Titan

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/titan

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. Who discovered Titan?March 25, 1655
2. What is the orbital period?Approximately 16 Earth days
3. What is the mean orbital distance from saturn?Approximately 1.22 million kilometers (759,000 miles)
4. What makes Titan bigger than many planets?Titan's diameter is about 5,150 kilometers, which is larger than the planet Mercury and the second-largest moon in the solar system after Ganymede.
5. Why does Titan have clouds and lakes?Titan has a cycle of liquid methane and ethane that forms clouds, rains, and creates lakes and seas on its surface.

Prebiotic Chemistry: The chemical reactions that may have led to the origin of life on Earth.
Tholins: Complex organic molecules formed by ultraviolet radiation acting on nitrogen and hydrocarbons.
Abiogenesis: The natural process by which life arises from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds.