Planetary Information Worksheet

Name ____________________________________________ Date _____________

	TYPE OF PLANET*	DISTANCE FROM SUN	NUMBER OF SATELLITES	CONTENTS OF ATMOSPHERE
PLANET	(T OR G)	(MILL KM)
MERCURY	__________	__________	__________	__________
VENUS	__________	__________	__________	__________
EARTH	__________	__________	__________	__________
MARS	__________	__________	__________	__________
JUPITER	__________	__________	__________	__________
SATURN	__________	__________	__________	__________
URANUS	__________	__________	__________	__________
NEPTUNE	__________	__________	__________	__________
PLUTO	__________	__________	__________	__________
	* T = terrestrial	G = gas giant

DEFINITIONS

Define the following terms:

asteroid:

astronomical unit (au):

comet:

diameter:

meteor:

orbit:

planet:

radius:

satellite:

Solar System:

terrestrial:

theory:

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Planetary Information Worksheet:
TEACHER'S COPY

	TYPE OF PLANET*	DISTANCE FROM SUN	NUMBER OF SATELLITES	CONTENTS OF ATMOSPHERE **
PLANET	(T OR G)	(MILL KM)
MERCURY	T	58	0	TRACE
VENUS	T	108	0	CO2
EARTH	T	150	1	N, O2
MARS	T	228	2	THIN CO2
JUPITER	G	775	16	H, He
SATURN	G	1,426	18	H, He
URANUS	G	2,869	15	H, He, Meth
NEPTUNE	G	4,495	8	H, He, Meth
PLUTO	ICE	5,900	1	TRACE
	* T = terrestrial	G = gas giant
** CO2= Carbon Dioxide H = Hydrogen	N = Nitrogen He = Helium	O2 = Oxygen Meth = Methane

DEFINITIONS

Define the following terms:

asteroid: one of tens of thousands of small, rocky, planet-like objects in orbit about the Sun.

astronomical unit (au): the average distance between the Sun and the Earth's orbit

comet: a small body of ice and dust orbiting the sun

diameter: the length of a line that starts at the edge of a circle, passes through its center, and touches the other edge

meteor: a small rock from interplanetary space that enters the Earth's atmosphere

orbit: the path of an object as it moves around another object

planet: Greek word meaning "wanderer," so called because they appear as starts that do not stand still in the sky like the rest of the stars

radius: the length of a line that starts at the center of a circle and goes to its edge

satellite: a smaller body that revolves around a larger body, such as a moon or a spacecraft launched into orbit

Solar System: the Sun, planets, their satellites, asteroids, comets and other objects that orbit around the Sun

terrestrial: a planet that is like Earth in size and composition, the terrestrial planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars theory: an educated guess that provides an explanation for something