Solar System - Science Olympiad Exam
2026 Questions and Answers
How did the terrestrial planets form? - Correct answer-In the proto-Solar-Sytem,
after the sun formed, the rest of the materials orbiting close around it began to
clump together too. However, closer to the sun, lighter materials like gases blew
away and only rocky material was left, causing the four terrestrial planets, and
some of their moons, to form.
What are the characteristics of Terrestrial Planets? - Correct answer-Solid bodies
with a core surrounded by a mantle and crust. Comprised mostly of heavier
materials, like rocks, stones, and heavy metals like nickel and iron. They are
smaller in size than the gas giants and very dense in comparison.
How old is the Solar System? - Correct answer-4.6 billion years.
How did Mercury form? - Correct answer-Like the rest of the terrestrial planets,
Mercury was formed 4.55 billion years ago and is primarily rocky. After the sun's
formation, the rocks and metals very close it it began to come together to form
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,Mercury. However, all of Mercury's gases and atmosphere were blown away,
leading to it being small, but even more rocky than the other planets.
How did Venus form? - Correct answer-Venus, like Mercury, was formed by rocks
and metals coming together to form a large planet. However, solar winds are too
weak to blow away Venus' atmosphere, and the heat has led to a greenhouse gas
effect, causing the planet to be especially hot, even more so than Mercury, though
being further away.
How did Earth form? - Correct answer-Earth formed in the same way as the rest of
the terrestrial planets. However, another large body slammed into Earth (which
used to be larger) and the material from that body and the chunk of Earth blown off
formed the moon, which is why is has such a large size in comparison to Earth.
How did Mars form? - Correct answer-Mars was most likely very similar to Earth,
and it had formed the same way as well. It possibly even had large oceans.
However, for unknown reasons, they have dried up, leading to Mars' nickname as
"The Red Planet."
How did the Moon form? - Correct answer-Long ago, when the Earth was younger,
and larger, another body slammed into it. This body blew into pieces that began to
orbit the Earth, along with chunks of Earth blown off from the impact. Together,
these formed the Moon, being responsible for its relatively large size.
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, What are the surface features of Mercury? - Correct answer-Mercury's surface is
made of volcanic basalt (a hint towards prior geologic activity) and is very smooth.
However, Mercury has a no real atmosphere, allowing almost any incoming
asteroids to impact, though they are stopped by it's thick mantle. As a result,
Mercury looks like a smooth, dark grey planet peppered with large and small round
imprints. Mercury also has ridges all across it's surface. As the magma on Mercury
cools, it shrinks, since solids are more compact than liquids. Mercury's surface is
also made up of intercrater plains, accounting for almost half of the planet's surface
area. Intercrater plains are made up of flatter lands containing older more shallow
craters, while smooth plains are made up of newer land and more recent deeper
craters. Smooth plains make up around 15% of mercury's surface
What are the internal features of Mercury? - Correct answer-Mercury has an
extremely large core relative to its size. The core is mostly iron and iron
compounds and is about 1800 km in diameter. The mantle and crust are only 600
km in Diameter, and are mostly silicates. This is because the temperature of the
early son evaporated and destroyed a large portion of the rocky material, causing
the core to be larger than it normally would be, as it is the size of a core in what
would be a much larger planet. The core seems to have a liquid outer core and
superdense solid liquid core.
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2026 Questions and Answers
How did the terrestrial planets form? - Correct answer-In the proto-Solar-Sytem,
after the sun formed, the rest of the materials orbiting close around it began to
clump together too. However, closer to the sun, lighter materials like gases blew
away and only rocky material was left, causing the four terrestrial planets, and
some of their moons, to form.
What are the characteristics of Terrestrial Planets? - Correct answer-Solid bodies
with a core surrounded by a mantle and crust. Comprised mostly of heavier
materials, like rocks, stones, and heavy metals like nickel and iron. They are
smaller in size than the gas giants and very dense in comparison.
How old is the Solar System? - Correct answer-4.6 billion years.
How did Mercury form? - Correct answer-Like the rest of the terrestrial planets,
Mercury was formed 4.55 billion years ago and is primarily rocky. After the sun's
formation, the rocks and metals very close it it began to come together to form
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,Mercury. However, all of Mercury's gases and atmosphere were blown away,
leading to it being small, but even more rocky than the other planets.
How did Venus form? - Correct answer-Venus, like Mercury, was formed by rocks
and metals coming together to form a large planet. However, solar winds are too
weak to blow away Venus' atmosphere, and the heat has led to a greenhouse gas
effect, causing the planet to be especially hot, even more so than Mercury, though
being further away.
How did Earth form? - Correct answer-Earth formed in the same way as the rest of
the terrestrial planets. However, another large body slammed into Earth (which
used to be larger) and the material from that body and the chunk of Earth blown off
formed the moon, which is why is has such a large size in comparison to Earth.
How did Mars form? - Correct answer-Mars was most likely very similar to Earth,
and it had formed the same way as well. It possibly even had large oceans.
However, for unknown reasons, they have dried up, leading to Mars' nickname as
"The Red Planet."
How did the Moon form? - Correct answer-Long ago, when the Earth was younger,
and larger, another body slammed into it. This body blew into pieces that began to
orbit the Earth, along with chunks of Earth blown off from the impact. Together,
these formed the Moon, being responsible for its relatively large size.
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, What are the surface features of Mercury? - Correct answer-Mercury's surface is
made of volcanic basalt (a hint towards prior geologic activity) and is very smooth.
However, Mercury has a no real atmosphere, allowing almost any incoming
asteroids to impact, though they are stopped by it's thick mantle. As a result,
Mercury looks like a smooth, dark grey planet peppered with large and small round
imprints. Mercury also has ridges all across it's surface. As the magma on Mercury
cools, it shrinks, since solids are more compact than liquids. Mercury's surface is
also made up of intercrater plains, accounting for almost half of the planet's surface
area. Intercrater plains are made up of flatter lands containing older more shallow
craters, while smooth plains are made up of newer land and more recent deeper
craters. Smooth plains make up around 15% of mercury's surface
What are the internal features of Mercury? - Correct answer-Mercury has an
extremely large core relative to its size. The core is mostly iron and iron
compounds and is about 1800 km in diameter. The mantle and crust are only 600
km in Diameter, and are mostly silicates. This is because the temperature of the
early son evaporated and destroyed a large portion of the rocky material, causing
the core to be larger than it normally would be, as it is the size of a core in what
would be a much larger planet. The core seems to have a liquid outer core and
superdense solid liquid core.
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