GEOGRAPHY

1. The Universe and Solar System

1. The third planet in the Solar System is

The Earth

2. The solar system is in

the galaxy.

3. The galaxy is named as

the Milky way Galaxy

4.Numerous stars and celestial bodies came into existence by a massive

explosion called
Big Bang.
5. The celestial bodies together are called
The Universe.
6. The Universe is also referred to as
the Cosmos

7. The study of the Universe is called

Cosmology.

8. The term Cosmos is derived from the Greek word

‘Kosmos’.

9. Most astronomers believe that the Universe came into existence after the
Big Bang explosion that took place about
15 billion years ago.
10. The unit used to measure the distance between the celestial bodies is
A Light year

11. A huge cluster of stars which are held together by gravitational force is
Galaxy

12. the distance traversed by light in a year at a velocity of 300,000 km per second is
A light-year

13. Sound travels at a speed of

330 m per second.

14. The Milky Way Galaxy was formed about 5 billion years after the
Big Bang explosion.

15. Our solar system is a part of the

Milky Way galaxy.
16. The nearest to the Earth apart from the ‘Magellanic Clouds’ galaxy is
Andromeda galaxy

17. The word ‘solar’ is derived from the Roman word ‘sol’, which means
‘Sun God’.

18. The solar system is believed to have formed about

4.5 billion years ago.

19. The solar system is a gravitationally bound system which comprises of

the Sun, the eight planets, dwarf planets, satellites, comets, asteroids and
meteoroids.

20. At the centre of the solar system is

The Sun
21. Each member of the solar system revolves around
the Sun.

22. The Sun is so huge that it accounts for the entire mass of the
solar system.
99.8 percent

23. The Sun is made up of extremely hot gases like

Hydrogen and Helium.

24. The Sun is a

star.

25. The surface temperature of the Sun is about

6,000° C.
26. The source of light and heat energy to the entire solar system.
The Sun

27. How long does the Sunlight take to reach the Earth?
about 8.3 minutes

28. How many Earths fit inside the Sun?

1.3 million Earths

29. The word planet means

wanderer.

30. How many planets are there in the solar system?

eight planets
31. What are the eight planets?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

32. How do planets rotate except Venus and Uranus?

All the planets rotate anti-clockwise (from west to east) on their
own axes.

33. How do the planets Venus and Uranus rotate?

Venus and Uranus rotate clockwise

34.The elliptical path in which the planets move around the Sun is
known as
orbit.

35. The eight planets revolve in their respective orbits because of

the gravitational pull of
the Sun.
36. The four planets nearer to the Sun are called
Inner or Terrestrial Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars).

37. The planets comparatively smaller in size and are composed of rocks are.
inner planets

38. The surface of which has mountains, volcanoes and craters.

inner planets

39. The last four planets are called as

Outer Planets or Jovian Planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune).

40. Outer Planets or Jovian Planets are also called

Gaseous Giants.
41. An asteroid belt is found between
Mars and Jupiter.

42.The smallest and closest planet to the Sun is

Mercury

43. The planet Mercury is named after the Roman deity

‘Mercury’, the messenger to the Gods.

44. Airless and waterless planet is.

Mercury

45. Which planet does not have an atmosphere and so

experiences extremes of temperature?
Mercury
46. Which planet has no natural satellites?
Mercury

47. The planet that can be viewed in the morning and evening with
naked eye.
Mercury

48. The second planet from the Sun is.

Venus

49. As Venus is almost the same size as the Earth, it is called as

Earth’s twin

50. Which planet has the longest rotation period (243 days) among
the planets in the Solar system.
Venus
51.The planets that rotates in the opposite direction to all other
planets are
Venus and Uranus.

52. The planets that that no natural satellites are

Venus and Mercury.

53. The planet that named after the Roman goddess of love and
beauty.
Venus

54. The Venus is often visible in the mornings and the evenings
and so it is frequently called as
the Morning Star and the Evening Star.

