Question 10 of 10intermediate🔍 AnalyzeShort Answer2 marks

Various planets in our Solar System are at different distances from the Sun. Search the Internet and make a table with the planets, their distances from the Sun (in increasing order) and their temperatures written. Does the average temperature of planets decrease as their distance from the Sun increases? If it is not true for any planet, find out for which planet and why.

Correct Answer

A table showing planets in order of distance from the Sun:

  • Mercury (57.9 million km, 167 °C average)
  • Venus (108.2 million km, 464 °C average)
  • Earth (149.6 million km, 15 °C average)
  • Mars (227.9 million km, −65 °C average)
  • Jupiter (778.5 million km, −110 °C average)
  • Saturn (1.4 billion km, −140 °C average)
  • Uranus (2.9 billion km, −195 °C average)
  • Neptune (4.5 billion km, −200 °C average)

The general trend shows that temperature decreases with distance from the Sun, but Venus is an exception. Venus is hotter than Mercury despite being farther from the Sun because it has a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide that creates a strong greenhouse effect, trapping heat and making its surface temperature extremely high.

This demonstrates that atmospheric composition also affects planetary temperature, not just distance from the Sun.

Exercise: Learning further | Q: A3 | (Page Page 18)
For More Understanding

Explanation

This activity extends the concept of temperature measurement to planetary science. The chapter mentions that 'The temperature at the core of the Sun reaches as high as 15 million degrees Celsius' and discusses absolute zero as the lowest possible temperature. Students learn that while distance from the Sun generally correlates with temperature (planets farther away receive less solar energy), other factors like atmospheric composition play a crucial role. Venus's thick CO₂ atmosphere creates such a strong greenhouse effect that its surface temperature exceeds that of Mercury, which has virtually no atmosphere. This activity integrates temperature concepts with astronomy and environmental science.

Solution Steps

  1. Create a table listing planets by increasing distance from the Sun with their average temperatures.

  2. Observe the general trend that planetary temperature decreases with distance from the Sun.

  3. Identify Venus as an exception to this trend.

  4. Explain that Venus's high temperature is due to its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere and greenhouse effect.

  5. Conclude that atmospheric composition influences planetary temperature.

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