OCR GCSE Physics A J249
Electricity
Energy
Forces
Global Challenges
Magnetism and Magnetic Fields
Matter
Radioactivity
Waves in Matter
Global Challenges
The solar system
- 3 things to know
- Paper 2
Overview
The eight planets in order and how the inner and outer planets differ, the gravity that holds them in orbit, minor planets, asteroids and comets, natural and artificial satellites and how they compare, and what geostationary and polar orbits are used for.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Name the eight planets of the solar system in order outwards from the Sun.
How do the four inner planets differ from the four outer ones?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name the eight planets of the solar system in order outwards from the Sun.
Model answer
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
- 2
How do the four inner planets differ from the four outer ones?
Model answer
The inner four are small, dense and rocky, while the outer four are very large and made mostly of gas and ice.
- 3
What holds the planets in orbit around the Sun?
Model answer
The gravitational attraction of the Sun, which is by far the most massive object in the solar system.
- 4
What are minor planets, and give examples of the smaller bodies that orbit the Sun.
Model answer
Minor planets are bodies too small to count as planets, such as dwarf planets like Pluto, together with asteroids and comets.
- 5
What is a natural satellite?
Model answer
A moon, a natural body held in orbit around a planet by gravity.
- 6
What is an artificial satellite?
Model answer
An object built by people and launched into orbit around the Earth or another body.
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