55. After the Moon, which is the brightest natural object in the
night sky?
Venus
56.The nearest planet to the Sun
Mercury

57. The hottest planet .

Venus

58. The third planet from the Sun

The Earth

59. The fifth largest planet in the solar system.

The Earth

60. Since three-fourth of the Earth is covered by water, it is

called
‘blue planet’ or ‘watery planet’
61. The only planet in the solar system which is not named after
any Greek or Roman deity.
The Earth

62. The only planet known to support life.

The Earth

63. The polar diameter of the Earth is

12, 714 km

64. The equatorial diameter Earth is

12, 756 km.

65. The Earth revolves around the Sun at a speed of about

30 km per second.
66. The distance between the Sun and the Earth is about
150 million kilometre.

67. A flight flying at a speed of 800 km per hour from the Earth
would take
21 years to reach the Sun.

68. The fourth planet from the Sun

Mars

69. The second smallest planet in the solar system, after Mercury.
Mars

70. The planet Mars is named after the

Roman God of war.
71. Why does Mars appear red in colour?
due to the presence of iron oxide on its surface.

72. Which planet is often described as The Red Planet?

Mars

73. The planet that has a thin atmosphere.

Mars

74. The planet that has polar ice caps like the Earth.
Mars

75. Mars has two natural satellites namely

Phobos and Deimos.
76. The fifth planet from the Sun
Jupiter

77. The largest planet in the solar system.

Jupiter

78. The planet named after the king of the Roman gods.
Jupiter

79. The third brightest object in the night sky, after moon and
Venus.
Jupiter

80. The fastest spinning planet in the solar system.

Jupiter
81. It is called a gas giant planet is.
Jupiter

82. Jupiter’s atmosphere is made up of mostly ----- and --------like the Sun.
Hydrogen , Helium

83.Which has the largest number of natural satellites.

Jupiter

84. Name a few large satellites of Jupiter.

Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
85. The sixth planet from the Sun
Saturn

86. The second largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter.
Saturn

87. Saturn is named after

the Roman god of agriculture.

88. The planet that has many rings around it.

Saturn

89. The planet that has 62 natural satellites around it.

Saturn
90. Saturn’s largest moon, the only satellite in the solar system that has clouds and dense
atmosphere composed of nitrogen and methane.
Titan

91. The specific gravity of Saturn is less than that of

water.

92. The seventh planet from the Sun.

Uranus

93. Uranus was the first to be discovered with a telescope by the astronomer
William Herschel in 1781.

94. Why does Uranus appears green?

due to the presence of methane.
95. The planet named after the Greek god of the sky.
Uranus

96. The planet rotates on its axis from east to west like Venus.
Uranus

97. Which planet’s axis is tilted so much that, it appears to orbit

the Sun on its sides like a rolling ball?
Uranus

98. How many natural satellites does Uranus have?

27 natural satellites

99. Which is the largest natural satellites of Uranus?

Titania
100. The eighth and the farthest planet from the Sun.
Neptune

101. In which planet strong winds are there?

Neptune

102. Neptune is named after

the Roman god of sea.

103. How many natural satellites does Neptune have?

14

104. The largest natural satellites of Neptune

Triton.
105. Because of its distance from the Sun, which planet is one of the coldest planets in the
solar system.
Neptune

106. The striking blue and white features of Neptune help to distinguish it from
Uranus.

107. Small celestial bodies found beyond the planet Neptune.

Dwarf planets

108. Extremely cold and dark planets

Dwarf planets

109. Almost spherical in shape, but unlike planets they can share their orbit
Dwarf planets
110. The five dwarf planets of the solar system are
Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Makemake and Haumea.

111. Celestial objects, which revolve around the planets.

Satellites

112. The Earth’s only satellite.

The moon

113. The moon revolves around the Earth once in every

27 days and 8 hours.

