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Earth Science Answer Key continued

SECTION 2 THE INNER PLANETS

3. He made and analyzed observations of plan-

etary motions.
4. The point closest to the sun should be
labeled.
5. The farther a planet is from the sun, the longer its period of revolution.
6. Gravity pulls it toward the Earth.

1. They have a makeup similar to that of Earth.

2. density
3. The rotations are in opposite directions
4.
5.

Review
1. Rotation describes the motion of a body

2.

3.

4.
5.
6.

6.
7.

spinning on an axis. Revolution describes

the motion of a body orbiting another body.
The speed at which a planet is moving in its
orbit is different at different places in the
orbit.
Mass of the objects: As mass increases, the
force of gravity increases.
Distance between the objects: As the
separation increases, the force of gravity
decreases.
inertia and gravity
The object would crash into the planet.
According to Keplers third law, moon A will
take longest to orbit because it is farthest away.

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

when viewed from above the North Pole.

1 day
The thick atmosphere prevents visual
observations, even from space probes.
its oceans
Period of revolution is 6 h longer than 365 days.
4 6 h 24 h, or 1 day
Mars has a thinner atmosphere, and it is
farther from the sun.
A Martian day is longer than an Earth day.
erosion and sediments
at the poles and possibly below the surface
It may have erupted over long periods of time.
evidence that water once existed on the
Martian surface

Review
1. prograde
2. Planet

Distance from
sun (AU)

Period of revolution

Chapter 21 A Family of
Planets

Mercury

0.38

58 Earth days, 19 h

Venus

0.72

243 Earth days, 16 h

SECTION 1 OUR SOLAR SYSTEM

Earth

1.00

365 Earth days, 6 h

Mars

1.52

687 Earth days

planets, sun, moons

about 450 million km
about 250 light-minutes
Mercury
Mars
The planets in the outer solar system are, in
general, larger and farther apart than those
in the inner solar system.
7. Neptune

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

3. Features on the surface show that there may

have been erosion or sedimentation like that

caused by water on Earth. For liquid water to
exist, there would have to be a warmer surface
and a thicker atmosphere than there are now.
4. Planets that are farther from the sun take
longer to orbit the sun.
5. Venus has a thicker atmosphere and a stronger greenhouse effect, making it hotter than
the other inner planets.
6. If the Earth were too close to the sun, liquid
water would boil away.

Review
1. about 58 million km
2. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
3. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
4. A light-hour is the distance light travels in an

SECTION 3 THE OUTER PLANETS

1. Four of the following: hydrogen, helium,

hourabout 1,080 million km.

5. Light-years are much longer than light-minutes
or light-hours. Our solar system is too small
to measure accurately in light-years.

2.
3.
4.
5.

ammonia, methane, water

its period of rotation
about 29 times
ice, dust
It does not reflect enough light.

Copyright by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

Interactive Textbook Answer Key

63

Earth Science