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Planetary Science

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 Index
Chapter 1 : Origin of Solar system
1.1. Introduction
1.2. The Universe & our Solar system
1.3. Properties of different planets
1.4. Asteroid & Comets
1.5. Structure of the Sun
1.6.Origin& journey of star
1.7. The Moon
1.8. Age of the Earth, Solar system &Universe
1.9. Bode’s law & Titan-Bode’s Law
1.10. Kepler’s law
Multiple choice & selection questions
Answers with explanations
Numerical Problems & Solutions
Chapter 2 : Origin of Earth’s Core, Mantle & Crust
2.1. introduction
2.2. Earth’s Thermal History
2.3. Origin of the Core
2.4. The evolving mantle
2.5. The origin of the Crust
2.6. The growth of the crust
2.7. Continental growth rates
2.8. Earth’s interior & Seismicity
2.9. Elemental abundance of Earth
Multiple choice & selection questions
Answers with Explanations
Numerical Problems & Solutions
Chapter 3 : Origin of Earth’s Atmosphere, Ocean & life
3.1. Introduction
3.2. General features of Atmosphere
3.3. The Oceans
3.5. Paleoclimates
Multiple choice & selection questions
Answers with explanations
Chapter 4 : Surfaces & Interiors of Earth
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Surface morphology
4.3. Planetary interiors
4.4. Craters & Caldera

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 4.5. Meteorites
Multiple choice & selection questions
Answers with explanations
Numerical Problems & Solutions

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Weightage of the chapter based on competitive exams:

GATE year Weightage

(Marks)
2019 1
2018 1
2015 1
2014 1
2013 1
Average 1

NET year Weightage

(Marks)
2019 June 10
2018 December 4
2018 June 2
2016 June 2
2017 December 4
Average 4.4

IIT JAM year Weightage

2018 1
2015 1
Average 1

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 Chapter 1:
Origin of Solar system
1.1. Introduction
The birth and evolution of our solar system is a tantalizing mystery. This book tells a tale of
how the celestial objects that make up the solar system arose billions of years ago, and how
scientists and philosophers have sought to unravel this mystery down through the centuries,
piecing together the clues that enabled them to deduce the solar system's layout, its age, and
the most likely way it formed.
Over the centuries, two schools of thought developed regarding the outline of stars and planets,
and their relationships to the Earth, Sun, and Moon. The first School advocated a geocentric
model in which Earth is considered at the center of the Universe while the currently accepted
heliocentric model (in which the Sun lay at the center of the Universe, with the Earth and other
planets orbiting around it) was firmly established well before the end of the 17th century. After
the publication of Newton's Principia in 1687 it became possible to apply scientific principles
to the problem of its origin.

1.2. The Universe & our Solar system

1.2.1. Theories behind the origin of Universe
SAMPLE
Beyond our galaxies (Milky Way) there lies another hundreds of billions of other galaxies. In
the 1920’s, unexpected observations about the nature of light from distant galaxies set
astronomers on a path of discovery that ultimately led to a model of Universe formation
popularly known as the Big Bang theory.
The Big Bang
Hubble’s ideas marked a revolution in cosmological thinking. Now we picture the Universe as
an expanding bubble, in which galaxies race away from each other at incredible speeds. Now
the question arises about the time when expansion began in the past.
Most astronomers have concluded that expansion did indeed begin at a specific time, with a
cataclysmic explosion called the Big Bang. According to the Big Bang theory, all matter and
energy—everything that now constitutes the Universe—was initially packed into an
infinitesimally small point. The point “exploded” and the Universe began, according to current
estimates, 13.7 billion years ago.
By combining clever calculations with careful observations, researchers have developed a
consistent model of how the Universe evolved, beginning an instant after the explosion.
According to this model of the Big Bang, the Universe was so small, so dense, and so hot that
it consisted entirely of energy—atoms, or even the smallest subatomic particles that make up
atoms, could not even exist during the first instant of existence. Within a few seconds, however,
hydrogen atoms could begin to form. And by the time the Universe reached an age of 3 minutes,
when its temperature had fallen below 1 billion degrees, and its diameter had grown to about
53 million km (35 million miles), hydrogen atoms could fuse together to form helium atoms.
Formation of new nuclei in the first few minutes of time is called Big Bang nucleosynthesis
because it happened before any stars existed. This process could produce only light atoms,
meaning ones containing a small number of protons (an atomic number less than 5), and it
happened very rapidly. In fact, virtually all of the new atomic nuclei that would form by Big
Bang nucleosynthesis existed by the end of the first 5 minutes.
Eventually, the Universe became cool enough for chemical bonds to bind atoms of certain
elements together in molecules. As the Universe continued to expand and cool further, atoms
and molecules slowed down and accumulated into patchy clouds called nebulae. The earliest

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nebulae of the Universe consisted almost entirely of hydrogen (74%, by volume) and helium
(24%) gas.
After the ‘Big Bang’, the sequence of events:
▪ At seconds, matter existed as a mixture of quarks (the fundamental building
blocks of matter).
▪ By seconds, the universe cooled sufficiently for quarks to combine and form
neutrons and protons and then H, D and the nuclei. The temperature was still too high for
electrons to combine with the nuclei to form neutral atoms.
▪ At years, temperatures cooled sufficiently for electrons to attach to nuclei and
form neutral atoms. Matter could then aggregate to form stars, galaxies, planets, etc.