114. The moon takes about the same time for it to complete one rotation
around its axis.
115. The surface of the moon is characterized by --------created by the impact of
meteors.
craters

116. The distance between the moon and the Earth is about
3, 84,400 km.

117. The size of the moon is

one-quarter of the Earth.

118. The only celestial body where humans have landed.

The Moon

119. ISRO launched India’s first ever Moon mission, Chandrayaan - 1 in

2008.
120. Small solid objects that move around the Sun.
Asteroids
121. Found as a belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids

122. Too small to be called as planets.

Asteroids

123. Asteroids are also known as

Planetoids or Minor Planets.

124. A celestial object made up of a head and a tail.

A comet
125. The head of a comet consists of solid particles held together
by ice and the tail is made of gases.
A comet
126.The most famous comet which comes close to the Earth every
76 years.
Halley’s Comet
127. Name the comet last appeared in 1986 and will next appear
in 2061.
Halley’s Comet

128. A stone like or metallic body.

A meteor
129. As Meteors often appear as streaks of light in the sky, they
are also known as
Shooting Stars.

130. Meteors which strike the Earth’s surface are called

meteorites.

131. The Earth is

spherical in shape.

132. The Earth rotates on its axis, which is an imaginary line that
runs from the North Pole to the South Pole passing through
the centre of the Earth.

133. The Earth’s axis is always tilted or inclined from the vertical
by an angle of
23½°.
134.The Earth makes an angle of ------with the plane of the
Earth’s orbit.
66½°

135.The velocity of the Earth’s rotation at the equator

1670 km per hour

136. The velocity of the Earth’s rotation at at 60° N and S

latitudes
845 km per hour

137. The velocity of the Earth’s rotation at the poles.

0°

138. The spinning movement of the Earth on its axis.

Rotation
139. The Earth rotates from
west to east (anti-clockwise)

140. The Earth takes 23 hours 56 minutes and 4.09 seconds to

complete
one rotation.

141. The time taken by the Earth to complete one rotation is called
a day.

142. The rotation of the Earth causes

day and night.

143. The line which divides the surface of the Earth into a lighted
half and a dark half is called
the Terminator Line.
144. The movement of the Earth around the Sun
elliptical path.

145. The Earth takes -----for it to complete one revolution.

365 ¼ days

146. The Earth revolves around the Sun at a speed of

30 km per second.

147. For the sake of convenience, we take it as 365 days and call it
a year.

148. The remaining quarter day is added once in every four years
in the month of February.
149. February has 29 days once
in four years.

150. February having 29 days once in four years is called

a Leap Year.

151. The inclination of the Earth on its axis and its revolution
around the Sun cause
different seasons.

152. The Northern Hemisphere is inclined towards the Sun for six
months
from 21st March to 23rd September

153. The southern hemisphere is inclined towards the Sun and the
northern hemisphere faces away from the Sun.
From Sep 23rd to March 21st
154. The equator faces the Sun directly on
21 March and 23 September.

155. These two days are called-----, during which the day and night
are equal throughout the Earth.
Equinoxes

156. The Earth’s closest position to the Sun.

Perihelion

157. The farthest position of the Earth from the Sun.

Aphelion
158. On 21st June, the Tropic of Cancer faces the Sun. This is known
as
Summer Solstice.

159. Summer Solstice is the longest day in

the Northern Hemisphere

160.Summer Solstice is the longest longest night (shortest day) in

the Southern Hemisphere.

161.On 22nd December, the Tropic of Capricorn faces the Sun. It is

called as Winter Solstice.

162. Winter Solstice is the longest day in

The Southern Hemisphere

163. Winter Solstice is the longest night (shortest day) in

the Northern Hemisphere.
164. The word lithosphere is derived from the Greek word
Lithos, which means rocky.

165. The word Hydro means water in

Greek.

166. The hydrosphere consists of water bodies such as

oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ice caps on mountains and water
vapour in the atmosphere.

167. The word Atmo means air in

Greek.

