Name the four gas giants.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

What are gas giants made of?

Mostly hydrogen and helium gas, with no solid surface.

What is a dwarf planet?

A round object that orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbit, such as Pluto or Ceres.

Where is the asteroid belt?

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

A small body of ice and dust with a very elliptical orbit around the Sun.

How do the orbits of planets and comets differ?

Planets have nearly circular orbits. Comets have very elongated elliptical orbits.

How does orbital period change with distance from the Sun?

The further from the Sun, the longer the orbital period.

Why do distant planets take longer to orbit?

They have a longer path and the Sun's gravity is weaker, so they move more slowly.

What is a geostationary orbit?

An orbit above the equator with a period of 24 hours, so the satellite stays above one point.

Give a use of geostationary satellites.

Communication, such as television broadcasting.

Why are weather satellites in low orbit?

They are close to the Earth, so they see more detail, and they scan the whole surface as they orbit.

Signals from several satellites to find a position.

The solar systemIB MYP Physics: Flashcards

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Name the four rocky planets.

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Name the four rocky planets.: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
Name the four gas giants.: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
What are gas giants made of?: Mostly hydrogen and helium gas, with no solid surface.
What is a dwarf planet?: A round object that orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbit, such as Pluto or Ceres.
Where is the asteroid belt?: Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
What is a comet?: A small body of ice and dust with a very elliptical orbit around the Sun.
How do the orbits of planets and comets differ?: Planets have nearly circular orbits. Comets have very elongated elliptical orbits.
How does orbital period change with distance from the Sun?: The further from the Sun, the longer the orbital period.
Why do distant planets take longer to orbit?: They have a longer path and the Sun's gravity is weaker, so they move more slowly.
What is a geostationary orbit?: An orbit above the equator with a period of 24 hours, so the satellite stays above one point.
Give a use of geostationary satellites.: Communication, such as television broadcasting.
Why are weather satellites in low orbit?: They are close to the Earth, so they see more detail, and they scan the whole surface as they orbit.
What does GPS use?: Signals from several satellites to find a position.
What is a natural satellite?: A moon that orbits a planet.

Exam questions on The solar system

A museum in Cape Town is building a model of the solar system for visitors. The model includes the Sun, the eight planets, the dwarf planet Pluto, several moons and asteroids, and Halley's comet.
State two differences between rocky planets and gas giants.2 marks
An astronomer compares the time that planets take to orbit the Sun. Earth takes 1 year, Mars takes about 1.9 years, Jupiter takes about 11.9 years and Neptune takes about 165 years.
Explain why Neptune takes much longer than Mars to orbit the Sun.2 marks
A telecommunications company in Nigeria plans to launch a satellite to broadcast television signals to the whole country. A weather agency already operates a different satellite that orbits about 800 km above the Earth and completes about 14 orbits every day.
Describe the orbit of a geostationary satellite.3 marks

See the full worksheet

Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).