Solar System - Science Olympiad Exam
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Terms in this set (270)
How did the terrestrial planets In the proto-Solar-Sytem, after the sun formed,
form? 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 Solid bodies with a core surrounded by a mantle
Terrestrial Planets? 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? 4.6 billion years.
How did Mercury form? 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 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? 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? 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? 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? 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.
, What are the surface features of Mercury's surface is made of volcanic basalt (a
Mercury? 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 has an extremely large core relative to
Mercury? 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.
Features to look for in identifying Dark Grey surface, round, shallow imprints into
Mercury? the surface, a relatively smooth surface, a
relatively large core of iron and iron compounds,
and a planet about 2500 km in diameter.
Questions and answers with verified Answers
(Latest Update 2026) UPDATE!!
Save
Terms in this set (270)
How did the terrestrial planets In the proto-Solar-Sytem, after the sun formed,
form? 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 Solid bodies with a core surrounded by a mantle
Terrestrial Planets? 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? 4.6 billion years.
How did Mercury form? 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 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? 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? 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? 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? 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.
, What are the surface features of Mercury's surface is made of volcanic basalt (a
Mercury? 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 has an extremely large core relative to
Mercury? 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.
Features to look for in identifying Dark Grey surface, round, shallow imprints into
Mercury? the surface, a relatively smooth surface, a
relatively large core of iron and iron compounds,
and a planet about 2500 km in diameter.