1.2.2.Origin of Solar system

Solar nebular theory: Formation of the sun & planets from a gaseous nebula.
Some important properties of solar system are as follows :
i.The Sun occupies 99% of the mass of the solar system ,but 99% angular momentum is
accounted by the planets.
ii. All planetary orbits except Pluto lie in the same plane which is known as ecliptic plane. This
plane contains the Sun and the Earth’s orbit.
iii.There are two types of rotation of motions - prograde and retrograde. When the planets
revolve in the same sense about the Sun which is counterclockwise, is known as prograde.
SAMPLE
Except Venus, Uranus and Pluto, all planets are prograde in motion.
iv.The inner or terrestrial planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are composed of largely
silicates and metals while the outer or Jovian planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and
Pluto are composed chiefly of hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, and water. The inner four
planets and moon have densities between 3.3 and 5.5 gm/cm3 while the outer planets have
densities less than 2.0.

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1.2.3. Definition of Planets
SAMPLE
The term ‘planets’ meaning ‘wanderers’. All planets revolve counterclockwise around the Sun
when viewed from top the Earth’s orbital plane. The Earth’s orbital plane is known as ecliptic
plane. The orbital plane of each planet (except Pluto) makes an angle with this ecliptic plane.
The angle between the rotation axis of planet and the ecliptic plane is known as axis’s obliquity.
When the planet’s axial rotation and orbital motion about Sun is in the same direction, this is
called prograde motion of planet and the opposite motion is called retrograde.
On the basis of the sizes of planets, they are divided into two categories – Jovian or Giant or
Great planets and Terrestrial planets.

1.2.4. Jovian Planets

The planets with larger in size and low densities, far away from the Sun in the Solar system are
Jovian planets or Giant planets. The planets are Jupitar, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

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1.2.5. Terrestrial Planets
The planets smaller in size with higher density are terrestrial planets. These are Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars.
In addition to the planets, the Solar System contains many smaller objects. Of these, the largest
is the Moon. All but two planets (Mercury and Venus) have moons in varying numbers— Earth
has one, Mars has two, and Jupiter has at least 63. Some moons, such as Earth’s Moon, are
large and spherical, but most are small and have irregular shapes. In addition to moons, millions
of asteroids (chunks of rock and/or metal) comprise a belt between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter. Asteroids range in size from less than a centimeter to about 930 km in diameter. And
about a trillion bodies of ice lie in belts or clouds beyond the orbit of Neptune. Most of these
icy objects are tiny, but a few (including Pluto) have diameters of over 2,000 km and may be
thought of as “dwarf planets.”

1.3. Properties of different planets

1.3.1. Terrestrial planets properties
Mercury : This planet lie closest to the Sun. The orbital period is 58.79 Earth days and Mercury
day lasts longer than a Mercury year. The motion around Sun is prograde in nature with
eccentricity of 0.2056. Mercury holds second position in density (5427 kg/m3) after Earth. The
interior is composed of iron core which is partially molten and generates a weak magnetic field.
Venus : Venus, the next planet to Mercury in the Solar system, is the second brightest object
after Sun. It shows retrograde motion as the spin axis makes an angle of 1770 to the pole of
ecliptic. The eccentricity is 0.007 and the orbital period is 224.7 Earth days. The period of
SAMPLE
rotation about its axis is 243.7 Earth days. So the Vesuvius day is 117 times Earth days. It has
no detectable magnetic field.
Earth : The orbital shape of Earth is slightly elliptical. The orbital revolution period about Sun
is 365.24 solar days which defines the Solar year. The eccentricity of the orbit is 0.1671. It
takes 8 minute 20 second to reach the sunlight to Earth. The Earth’s axis makes an angle of
23.430 to the pole of the ecliptic plane or in other words the obliquity is 23.430. The only natural
satellite of Earth is the Moon.
Mars : The Mars orbit is elliptical with eccentricity of 0.0934 and the inclination of orbit to
the ecliptic is 1.450. It is also known as red planet because of its hue. Phobos and Deimos are

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the two satellites of Mars. The mars Expedition Rover vehicles Spirit and Opportunity landed
on mars in 2004. This mission helped to infer about the internal structure of Mars i.e., it is
having lower density (3933 kg/m3) and the mass is tenth of Earth’s mass. The interior structure
is similar to the Earth’s core, solid inner core and liquid outer core. But Mars cannot generate
a magnetic field like earth as the liquid outer core is too small to generate a magnetic field.

