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1. The table below gives information about the planets of the Solar System.
They are listed in alphabetical order.
(Data obtained from The Guinness Book of Astronomy, Patrick Moore; published by Guinness 1992)
(a) Explain why Neptune and Pluto are the coldest planets.
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1 mark
(b) Explain why there could be no liquid water on the surface of:
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1 mark
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1 mark
(c) On which planet would the time between sunrise and sunset be shortest?
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1 mark
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(e) Give the name of the force which keeps the planets in their orbits.
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1 mark
Maximum 6 marks
Sun
M a rs
not to scale
(a) Name one planet which is closer than Mars to the Sun.
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1 mark
(b) A day and night on Mars lasts nearly 25 Earth hours. Explain why there is
daytime and night-time on Mars.
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1 mark
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1 mark
Maximum 3 marks
At two points, A and B, the orbits of Neptune and Pluto cross over each other.
Sun
B
E a rth
N e p tu n e
P lu t o
not to scale
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1 mark
(b) Give two reasons why it takes Pluto more time than Neptune to orbit the Sun.
1. ................................................................................................................
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2. ................................................................................................................
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2 marks
Explain why Tom can see Neptune and Pluto even though they are not light
sources.
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2 marks
(ii) Between points A and B, Pluto is nearer than Neptune to the Earth.
Tom noticed that Pluto is not as bright as Neptune, even when Pluto is
closer than Neptune to the Earth.
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1 mark
Maximum 6 marks
4. The table shows the time taken for the Earth, Mars and Venus to orbit the Sun.
Earth 1.0
Mars 1.9
Venus 0.6
The diagram shows the orbits of the Earth, Mars and Venus round the Sun, at one
particular time. The arrows show the direction in which the planets move.
Venus
E a rth
M a rs
not to scale
At the time shown in the diagram, the three planets were lined up with the Sun.
(a) Show the position of the Earth three months after the planets were lined up, by
marking a point on the Earth’s orbit.
Label the point E.
1 mark
(b) (i) Show the approximate position of Mars three Earth months after the planets
were lined up, by marking a point on Mars’s orbit.
Label the point M.
1 mark
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1 mark
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1 mark
Maximum 5 marks
5. In 1610, the Italian scientist, Galileo, observed four bright moons near Jupiter.
Each night the moons moved.
(a) (i) The Sun and stars are light sources, and the planets are seen by reflected
light. Explain how we can see the moons of Jupiter.
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2 marks
(ii) The four moons are approximately the same distance from the Earth.
However, they do not have the same brightness.
Suggest one reason for this.
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1 mark
(b) The table shows the distances of the four moons from the centre of Jupiter, and
the times of their orbits. Europa’s distance has been left out.
Io 0.42 1.8
Europa 3.6
C a llis to
16
14
12
t im e f o r o n e 1 0
o r b it o f t h e
m o o n , in 8
E a rth d a y s G anym ede
6
2
Io
0
0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8 1 .0 1 .2 1 .4 1 .6 1 .8 2 .0 2 .2
d is ta n c e fr o m J u p it e r, in m illio n s o f k m
............................................................................................ millions of km
1 mark
(c) Galileo realised that Jupiter and its moons formed a model of our Solar System.
In this model: