1
1 mark
1 markWhich of the planets listed is the gaseous planet which is closest to the Sun?
Jupiter
Mars
Saturn
Uranus
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Earth & The Solar System (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Physics): Exam Questions
2 hours28 questions
21 mark
1 markWhich of the following objects are described as orbiting the Sun?
Asteroids
Comets
Galaxies
Moons
1 and 2 only
1, 2 and 3
1, 2, and 4
1, 2, 3 and 4
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31 mark
1 markWhat creates the periodic nature of the seasons?
The tilting of the Earth's axis
The orbiting of the Earth around the Sun
The combination of the orbiting of the Earth around the Sun and the Earth's tilting axis
The change in temperature of the Sun
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41 mark
1 markWhich of the following statements about orbits is true?
All planets, minor planets and comets have elliptical orbits
The Sun is at the centre of an elliptical orbit
Only comets and minor planets have elliptical orbits
An object in an elliptical orbit has a constant orbital radius
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11 mark
1 markWhich row correctly describes the angle of the Earth’s axis from the vertical and the effect of this tilt?
| Angle of tilt | Effect of tilt |
A | 23.4° | Day and night |
B | 23.4° | Changing of the seasons |
C | 66.6° | Day and night |
D | 66.6° | Changing of the seasons |
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21 mark
1 markWhich line in the table correctly identifies the length of one year, one day and daylight hours during an equinox, all as experienced on Earth?
| One Earth year / days | One Earth day / hours | Daylight hours during equinox / hours |
A. | 356 | 8 | 8 |
B. | 364 | 12 | 12 |
C. | 365 | 12 | 8 |
D. | 365 | 24 | 12 |
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31 mark
1 markThe orbit of the Earth around the Sun can be thought of as following a circular path with a circumference of 942 × 106 km.
What is the approximate orbital speed of the Earth?
10 000 km/h
100 000 km/h
2 500 000 km/h
50 000 000 km/h
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41 mark
1 markThe orbit of Venus around the Sun is treated as a circular path with an average radius of 108.2 million km and an orbital period of 225 days.
What is the orbital speed of Venus?
40 000 km/h
62 900 km/h
126 000 km/h
810 000 km/h
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51 mark
1 markThe table shows some planetary data for planets in our Solar System.
Planet | Orbital radius / million km | Orbital duration / days or years | Density / kg/m3 | Surface Temperature/ °C | Surface Gravitational Field Strength/ N/kg |
Mercury | 57.9 | 88 days | 5427 | 350 | 3.7 |
Venus | 108.2 | 225 days | 5243 | 460 | 8.9 |
Earth | 149.6 | 365 days | 5514 | 20 | 9.8 |
Mars | 227.9 | 627 days | 3933 | –23 | 3.7 |
Jupiter | 778.6 | 11.9 years | 1326 | –120 | 23.1 |
Saturn | 1433.5 | 29.5 years | 687 | –180 | 9.0 |
Uranus | 2872.5 | 75 years | 1271 | –210 | 8.7 |
Neptune | 4495.1 | 165 years | 1638 | –220 | 11.0 |
What is the orbital speed of Mars?
95.2 m/h
95 200 m/h
95 200 000 m/h
208 000 000 m/h
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61 mark
1 markLight from the Sun travels to the Earth at a speed of 3.0 × 108 m/s.
The time for the complete journey is 500 s.
What is the average orbital speed of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun?
60 m/s
4.8 × 103 m/s
3.0 × 104 m/s
1.8 × 106 m/s
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11 mark
1 markThe planet Uranus has an average orbital radius of 4500 million km.
How long does it take light from the Sun to travel to Uranus?
4 minutes
1 hour
4 hours
4 days
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21 mark
1 markWhich of the following statements about the strength of a gravitational field is correct?
| At the surface of a planet it depends on | Around a planet it |
A | the diameter of the planet | decreases as the distance from the planet increases |
B | the diameter of the planet | increases as the distance from the planet decreases |
C | the mass of the planet | decreases as the distance from the planet increases |
D | the mass of the planet | increases as the distance from the planet increases |
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31 mark
1 markThe table shows some planetary data for planets in our Solar System.
Planet | Orbital distance / million km | Orbital duration / days or years | Density / kg/m3 | Surface Temperature/ °C | Surface Gravitational Field Strength/ N/kg |
Mercury | 57.9 | 88 days | 5427 | 350 | 3.7 |
Venus | 108.2 | 225 days | 5243 | 460 | 8.9 |
Earth | 149.6 | 365 days | 5514 | 20 | 9.8 |
Mars | 227.9 | 687 days | 3933 | –23 | 3.7 |
Jupiter | 778.6 | 11.9 years | 1326 | –120 | 23.1 |
Saturn | 1433.5 | 29.5 years | 687 | –180 | 9.0 |
Uranus | 2872.5 | 75 years | 1271 | –210 | 8.7 |
Neptune | 4495.1 | 165 years | 1638 | –220 | 11.0 |
What is the time taken for light from the Sun to reach the surface of Jupiter?
The speed of light is 3 × 108 m/s.
0.39 ms
0.39 s
2600 ms
2600 s
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41 mark
1 markThe Moon is kept in orbit around the Earth by the gravitational force that acts between them.
Which of the following changes to the mass of the Earth and the distance between the Earth and the Moon would result in an increase in the gravitational force?
| Mass of the Earth | Earth-Moon distance |
A | doubles | drops to one-quarter |
B | stays the same | stays the same |
C | halves | stays the same |
D | drops to one quarter | doubles |
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