1.3.2. Jovian planets properties

Jupitar: The Jupitar, largest planet among all other planets in the solar system, holds mass
about 318 times (19×1026 kg) of the Earth. As it is the largest planet , so density is too low i.e.,
1326 kg/m3, composed of 86% hydrogen and 14% helium gases. This liquid hydrogen
SAMPLE
generates a powerful magnetic field. The eccentricity is 0.0484 and the obliquity is 1.3050. It
has 63 satellites, among which Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are the four largest satellites.
Saturn : The second largest planet in the solar system is Saturn with the lowest density of 687
kg/m3. The obliquity is similar to the Earth i.e., 26.7 0. Saturn has 30 satellites among which
Titan is the largest one.
Urenus : Compared to the other Jovian planets, Urenus has higher mean density than Jupitar
and Saturn. The internal structure is composed of a molten rocky core surrounded by a layered
structure of methane, ammonia and water. The eccentricity is 0.0472 and obliquity is 0.770.
Neptune : Voyagar 2 is the first and only spacecraft to visit Neptune. The obliquity is 157 0,
making the planet in retrograde motion. Neptune has 13 satellites, the largest is Triton.
Pluto : Pluto is known as ‘dwarf planet’. It makes an inclination of 17.10 to the ecliptic plane
and the obliquity is 1220, that makes it retrograde in motion .

SAMPLE

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1.4. Asteroid & Comets
1.4.1. Characteristics of Asteroid
Asteroids are planetary bodies that revolve around the sun between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter. These are remnants of planetesimals (small planets) and other debris left over from the
formation of the solar system and composed chiefly of silicates and iron-nickel. Meteorites are
those asteroids which have landed on earth. But however some meteorites have come from
moon and mars.The orbit of Asteroid is nearly circular with radii 2-4 AU.
1.4.2. Characteristics of Comets
The gravitational pull of the main planets has sent some of the icy objects on paths that take
them into the inner part of the Solar System, where they begin to evaporate and form long tails
of gas—we call such objects comets.

1.5.Structure of Sun
The Sun has a radius of 695,510 km with bulk density 1.410 g/cc, mass 1.989×1030 kg and a
SAMPLE
surface temperature 55070C. the average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 149.6 ×106
km.
The interior structure of the Sun comprises of a core with temperature greater than 15 × 106 K,
pressure greater than 225 × 109 atmosphere and density 150 g/cc. in the core, the energy is
released by hydrogen fusion process. The energy is then transmitted towards the surface by
radiation, although for rest of the portion the heat is transmitted by convection.
The convection zone consists of three layers – the basal photosphere, the overlying
chromosphere and the corona. The temperature range in the Sun’s atmosphere varies from 5780
K in the photosphere to about 10,000K in the chromosphere. In the corona the temperature
rises abruptly. Due to high temperature of corona, the atoms lose electrons forming ions which
emit ultraviolet light and X-rays.
A sunspot is a region of lower temperature and intense magnetic fields. This is a dark fleck
with diameter 1000 to 10000km observed on the surface of Sun. Sunspot cycle is 11 years, but
the magnetic polarity changes from one to another sunspot indicates the period is actually 22
years. Solar flares are defined as the emission of hydrogen gas associated with intense magnetic
field of sunspots. The charged particles ejected in the flares leads to solar wind.

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1.6.Orgin & journey of star
Though it looks like a point of light, a star is actually an immense ball of incandescent gas that
emits intense heat and light. Stars are not randomly scattered through the Universe; gravity
holds them together in immense groups called galaxies. The Sun and over 300 billion stars
together form the Milky Way galaxy. More than 100 billion galaxies constitute the visible
Universe.

1.7.The Moon
1.7.1.Origin of moon
The samples collected from lunar surface revealed the origin of the Moon. There are three
hypotheses about the origin before the lunar landings.
i.The Moon has formed in Solar system and later captured by the Earth.
ii.The moon was formed by accretion of planetesimals in orbit around the earth.
iii.The materials that were torn out of the Earth form the Moon.
These hypotheses were combined with other facts, that help to describe about the origin of the
Moon. The facts are as follows :
i. There is a depletion of volatile elements relative to Carbonaceous chondrites have been
observed.
ii.Depletion in iron is observed evidenced by the bulk density of he Moon i.e. 3.344g/cc which
is less than the Earth’s density (5.5 g/cc).
iii. Absence of water in lunar surface.
SAMPLE
So, the first hypothesis that the Moon was formed in Solar system and captured by the earth
can be described by its lower density. Moreover, based on its density, it has been concluded
that the Moon formed in Asteroid belt at 1.8 AU distance from the Sun. But, if the Moon
originated from the Asteroid belt, then its velocity would be too high to capture by the earth.
The second hypothesis based on accretion of planetesimals also fails to explain the reason for
the absence of water and the lower density of the Moon.

The third hypothesis that described the Moon was formed by torn out of the earth, proposed
fission of the Earth. This supports the depletion of iron in the lunar surface if the Moon was
formed after the core formation of the Earth. But, the drawback of this hypothesis is it failed to
explain the mechanical problems of fissioning the Earth.

The current theory proposes that the Moon was formed by accumulation of solid particles that
condensed from the mantle materials from the Earth. Due to impacts of these solid particles
heat releases which is enough to melt the newly-formed Moon. Consequently, Moon is
segregated into immiscible liquids forming a small core (metallic iron + nickel) and a solid
mantle composed of silicate minerals such as olivine and pyroxene.

1.7.2.Structure of the moon

From the seismometer experiments carried out on the lunar surface, it is also possible to
characterize the internal structure of the Moon and to compare it to that of Earth. The lunar
crust ranges from 65 to 85km thick averaging 75km. and the lithosphere extends to about
1100km. Hence, both the crust and lithosphere of the Moon are thicker than corresponding
units on Earth. A transition from the upper to lower mantle occurs at about 400km depth. Most
moonquakes occur between 800 and 1000km depth just above the base of the lunar lithosphere.
Between 1100 and 1250km, both P and S wave velocities decrease a feature consistent with
the presence of some melt in this region. Results are not yet conclusive regarding the presence
or absence of a lunar core. If such a core exists, it is solid iron-nickel and of the order of 400
to 600km thick.

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1.7.3. Phases of Moon
During the monthly cycle of Moon, it experiences different phases based on the position
relative to the Sun and the earth. When the dark side of the moon faces Earth, it is called new
moon phase and the lit facing phase of Moon towards the Earth is known as full moon phase.
In between the full moon and the first-quarter phase, there is Waxing Gibbous (waxen means
to increase and gibbous means hump). In between the first-quarter and the new moon phase,
SAMPLE
there lies Waxing crescent (Crescere means to grow). Similarly, in between the full moon and
the third quarter, there is Waning Gibbous phase (Waning means decreasing) and in between
the third quarter and the new moon, Waning Crescent phase appears.

1.7.4.Tidal force of moon

Two tidal bulges are generated – one towards moon and another is opposite the moon. The
tides are generated due to imbalance between centripetal force and the gravitational force. Due
to these imbalance forces, a residual force produces which pushes the ocean water into two
bulges on opposite sides of the Earth.
When the moon is along the Earth’s equator, two tidal bulges are produced on opposite sides
of equator. In this way, the two high tides occur each day. The tidal period is the time between
two high tides i.e.12 hours, although it is 12 hours 25 minutes in most of the places. If one
moves from equator to north or south pole, the intensity of high tides decreases.
The lunar day or tidal day is the time gap between the Moon is on the meridian or directly
overhead of an observer to the next time the Moon is on that meridian and it is 24hours 50
minutes. The solar day is measured in the same way as lunar day, but the time gap is 24hours
for solar day. The reason behind this 50 minutes longer lunar day is another 12.20 that the Moon
has to cover in its orbit to the east while rotating the Earth.
As tidal force is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance between objects, therefore
being 27 million times more massive than the Moon, Sun does not create any significant tidal

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bulge, it is only 46% of Moon’s tide. Besides, Sun is 390 times farther from Earth than the
moon.

1.7.5. The monthly Tidal cycle

Three phases of Moon is observed : new moon phase when Moon is in between Sun and Earth;
Full moon when Earth lies between Sun and Moon and the Quarter Moon when the Moon lies
at right angle to the Sun relative to the Earth, in this position the moon is half dark and half lit.
When the Earth, Sun and Moon align in the same line, either the Moon between Earth and the
Sun (new moon) or the moon on other side of the Earth just opposite to the Sun (full moon),
the tidal forces generated by moon and sun are combined. In this full moon or new moon phase,
the tidal range is very large. This is called the spring tides. It is an constructive interference
pattern of solar and lunar tidal bulges.
On the other hand, neap tides are formed when the Moon lies at right angle to the Sun with
respect to the earth. In this position, destructive interference of solar and lunar bulges occurs
producing a small tidal range. So neap tides are observed in first and third quarter phase of
moon. SAMPLE
The spring tide and neap tide occur at half lunar cycle i.e.,about two weeks and the time gap
between a spring tide and neap tide is one week i.e., one quarter the monthly lunar cycle.

