A Quick Tour of Our Solar System
Our solar system is a busy neighborhood of eight fascinating planets. Closest to the sun, and the smallest, is Mercury. Venus, our neighbor, is similar in size to Earth. Earth, our home, is unique with its abundance of water and life. Mars, the Red Planet, got its name from the iron oxide that gives it a reddish appearance. Jupiter, the biggest planet, has a storm known as the Great Red Spot that's been going on for centuries! Saturn, famous for its rings, is the second-largest. Uranus and Neptune, the cold and distant gas giants, wrap up the planetary line up. Beyond Neptune, tiny Pluto, now classified as a dwarf planet, orbits in the icy region known as the Kuiper Belt. Each planet orbits the sun and also spins on its axis, making days and years. Our solar system is a wonder, isn't it?
Question 1
What is the smallest planet in our solar system?
Mercury
Explanation. Mercury, being the closest to the sun, is the smallest planet in our solar system.
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Question 2
What gives Mars its reddish appearance?
Its atmosphere
Its soil
Iron oxide
Explanation. Mars, the Red Planet, got its name from the iron oxide that gives it a reddish appearance.
Its proximity to the sun
Its distance from the sun
Question 3
What is the unique characteristic of Earth in our solar system?
Its size
Its color
Its number of moons
Its abundance of water and life
Explanation. Earth is unique in our solar system with its abundance of water and life.
Its rings
Question 4
What is Jupiter known for?
Its size
Its rings
Its moons
Its Great Red Spot
Explanation. Jupiter is known for a storm called the Great Red Spot that's been going on for centuries!
Its red color
Question 5
What is the classification of Pluto?
A gas giant
A terrestrial planet
A dwarf planet
Explanation. Pluto, once considered the ninth planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet.
A comet
An asteroid
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