168. The envelope of air that surrounds the Earth.

Atmosphere
169. Different types of gases make up the atmosphere are
1. Nitrogen (78%) and
2. Oxygen (21%).
3. The other gases like Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen, Helium, Argon, and Ozone are
present in meager amounts.
170 The narrow belt of interaction among the lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the
atmosphere, where life exists is known as
Biosphere.
171. Bio means life in
Greek.
172. Biosphere consists of distinct zones. Each zone has its own climate, plant and animal
life. These zones are known as
ecosystems.
173. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve in the Indian Ocean covers an area of
10,500 sq.km in the ocean.
174. The cluster of stars
Galaxy

175. Irregular shaped rocks between Mars and Jupiter

Asteroids
176. Space particles left behind by comets or asteroids
Meteors
177. Frozen lumps of rocks, dust and gas.
Comets
178. Celestial bodies that move around the planets.
Satellites
179. The path in which the planets move around the Sun.
Orbit

180. An imaginary line passing through the centre of the Earth

from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Earth's axis

181. Spinning movement of the planets on their axes.

Rotation

182. The movement of the planets around the Sun in their orbit.
Revolution

183. The day on which day and night are of equal length.
Equinox
184. An occurrence when the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn
faces the Sun vertically.
Solstice
185. A space exploration vehicle which moves across the surface of a
celestial body
Rover
186. A spacecraft which orbits a celestial body without landing on its
surface.
Orbiter

The Midnight Sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the

summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the
Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains overhead 24 hours a day.
A. Fill in the blanks.
1. The Universe was formed after --------explosion.
2.-------- is the unit used to measure the distance between two celestial bodies.
3.--------- is the centre of the solar system.
4. The word planet means ---------.
5. ----------planet has many natural satellites.
6. India’s first ever mission to the moon is------- .
7. Earth is inclined by --------degrees.
8. The Equator faces the Sun directly on------- and-------- .
9. At the time of Perihelion, the Earth is ---------to the Sun.
10. The line which divides day and night on the Earth’s surface is-------- .
B. Choose the best answer.
1. The movement of the Earth on its axis is called
a.Revolution
b.Seasons
c. Rotation
d. Circulation

2. The Tropic of Capricorn faces the Sun directly on

c. March 21
d.June 21
c. September 23
d. December 22
3. The galaxy in which our solar system is found is
a.Andromeda
b.Magellanic clouds
c. Milky Way
d. Starburst

4. The only celestial body where man has successfully landed

c. Mars
d. Moon
c. Mercury
d. Venus
5. Which of the following planets can float on water?
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune

C. Circle the odd one out

1. Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn
2. Sirius, Andromeda, Milky way, Magellanic clouds
3. Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Io
4. Comet, Asteroids, Meteorites, Dwarf planets
5. Rover, Orbiter, Aeroplane, Space shuttle
D. Match the following

1. Hottest Planet - a. Mars

2. Ringed Planet - b. Neptune

3. Red Planet - c. Venus

4. Somersaulting Planet - d. Saturn

5. Coldest Planet - e. Uranus

ii) Consider the following statements.
Statement I: Earth is called a watery planet.
Statement II: The rotation of the Earth causes seasons.
Which of the statement(s) is/are true?
a.I is true; II is wrong
b. I is wrong; II is true
c. Both the statements are true
d. Statements I and II are wrong.
F. Name the following
1. Cluster of stars.
2. The nearest galaxy to the solar system.
3. The brightest planet.
4. The living sphere.
5. The year which has 366 days.

G. Answer in a sentence or two.

1. Name the inner planets.
2. Pluto is no longer a planet. Reason out.
3. What is perihelion?
4. How many times in a year would you find the Sun overhead if you lived on
20°N Latitude?
5. Which celestial body shares its orbit with others? Give an example.
H. Give reasons.
1. Why is Uranus called as the somersaulting planet?
2. The surface of the moon has many craters.
3. The velocity of Earth’s rotation is zero at poles.