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1.7.6.Concept of solar & lunar eclipse
Eclipse occurs when a planet or moon gets in the way of the Sun’s light. Two types of eclipses
observed – solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. During solar eclipses, the moon covers the Sun
partially or completely and makes shadow on Earth. A complete solar eclipse when the moon
completely covers the sun, happens about a year and a half and a partial eclipse when the moon
partially covers the sun, observes twice a year. It takes about 375 years to see the same spot on
earth.

On the other hand, lunar eclipse occurs when earth appears between sun and moon, creates a
shadow of Earth on the moon at night. During lunar eclipses, the moon looks red as the other
SAMPLE
colors are absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere and bends some sunlight towards the moon.
Lunar eclipses do not appear every month. Although the moon orbits earth, but the orbit is
tilted (around 50), hence the moon gets some light from the Sun.

1.7.7.Milankovitch cycle
Earth’s climate change is influenced by three factors such as, i)changes in shape of the Earth’s
orbit or eccentricity, ii) The change in angle between the Earth’ axis and the plane of its orbit
or obliquity, and iii)the precession or wobbling of the earth’s axis. The duration of eccentricity,
obliquity and precession is 100,000 years, 41,000 years and 26,000 years respectively. This
cycle is known as Milankovitch cycle. This cycle is responsible for long-term climatic change
and alternating glacial and interglacial periods.

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1.8. Age of the Earth, Solar system & Universe
Oldest rocks are 3.8-4.0 Ga in age and they occur as small, isolated terrains in most continents
which are known as older green stone belts.
Isotropic dates from the moon 4.6 Ga and age of the lunar crust being about 4.5 Ga.
Isotropic dates from meteorites tell us the age of magmatic crystallization of the parent bodies
from which the meteorites come. The oldest meteorites ages are about 4.6 Ga.
Age of ancient lead ores on earth date from 4.6 to 4.4 Ga and record the time at which lead
separated from the other elements during formation of the earth’s core.
Age of the sun based on rate of energy loss of about 4.7 Ga.
All the above lines of evidence suggested the age of the Earth is 4.6Ga (i.e. 4.6 billion years)
SAMPLE
and the age of the universe equal to 10-15 Ga (i.e. 10-15 billion years). Ga stands for Giga-
annum.

1.9.Bode’s law & Titan-Bode’s Law

Bode’s law estimates the distance between planets and Sun according to their position in the
solar system. The formula is as follows :
dn= 0.4 + (0.3 × 2(n-2)) for n>2
th
where, dn = n planet from the Sun, expressed in Astronomical units (AU). This law is for all
planets except for Neptune and Pluto. The existence of the fifth planet, known as asteroid, that
lie between Mars and Jupitar is predicted by this Bode’s law. This law is also called as Titus-
Bode’s law.

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1.10.Kepler’s law
The three laws of Kepler about planetary motion are as follows :
First law : This law states that the orbit of each planet with the Sun at one focus is an ellipse.
This law follows the conservation of energy concept indicating the orbiting of planet about the
Sun is due to central attraction which is inversely proportional to the distance between them.
SAMPLE
The terms perihelion and aphelion are used for the nearest and furthest points of a planet
orbiting the Sun. again, perigee and apogee are used for a satellite orbiting about the planet.
Second law : ‘The orbital radius of a planet sweeps out equal areas in equal interval of time’.
This law follows the conservation of angular momentum concept.
Third law : the ratio of a planet’s period (T2) to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit
(a3) is a constant for all the planets, including the Earth.

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Multiple choice questions
Level 1 (Easy questions )
1. The approximate distance to the planets from the Sun follow the
a) Newton’s law b) Kepler’s law
c) Titus-Bode’s law d) Poisson’s law

2. Which is the most abundant element in the Solar system ?

a) oxygen b) Silicon
c) Hydrogen d) Iron

3. The planet having density less than 1.0 gm/cm3 is

a) Jupitar b) Saturn
c) Uranus d) Neptune

4. Name of the planet in the solar system which has its ‘day’ longer than its ‘year’
a) Mercury b) Venus
c) Mars d) Neptune

5. It takes approximately ----- minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth

a) 6 b) 7
c) 8 SAMPLE d) 9

6. which one of the following planets has the highest bulk density
a) Saturn b) Venus
c) Jupitar d) Mars

Level 2 (Moderate questions)

1. Compared with the Sun, which one of the following statement is true for the planet Mars ?
a) It is less dense b) It has shorter length of days
c) It has less number of moons d) It is closer to the Sun

2. The condensation of the Earth and other planets was completed approximately
a) 2.6 billion years ago b) 1.6 billion years ago
c) 3.6. billion years age d) 4.6. billion years ago

3. Sunspots are regions of

a) Low magnetic field b) High pressure
c) High magnetic field d) High temperature

