Students complete nine fill-in-the-blank problems about the Sun's gravity, elliptical orbits, and the asteroid belt's location. The matching activity pairs asteroid belt, comet, dwarf planet, and moon with their solar system definitions.
Matching solar system objects to their definitions connects the planet-focused vocabulary to the broader range of bodies — comets, moons, asteroids, and dwarf planets — that make the solar system a complete dynamic system.
Style:
Solar System
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. The Sun's gravity keeps all eight planets traveling in their orbits.
2. Planets travel around the Sun in oval-shaped paths called elliptical orbits.
3. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
4. A comet is an icy body that develops a glowing tail as it approaches the Sun.
5. Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in the year 2006.
6. Planets closer to the Sun orbit faster than planets farther away.
7. A moon is a natural satellite that orbits a planet instead of the Sun.
8. The distance from Earth to the Sun is about 93 million miles or one astronomical unit.
9. The Sun is a star made mostly of hydrogen and helium that produces heat and light.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Asteroid belt
→ Region of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter
Orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbital neighborhood
Comet
→ Icy body that develops a bright tail near the Sun
Region of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter
Dwarf planet
→ Orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbital neighborhood
Natural satellite that orbits around a planet
Moon
→ Natural satellite that orbits around a planet
Icy body that develops a bright tail near the Sun
Solar System
★ Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1) The Sun's gravity keeps all eight planets traveling in their orbits.
2) Planets travel around the Sun in oval-shaped paths called elliptical orbits.
3) The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
4) A comet is an icy body that develops a glowing tail as it approaches the Sun.
5) Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in the year 2006.
6) Planets closer to the Sun orbit faster than planets farther away.
7) A moon is a natural satellite that orbits a planet instead of the Sun.
8) The distance from Earth to the Sun is about 93 million miles or one astronomical unit.
9) The Sun is a star made mostly of hydrogen and helium that produces heat and light.
★ Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1) Match each item to its correct answer.
Asteroid belt
→ Region of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter
Orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbital neighborhood
Comet
→ Icy body that develops a bright tail near the Sun
Region of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter
Dwarf planet
→ Orbits the Sun but has not cleared its orbital neighborhood
Natural satellite that orbits around a planet
Moon
→ Natural satellite that orbits around a planet
Icy body that develops a bright tail near the Sun
Ready to Practice?
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10 Questions
10-15 minutes
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