The Earth and the Solar System

Roughly how much time does the Moon need to complete a single orbit around the Earth?

Feb/March 2023

Roughly how long does the Moon take to complete one orbit around the Earth?

Feb/March 2023

Give, in the correct sequence, the names of the three planets nearest to the Sun.

Feb/March 2023

A student sketches a basic diagram of the Sun together with the different motions of the Moon and the Earth. Which arrow shows a movement that takes 365 days to finish?

Feb/March 2024

The table shows information about four planets in our Solar System. Two of the planets are gaseous and two are rocky. Which two planets are rocky?

Feb/March 2024

Which sequence correctly arranges the planets from the greatest to the least distance from the Sun?

Feb/March 2024

The table shows information on four planets in our Solar System. Which planets are X and Y?

Feb/March 2024

Fig. 11.1 shows the four planets that are nearest to the Sun.

Feb/March 2024

State one Moon position for which an observer on Earth sees: 1. a quarter Moon 2. a full Moon

Feb/March 2024

The diagram illustrates the Earth moving around the Sun. Which row correctly names and explains the season in the northern hemisphere when the Earth is at position 1?

Feb/March 2025

Fig. 12.1 shows the Earth travelling in its orbit around the Sun.

Feb/March 2025

Fig. 10.1 illustrates the route followed by the Earth as it travels around the Sun. X marks a place on the Earth from which scientists track the Sun’s apparent motion over the course of the year.

Feb/March 2025

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. Which statement is right?

May/June 2019

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. Which statement is true?

May/June 2019

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves between the Earth and the Sun. Which statement is true?

May/June 2019

Which planet in our Solar System lies closest to the Sun, and what type of planet is it?

May/June 2023

Which statement about the Solar System is correct?

May/June 2023

Which table row concerning the orbits of the Earth and the Moon is correct?

May/June 2023

Which planet in our Solar System lies closest to the Sun, and what sort of planet is it?

May/June 2023

Which statement about the Solar System is true?

May/June 2023

Comets are objects that travel around the Sun in the Solar System. What is the orbit's shape, and where is the Sun placed relative to it?

May/June 2023

Which table row concerning the orbits of Earth and the Moon is correct?

May/June 2023

Which of the following statements about the orbits of comets is correct?

May/June 2023

Fig. 12.1 shows the Earth and the Sun at a particular point in the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

May/June 2023

Fig. 11.1 shows the Sun together with the four planets nearest to it, A, B, C and D, in the Solar System.

May/June 2023

Fig. 10.1 shows a section of the Solar System.

May/June 2023

Fig. 9.1 has the Sun shown as the central point, with Saturn, Jupiter and Earth labelled $S_0$, $J_0$ and $E_0$. These planets move round the Sun in an anticlockwise direction. Seen from Earth’s orbit, the planets line up. Take Saturn’s orbital period as 30 years and Jupiter’s orbital period as 12 years. Fig. 9.1 (not to scale) shows three circular orbits with the Sun at the centre. The outer orbit has point $S_0$, the middle orbit has point $J_0$, and the inner orbit has point $E_0$. A dashed vertical line shows alignment.

May/June 2023

The Earth is a planet which completes one orbit around the Sun in roughly 365 days. What does this allow us to explain?

May/June 2024

The radius of Venus’s orbit around the Sun is $110 \times 10^{6}\ \text{km}$. The radius of Earth’s orbit around the Sun is $150 \times 10^{6}\ \text{km}$. The speed of light is $0.30 \times 10^{6}\ \text{km s}^{-1}$. When Venus and Earth are at their nearest separation, how much time does light need to travel from Venus to Earth?

May/June 2024

Which planet is classified as a rocky planet?

May/June 2024

What causes the phases of the Moon?

May/June 2024

Which row gives an explanation for the Sun’s apparent daily movement across the sky and for the sequence of Moon phases?

May/June 2024

A planet in the Solar System is at the position in its orbit when it is nearest the Sun. Which row is correct?