4. Who is the physicist responsible for the ‘Big Bang Theory’ ?

a) Roger Penrose b) George Gamow
c) Albert Einstein d) Michael Skube

Level 3 (Difficult questions)

1. Clauratus theorem relates the Sun of geometrical and gravitational flatting of the
a) Equatorial centrifugal force
b) Equatorial force of gravity
c) Ratio of equatorial centrifugal force to equatorial force of gravity
d) Ratio of equatorial force of gravity and equatorial centrifugal force

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2. With respect to Earth-Moon axis, the tidal deformation of the Earth produced by the Moon
has the sphere of
a) Oblate ellipse b) Oblate ellipsoid
c) Prolate ellipse d) Prolate ellipsoid

3. The planet which contributes maximum to the angular momentum to the solar system is
a) Mars b) Jupitar
c) Earth d) Saturn

Level 4 (Previous year easy questions)

1. Which one of the following statements about the planetary motion of the Solar system is
INCORRECT? (GATE 2019)
a) The orbital-radius of planets sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time.
b) The orbital speed of planets is constant throughout their respective orbits.
c) Planets revolve in anticlockwise direction relative to a point above the plane of
planetary motion.
d) At least one focus of the elliptical orbit of each planet lies at the same point.

2. Body waves ________. (GATE 2018)

a) can travel through vacuum b) have cylindrical wavefronts
c) are mechanical waves d) are known as ground roll

3. Which one of the following planets has the highest bulk density? (GATE 2014)
a) Jupiter b) Venus
c) Saturn d) Mars

SAMPLE
4.It takes approximately _________ minutes for sunlight to reach the Earth. (GATE 2013)

5. What is the third most abundant element (after H and He) in the solar system? (NET JUNE
2018)
a) O b) Fe
c) Si d) Ni

6. The Milankovitch cycles of the global climatic variation operate over the time scales of (NET
JUNE 2019)
a) <20 yr b) 20-100 yr
c) 20- 100 kilo yr d) 20-100 million yr.

7. What is the age of the Sun ? (NET DEC 2018)

a) Twice the age of the Earth
b) Same as the age of the Earth
c) Same as the age of the Universe
d) Same as the age of the Milky Way galaxy

8. Kepler’s third law does not apply to the (NET DEC 2017)
a) motion of planets around the Sun
b) motion of moons around the planets
c) motion of artificial satellites around the Earth
d) comets which do not re-appear

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Level 5 (Previous year difficult questions)
1. Which one among the following planets in the Solar system is most similar in size to the
Earth? ( IIT JAM 2018)
a) Mercury b) Venus
c) Neptune d) Uranus

2. The correct sequence of planets in order of increasing surface temperature is (NET JUNE
2019)
a) Saturn, Earth, Mars, Mercury
b) Neptune, Earth, Mercury, Venus
c) Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury
d) Uranus, Mars, Jupitar, Earth

3. Match the following in column X with column Y (NET JUNE 2019)

X Y
A. Eccentricity P. Axial path wobble
B.Obliquity Q.Orbital stretch
C.Precession R.Axial tilt
D.Maunder minimum S.Solar variability
a)A- Q; B- R ; C- S ; D- P b) A- P; B- Q ; C-R; D-S
c) A-P; B-R; C-Q; D-S SAMPLE d) A-Q; B-R; C-P; D-S

4. Compared to the Earth, the Moon has a lower average density, because the Moon (NET
JUNE 2016)
a) is a satellite b) is smaller in size
c) has lighter crustal rocks d) has a thinner core

5. The Moon’s surface receives cosmic rays and solar wind everywhere unlike the Earth’s
surface. This is because the (NET DEC 2018)
a) Moon is closer to the Sun
b) Moon lies at the centre of the galaxy
c) Moon’s gravity is one-sixth of that of the Earth
d) Moon does not have a significant magnetic field

6. Compared to the Earth, Jupitar orbits around the Sun much slower because of its (NET DEC
2017)
a) lower density b) higher mass
c) larger distance from the Sun d) slower rotation about its axis

Level 6 (Multiple selection questions)

1.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct ?
a) Clairauts theorem is applicable under gravitational field and centrifugal force
b) Van Allen Rdiation belt is a layer of charged particles trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field
c) Sunspots are region of high temperature and low magnetic field
d) Terrestrial heat flow is the product of thermal diffusivity and temperature gradient

2. Which planets show stream erosion ?

a) Mars b) Venus
c) Mercury d) Earth

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3.Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about Mars ?
a) Entirely made up of CO2
b) Has larger orbit than of the Earth
c) Surface temperature less than that of the Earth
d) None of the above is true

4. Facts regarding planet Venus

a) Albedo of Venus is lower than that of the Earth
SAMPLE
b) Solar energy incident on Venus is higher than that on Earth
c) The effective radiating temperature of Venus is lower than that of the Earth
d) The atmosphere of Venus has negligible CO2

5. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about Kepler’s law ?

a) Kepler’s law improved the heliocentric theory proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus
b) Kepler’s first law is based on conservation of angular momentum
c) According to Kepler’s second law, a line from the planet to the Sun sweep[s out equal areas
in equal interval of time
d) Kepler’s third law is based on the balance between gravitational force and centrifugal force

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Answers with explanations
Level 1
1.c. The Titus- Bode’s law or Bode’s law describes the distance between the planets and the
Sun.
2. c. The abundance of elements in the Solar system is
H >He>O>Ne
3.b.The planet Saturn has the lowest density i.e. less than 1.0 g/cm3.
4.a. Day of a planet is a time taken by the rotation of its own axis and year is a time taken by
the planet to rotate around the Sun i.e., revolutional velocity. Mercury day is 58.64 Earth days.
Mercury rotates around its own axis very slowly, but it rotates around the Sun very fast making
it’s days longer than the Mercury years.
5. c. It takes approximately 8 min 20 sec for Sunlight to reach the Earth.
SAMPLE
6. b. The density order of planets is
Earth > Mercury > Venus > Mars > Pluto > Neptune > Jupitar > Uranus > Saturn.

Level 2
1.a. Mars is less dense compared with the Sun. It has longer length of days and the position is
fourth number after Mercury, Venus and Earth in the Solar system.
2.d.The formation of the Solar system is about 4.6 billion years ago evidenced from isotopic
data and meteoric impact.
3.c. Sunspots are regions of low temperature and high magnetic field.
4.b.

Level 3
1.c.
2.d. Prolate ellipsoid is formed due to tidal deformation of Earth-Moon axis.
3.b. Jupitar contributes maximum angular momentum in its axis to the Solar system. It has
62% of the total angular momentum of all planets.

Level 4
1.b.According to Kepler’s second law, “the orbital radius of a planet sweeps out equal areas in
equal interval of time”. So it follows conservation of angular momentum of the planet which
indicates to maintain the angular momentum the orbital speed of the planet changes.
2.a. Body waves include P and S- waves can travel through vacuum.
3.b. Among the given options, Saturn has the lowest density and Venus holds highest density
after Earth and Mercury.
4. 8min 20 sec. SAMPLE
5. a.Oxygen is the third most abundant element after hydrogen and helium in the Solar system.
6.c. Milankovitch cycle consists of eccentricity, obliquity and precession of planets. The cycle
range is 20-100 kilo year.
7. b. The age of Earth and the Sun is same i.e. 4.6 billion years.
8. d. Kepler’s law is applicable for planetary motion. There is no consideration of comets.

Level 5
1.b.Venus has the similar size as Earth. These two lie next to each other in solar system. The
mass of Venus is 4.869 × 1024 kg and the earth mass is 5.974 × 1024 kg.
2.b. The increasing surface temperature of planets in order as follows :
Neptune < Earth < Mercury < Venus.
3.d. Eccentricity – Orbital stretch
Obliquity – Axial tilt

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 Precession – Axial path wobble
Maunder minimum – Solar variability
4.d. The Earth’s core consists of high dense elements iron and nickel, while the Moon’s core
composition also the same but it has a thinner core compared to Earth. So the average density
becomes lower for the Moon.
5.d.Due to absence of a significant magnetic field like the Earth, Moon’s surface receives solar
wind and cosmic rays.
6.c. The orbital velocity is inversely proportional to the distance between the Sun and the
planet. As Jupiter lies far away from the Sun compared to the Earth, hence the velocity would
be less and due to this fact, it orbits around the Sun much slower.

Level 6
1.a,b SAMPLE
Clairaut’s theorem is a general law which states an equilibrium condition of a viscous rotating
ellipsoid under its gravitational field and centrifugal force.
Sunspots are region of low temperature with high magnetic field due to concentration of
magnetic field flux.
Terrestrial heat flow is the product of thermal conductivity and temperature gradient.
2.a,d
Mars show stream erosion like Earth.
3.a,b,c
The atmosphere of Mars is mainly composed of CO2(95%) with nitrogen and argon in minor
amount. The surface temperature varies from 130K to 308K and the orbital period is 1.880year.
4.b,c,d
Albedo of Venus is 68% which is much higher than that of the Earth’s albedo(30%) because
the solar energy incident on Venus is higher, so the reflectivity will be higher also. The surface
temperature of Venus is 737K. The atmosphere is mainly composed of CO2 (96.5%) followed
by nitrogen(3.5%), sulfur dioxide(0.015%) and argon,carbon monoxide, helium etc in trace
amount.

Numerical Problems
1.In order to have the same value of the surface acceleration due to gravity as on Earth, a planet
twice its radius must have a mean relative density of --- ?

