List of planet types

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/list-of-planet-types

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the bulk composition categories?Terrestrial (rocky/metallic), Gas Giants (H/He), Ice Giants (ices/H/He)
2. What is the exoplanet intermediate types?Super-Earths (rocky, > Earth mass), Mini-Neptunes (gaseous envelope, < Neptune mass)
3. What is the difference between terrestrial planets and giant planets?Terrestrial planets are rocky and have solid surfaces, like Earth and Mars. Giant planets are huge and mostly made of gas or ice, like Jupiter and Neptune.
4. Why are gas giants made mostly of hydrogen and helium?In the cold outer parts of a young star’s disk, hydrogen and helium gas can gather around big cores, forming giant planets.

Protoplanetary Disk: A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a young star.
Refractory Materials: Substances that remain solid at high temperatures, like metals and silicates.
Astrobiology: The scientific study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.