Name _______________________________________________ Score ________
Can You Planet?
(From Universe At Your Fingertips, Astronomical Society of the Pacific)
Sort out the planets. Next to each planet’s name, put “yes” if the
statement is true (Jupiter is larger than Earth – Yes) or “no” if it
is not true (Earth has rings – No). Use this information to place
the planets on the Venn Diagram!
Planetary Facts Helping Table
Larger than Earth
Earth
Jupiter
Mars
Mercury
Neptune
Saturn
Uranus
Venus
Has Ring(s)
Has Moon(s)
Use the information from the chart to place the planets in
the correct circle or intersection of circles.
Has moon(s)
Has rings
& moons
Has rings
Use the information from the chart to place the planets in the correct
circle or intersection of circles!
Larger than Earth
Has moon(s) & larger than Earth
Has rings & larger than Earth
Has moon(s), rings & larger than Earth
Has moon(s)
Has moon(s) & rings
Has rings
Use the Venn Diagram, chart, and fact sheet to answer the following questions.
1. Which planets are larger than Earth? ___________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Which two sets of planets are closest in size? ___________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. What percent of the planets are smaller than earth? _________%
4. Which planets have moons? _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
5. Which planet has the most moons? ___________________________________
6. What is the total number of known moons in our Solar System?
_________
7. What is the average number of moons per planet?
___________________________
(total number of moons divided by 8)
8. Which planets fit into all three categories?
______________________________________________
___________________________________________________
9. Which planets have days that are longer than 24 hours?
__________________________________________________________________
Select and answer one of the following on a separate sheet of paper. (Your response
must be complete, neatly written, and fully cover the topic. A sentence or two will not
adequately answer the question):
5 Saturn's most prominent feature is its ring system. What is the composition of
the rings?
5 What is the difference in the temperature of Mercury's surface when it is facing
towards and away from the Sun?
5 Make a bar graph comparing the number of moons of each planet.
Planetary Fact Sheet
Diameter
Length of
Day
Moons
Rings
Earth
12,800 km
23 hrs 56 min
1
No
Jupiter
143,000km
9 hrs 55 min
63
Yes
Mars
6,800 km
24 hrs 7 min
2
No
Mercury
4,900 km
59 days
0
No
Neptune
49,500 km
16 hrs 7 min
13
Yes
Saturn
120,600 km
10 hrs 39 min
62
Yes
Uranus
51,100 km
17 hrs 14 min
27
Yes
Venus
12,100 km
243 days
0
No