2. Two planets A and B of masses M and 4M orbit around their central star at distances d and
4d respectively. Compared to A, the planet B orbits around the star
a) twice slower b) four times slower
c) eight times slower d) sixteen times slower
SAMPLE
3. If a planet revolves around the Sun in a period of 8 years then its distance from the Sun will
be
a) Two times the earth’s distance b) Four times the earth’s distance
c) Six times the earth’s distance d) Eight times the earth’s distance

4.If the Sun loses some of its mass, its distance to the Earth remaining the same, the year on
the Earth would have (NET JUNE 2019)
a) more number of days, the day being shorter than the present
b) less number of days, the day being longer than the present
c) more number of days, the day being of the same length as the present
d) less number of days, the day being of the same length as the present

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5. Calculate the time period of a satellite which revolves round a planet in an orbit just above
the surface of the planet using the data: G = 6.67 × 10–11 N m2 /kg2 and mean density of the
planet = 8 × 103 kg/m3 .

6. A satellite revolves around a planet in an orbit whose radius is 3 times the radius of the
planet. The radius of the planet is 2800 km. Taking acceleration due to gravity on surface of
the planet = 8 m/s2 , find the period of the satellite.

7.Suppose there existed a planet that went around the Sun twice as fast as the Earth. What
would be its orbital size as compared to that of the Earth?

8. If the orbital radius of the earth is made 4 times, then find the duration of the year if earlier
it was T? SAMPLE
a) T b) 2T
c) 4T d) 8T

Numerical Explanations
1.Answer – 2.7 g/cc
Given, the acceleration due to gravity is same for the earth and the planet. The radius of planet
is twice Earth’s radius.
Let, the radius of Earth be R, so the planet radius 2R.
The density of Earth ρ1 and the density of planet be ρ2.
The acceleration due to gravity is expressed as
G = GM/R2
Where, G= gravitational constant, M = mass of planet = density × Volume
R = distance between two planets
So, gravity for earth is
ge = G × (ρ1 × 4/3 ×π × R3) / R2
similarly, gravity for the given planet is
gp= G × (ρ2 × 4/3 × (2R)3 )/ (2R)2
as these two gravity is equal, so
ge = gp
Putting the density of Earth as 5.5 g/cc and solving the equation, the density of planet is found
2.7 g/cc.

2.a.
Given, Planets Mass SAMPLE
Distances
A M d
B 4M 4d
Revolutional velocity R.V = √(GM/R)
R.VA = √(GM/d)
R.V B = √(GM/4d)
So, R.VA = 2 R.VB
The revolutional velocity of planet A is twice the planet B velocity. So, the planet B orbits
twice slower compared to planet A.

3.b. According to the Kepler’s third law, T2 is proportional to a3 where T is the time period and
a is the length of semi-major axis of the ellipse or the distance between Sun and planet.
T= 8 years (given)
So, a= T ^(2/3) = 8^(2/3) = 4 times

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4.c. The duration of year depends on the revolutional velocity i.e., the velocity of a planet while
revolving around the Sun. it is expressed mathematically by
V= √(GM/R)
Where G= gravitational constant, R= distance between the planet and the Sun
M= mass of the Sun.
So, if Sun loses some mass, the revolutional velocity would be less, means the duration of year
will be high. Therefore, the year will have more number of days, but the length of the days will
remain the same.

5. Answer – 4205 sec

SAMPLE
For a satellite to evolve around a planet,
Centripetal force = Gravitational force
mV2/R = GMm/ R2 (m= mass of satellite, M= mass of the planet, R = distance between
the planet and the satellite, G= gravitational constant )
>m(ωR)2 /R = GMm/R2 (as V = ωR)
> ω = GM/R = G/R × 4/3 × πρR (ρ= density of the satellite)
2 3 3 3

> (2π/T)2 = G/R3 × 4/3 × πρR3

> T = √ (3π/Gρ)
= √ ((3 ×3.14)/ (6.67 × 10-11 × 8 × 103))
= 4205 sec

6. Answer – 19280 sec

Time period, T = 2πr/ Vorbital
Since, T = distance / velocity
T = 2πr / √(GM/r)
Putting the acceleration due to gravity value = 8 m/s2 and the radius of the satellite,
T = 19280 sec

7. Answer – 0.63 AU
From Kepler’s 3rd law,
T12 / T22 = R13/ R23
Here, T1 = 1 year, T2 = 1/2 year, R1 = 1 AU, R2 = ?
R2 = R1 (T2/ T1)2/3
= 1 (1/2/1)2/3 = 0.63 AU
SAMPLE
8. Answer – d
From Kepler’s 3rd law,
T2/T1 =(4r/r)(3/2)=(4)(3/2)=8
>T2=8T1=8T.

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