They are much too small for gravity to pull them into a spherical shape.
41.
Why does the moon have lots of impact craters while the Earth has very few?
The Earth has weather that erodes any impact craters here on Earth.
42.
Which Apollo mission suffered a major malfunction and did not land on the moon? Apollo 13
43.
How can asteroids help astronomers understand the formation of our solar system? Asteroids are thought to be unchanged since the formation of the solar system so they let astronomers see material that the Earth is made up of.
44.
Which solar system objects are known as “Dirty Snowballs”? Comets
45.
What planets are most of the asteroids located between? Jupiter and Mars
46.
What is Universal Time? A time that everyone on Earth can agree on. It is the same as the time in London’s time zone.
47.
What two elements make up 98% of the atoms in our solar system? Hydrogen and Helium
48.
What happened in Tunguska back on June 30 th , 1908? A small comet or asteroid collided with the Earth over
Siberia causing an explosion that leveled trees over an area of 900 square miles. It is not known if anyone was killed because the area was so remote.
49.
What is the habitable zone around a star? The area where liquid water can exist and it is possible for life to exist.
50.
What did our solar system form out of?
A giant cloud of gas or dust that collapsed due to gravity.
51.
What do we call the sun and everything gravitationally attracted to it? The solar system.
52.
Why is our solar system flat and disk shaped? The easy answer is a combination of gravity and rotation.