Solar System Web Quest - birdvilleschools.net

Solar System Web Quest 1. Mercury is _______________ the size of Earth. 2. Mercury has a large metallic core that makes up about _______________ percent of the planet’s radius. 3. Mercury has _______________ ring(s) and _______________ moon(s). 4. Mercury is the _______________ planet to the sun at a distance of about _______________ million miles or _______________ AU. 5. There have been _______________ missions to study Mercury. 6. Venus is the _______________ closest planet to the Sun at a distance of about _______________million miles or _______________ AU. 7. There have been _______________ missions to study Venus. 8. Venus is _______________ percent the size of Earth. 9. Venus has _______________ moons. 10. Venus is the _______________ world in our solar system. 11. _______________ percent of the Earth is covered in oceans. 12. Earth has _______________ moon(s) and _______________ ring(s). 13. Scientists date the Earth to be about _______________ years old. 14. If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a _______________. 15. Earth’s rotational period is _______________ hours and its period of revolution is _______________ days. Its distance from the sun is _______________ AU. 16. Mars is about _______________ the size of Earth. 17. _______________ missions have been sent to study Mars. 18. Mars has _______________ moon(s) and _______________ ring(s). 19. Mars takes _______________ Earth days to go around the sun. 20. Martian gravity is _______________ percent that of Earth. 21. The total mass of all the asteroids is less than that of _______________ _______________. 22. The largest asteroid, named _______________, is _______________ kilometers(s) in diameter. The smallest are less than _______________ kilometer(s). 23. One asteroid, named _______________, is known to have two dense and narrow rings. 24. Tens of thousands of these minor planets are gathered in the main asteroid belt, a vast doughnut-shaped ring between the orbits of _______________ and _______________. 25. More than _______________ asteroids are known to have a small companion moon (some have two moons). 26. Jupiter has _______________ confirmed moons and _______________ more unconfirmed moons.

27. Jupiter has _______________ ring(s). 28. Jupiter is the _______________ massive planet in our solar system. 29. Jupiter is _______________ million miles or _______________ AU from the Sun. 30. _______________ missions have gone to or flown by Jupiter. The next one will arrive in July 2016 and is designed to look beneath Jupiter’s clouds. 31. Saturn has _______________ moons and _______________ rings. 32. Saturn is _______________ million miles or _______________ AU from the sun. 33. _______________ missions have gone to or flown by Saturn. 34. Saturn rotates once every _______________ earth hours and takes _______________ earth years to orbit the Sun. 35. A bizarre six-sided jet stream, known as the _______________, encircles Saturn’s north pole. 36. Uranus has _______________ moon(s) and _______________ ring(s). 37. Uranus is _______________ billion miles from the sun or _______________ AU. 38. _______________ was the only mission to fly to or by Uranus and was the only mission to fly by all 4 outer planets. 39. Uranus is an _______________ _______________ with 80 percent or more of the planet’s mass being made up of “icy” materials. 40. Uranus makes one rotation in _______________ Earth hours and takes _______________ Earth years to orbit the sun. 41. Neptune has _______________ moons and _______________ rings. 42. Neptune is _______________ billion miles from the sun or _______________ AU. 43. _______________ was the only mission to fly by Neptune. 44. Neptune is a sister _______________ _______________ to Uranus. 45. Neptune takes _______________ earth years to orbit the sun. 46. All the known dwarf planets, including Pluto, are _______________ than Earth’s moon. 47. Comets from the _______________ _______________ beyond Neptune take hundreds of years to orbit the sun. Comets from the _______________ _______________ can take thousands of years to orbit the sun. 48. _______________ tons of meteorite material falls on the Earth each day. 49. The Kuiper Belt extends 30 to 55 AU from the sun and contains thousands of dwarf planets such as _______________ and an estimated trillion or more _______________. 50. The Oort Cloud is believed to be a thick _______________ of icy debris that surrounds our solar system.