May/June 2024

The mean distance between the Earth and the Sun is $1.5 \times 10^{11}\,\text{m}$. Determine the orbital speed of the Earth.

May/June 2024

Table 11.1 presents information about two planets in the Solar System.

May/June 2024

The Solar System is made up of the Sun and the planets.

May/June 2024

How long does the Earth take to complete one rotation on its axis and one orbit around the Sun?

May/June 2025

The Sun, the Earth and the Moon are all objects in the Solar System. The Earth experiences a repeating cycle of day and night and also a repeating cycle of seasons. Which row matches the periods of these cycles to the movements of these bodies?

May/June 2025

The Sun, the Earth and the Moon are all objects in the Solar System. The Earth experiences a repeating cycle of day and night and a repeating cycle of seasons. Which row matches the periods of these cycles to the movements of these bodies?

May/June 2025

A student gives three time periods: - the time $T_S$ for the Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun - the time $T_R$ for the Earth to complete one rotation about its axis - the time $T_M$ for the Moon to complete one orbit around the Earth. Which row indicates the shortest time period and the longest time period?

May/June 2025

From the Earth, in what direction does the Sun seem to travel each day?

May/June 2025

Fig. 11.1 shows the Solar System. The Sun and five of the eight planets are labelled.

May/June 2025

Fig. 11.1 shows the Solar System, with the Sun and five of the eight planets already labelled.

May/June 2025

Jupiter and the Earth are both planets in our Solar System.

May/June 2025

Table 10.1 presents data for planets A, B, C and D.

May/June 2025

Which planet moves around the Sun between Mars and Saturn?

Oct/Nov 2023

Roughly how long does the Moon take to complete one orbit around the Earth?

Oct/Nov 2023

June is part of summer in the Earth’s northern hemisphere. Which statement gives the reason?

Oct/Nov 2023

Our Solar System contains eight planets. Table 12.1 gives some of the planets listed in order of increasing distance from the Sun.

Oct/Nov 2023

Fig. 11.1 shows the Earth moving in an orbit around the Sun.

Oct/Nov 2023

Table 9.1 presents data for three planets in the Solar System.

Oct/Nov 2023

Which sequence lists the planets in the correct order?

Oct/Nov 2024

The diagram shows a section of a solar system. Which row correctly names the bodies P, Q and R?

Oct/Nov 2024

The Solar System has eight major planets. Which is the correct sequence for three of the major planets, beginning with the one that is farthest from the Sun?

Oct/Nov 2024

Which type of celestial object revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit?

Oct/Nov 2024

The table shows details about some planets in our Solar System. Which of the following statements about these planets is correct?

Oct/Nov 2024

The table lists the orbital durations of the planets in the Solar System. What is Mars's orbital duration?

Oct/Nov 2024

Fig. 11.1 shows the planets of the Solar System.

Oct/Nov 2024

Fig. 11.1 shows one section of the Solar System.

Oct/Nov 2024

State the name of one planet whose orbit lies farther from the Sun than Venus.

Oct/Nov 2024

The diagram shows three objects, X, Y and Z, in space. Object Y goes around object X. Object Z goes around object Y. Which kinds of object are X, Y and Z?

Oct/Nov 2025

What produces the Moon's phases?

Oct/Nov 2025

There are four rocky planets that orbit the Sun. Which list gives these planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun?

Oct/Nov 2025

Comets travel around the Sun. Which statement best describes a comet’s orbit?

Oct/Nov 2025

Mars is one of the four rocky planets closest to the Sun.

Oct/Nov 2025

Complete the missing words in the account of how an accretion model explains the formation of the Solar System. The planets nearest the Sun are small and [BLANK]. The planets furthest from the Sun are large and [BLANK]. All the planets were formed when a cloud of gas and dust collapsed due to [BLANK]. The spinning material in the cloud forms an [BLANK].

Oct/Nov 2025

Sketch the comet’s orbit around the Sun, and put an S on the diagram to show where the Sun is.

Oct/Nov 2025

State the time at which CMBR was produced.

Oct/Nov 2025