Stars and the Solar System quiz

The day on which the whole disc of the Moon is visible is called:

Which planet is nearest to the Sun?

The largest planet of the solar system is:

A light year is a unit of:

The constellation also known as Saptarishi is:

Which planet is known as the red planet?

The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of:

Which planet has prominent rings and is less dense than water?

The first Indian artificial satellite was:

The star nearest to the Earth is:

Why do we always see the same side of the Moon? (2 marks)

Why are stars not visible during the day? (2 marks)

Why do stars appear to move from east to west? (2 marks)

What is special about the rotation of Venus and of Uranus? (2 marks)

What is a comet? Describe the tail of a comet. (2 marks)

Name the inner planets and the outer planets. (2 marks)

Why is the Earth the only planet known to support life? (2 marks)

Name the eight planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun. (2 marks)

Why was Pluto removed from the list of planets? (2 marks)

Describe the surface of the Moon. (2 marks)

The Moon is about 3,84,000 km from the Earth. How long does light reflected from the Moon take to reach the Earth? (Speed of light = 3,00,000 km/s.) (3 marks)

Sirius is about 8.6 light years from the Earth. Express this distance in kilometres, taking 1 light year = 9.46 x 10^12 km. (3 marks)

A planet takes 88 days to revolve around the Sun. How many revolutions will it complete in 4 Earth years of 365 days each? Which planet is this likely to be? (3 marks)

New moon occurred on 10 January. Taking the lunar cycle as about 30 days, find the approximate dates of the next full moon and the next new moon. (3 marks)

Jupiter can hold about 1300 Earths in its volume. If the volume of the Earth is about 1.08 x 10^12 cubic km, estimate the volume of Jupiter. (3 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. On 23 August 2023, India's Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram landed near the south pole of the Moon. Its rover Pragyan moved on the lunar surface and sent back data about the soil. (i) Is the Moon a natural or artificial satellite of the Earth? (ii) Why would astronauts on the Moon need a supply of air and water? (iii) Why does the Moon's surface have many craters? (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. A group of students camping in a village away from city lights observed the sky after midnight. They saw a bright streak of light that lasted a moment. Their teacher called it a shooting star. (i) What is a shooting star actually? (ii) Why does it glow? (iii) What is it called if it reaches the Earth's surface? (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. Sailors in earlier times used the Pole Star to find their way at night. Even today, people use the stars of Ursa Major to locate it. (i) In which direction does the Pole Star lie? (ii) Why does it appear stationary? (iii) How can Ursa Major help locate the Pole Star? (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. Just before sunrise, Paheli saw a very bright object in the eastern sky. Her father told her it was not a star but a planet. (i) Which planet was it most likely to be? (ii) Why does it appear so bright? (iii) How can you tell a planet from a star by observing it? (5 marks)

Read the passage and answer the questions. Weather forecasts on television show cloud pictures taken from space, and our mobile phones use satellite signals for navigation. India has launched many such satellites. (i) What are such satellites called? (ii) Give two other uses of these satellites. (iii) Name two Indian satellites. (5 marks)

Draw a labelled diagram showing the different phases of the Moon during a lunar month. Explain why the phases occur. (6 marks)

Draw a labelled diagram of the solar system. Give one distinctive feature each of Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. (6 marks)

Draw the star patterns of Ursa Major, Orion and Cassiopeia. Explain how each can be identified in the night sky. (6 marks)

Draw a labelled diagram of a comet showing its head and tail in relation to the Sun. Explain why the tail always points away from the Sun and how comets differ from asteroids and meteors. (6 marks)

Draw a diagram showing the orbit of an artificial satellite around the Earth. Explain how artificial satellites differ from natural satellites and describe five uses of artificial satellites. (6 marks)