S2 Space Test (March)

Question 1

Question 2

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

Sun

Mars

not to scale

(a) Name one planet which is closer than Mars to the Sun. ............................................
1 mark

(b) A day and night on Mars lasts nearly 25 Earth hours. Explain why there is daytime
and night-time on Mars.

.......................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................
1 mark
 (c) Like Earth, Mars has summers and winters.
Suggest why there are seasons on Mars.

.......................................................................................................................

..........................................................................................................................
1 mark

Question 3
Question 4

The table below gives information about the planets of the Solar System.

They are listed in alphabetical order.

average time for time for temperature on

planet distance from diameter one orbit one rotation surface of
the Sun in in km round the on its axis planet in °C
million km Sun in hours

Earth 150 13 000 365 days 24 +22

Jupiter 780 140 000 12 years 9.8 –150

Mars 230 6800 687 days 25 –23

Mercury 58 4900 88 days 1400 +350

Neptune 4500 51 000 165 years 16 –220

Pluto 5900 2300 248 years 150 –220

Saturn 1400 120 000 29 years 10.2 –180

Uranus 2900 51 000 84 years 17 –210

Venus 110 12 000 225 days 5800 +480

(Data obtained from The Guinness Book of Astronomy, Patrick Moore; published by Guinness
1992)

(a) Explain why Neptune and Pluto are the coldest planets.

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Explain why there could be no liquid water on the surface of:

(i) Mars ........................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................
1 mark

(ii) Venus ......................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................
1 mark
 (c) On which planet would the time between sunrise and sunset be
shortest?

..................................................................……
1 mark
(d) Which planet has the shortest year?’
1 mark

..................................................................……

(e) Give the name of the force which keeps the planets in their orbits.

..................................................................……
1 mark

Question 5

Lisa drew a picture of herself standing at four different positions on the Earth.

(i) Draw an arrow at each of the four positions to show the direction of the force of
gravity on Lisa

( /1 mark)

(ii) The drawing at position A shows Lisa holding a ball on a string. Draw the ball and
string in positions B, C and D. ( /1 mark)
Question 6

In 2002 a large asteroid was discovered orbiting the Sun. It was named Quaoar. The
diagram below shows Quaoar in four positions in its orbit.

In which of the four positions, A, B, C or D, is the effect of the Sun’s gravity on

Quaoar the greatest? _______

Explain your answer.

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________
 Question 7

In 1610, the Italian scientist, Galileo, observed four bright moons near
Jupiter. Each night the moons moved.

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.

name of distance from time for one

moon Jupiter, in orbit, in
millions of km Earth days

o 0.42 1.8

Europa 3.6

Ganymede 1.07 7.2

Callisto 1.88 16.7

a) Use the graph to estimate Europa’s distance from Jupiter.

............................................................................................ millions of km

1 mark
Callisto
16

14

12

time for one 10

orbit of the
moon, in 8
Earth days Ganymede
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
distance from Jupiter, in millions of km
 (c) Galileo realised that Jupiter and its moons formed a model of our
Solar System. In this model:

what did Jupiter represent? .........................................................................

what did the moons represent? ...................................................................

1 mark

Question 8: Show your working out for the following questions 3 marks

a) The strength of gravity at the Earth's surface is 10 Newtons per kilogram. Calculate
the weight of a car with a mass of 1500 kg.

b) The strength of gravity on the Moon is 1.6 Newtons per kilogram.

If an astronaut's mass is 80 kg on Earth, what would it be on the Moon?

c) The surface gravity of Jupiter is about 26 Newtons per kilogram.

What would be the weight of a probe of mass 50 kg at Jupiter's surface?
Question 9

In the space below, draw a labelled diagram of the Sun, Moon and Earth from above
showing a solar eclipse.

On your diagram, indicate which part of the Earth would experience a total solar
eclipse

3 marks