SRI VIJAY VIDYASHRAM SR. SEC.
SCHOOL, DPI/BGR/TVM/TPT
READING - 2
Read the following
The outer solar system is the name of the planets beyond the asteroid belt. These planets are called gas
giants because they are made up of gas and ice.
The first stop of our tour is the fifth planet, Jupiter. Jupiter is bigger than three hundred Earths! It is made
up of hydrogen and helium and a few other gases. There are violent wind storms that circle around Jupiter.
The most famous storm is called the Great Red Spot. It has been churning for more than four hundred years
already. At last count, Jupiter has sixty-three known moons and a faint ring around it too.
Next in our space neighbourhood comes Saturn. It is well-known for the series of beautiful rings that circle
it. They are made up of tiny bits of frozen dirt and ice. Like Jupiter, Saturn is made up of mostly hydrogen
and helium. It is smaller though, at only ninety-five times the size of Earth. Saturn has sixty-two moons.
The seventh planet, Uranus and its twenty-seven moons orbit very far from the sun. In addition to helium
and hydrogen, Uranus atmosphere also contains ammonia ice and methane ice. It is a very cold planet, with
no internal heat source. One of the strangest things about Uranus is that it is tipped over and orbits the sun
on its side at a ninety-degree angle. The twenty-seven moons it has orbit from top to bottom, instead of left
to right like our moon.
The eighth planet is Neptune. Like Uranus, it is made up of hydrogen, helium, ammonia ice and methane
ice. But unlike Uranus, Neptune does have an inner heat source, just like Earth. It radiates twice as much
heat as it receives from the sun. Neptune’s most distinctive quality is its blue colour. Most of the
information we know about it came from the Voyager 2 spacecraft passing close by it in 1989.
Pluto is the last and was considered a planet after its discovery in 1930. In 2006, Pluto was demoted and
reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto exists in the Kuiper belt. That’s just a fancy name for the band of rocks,
dust and ice that lies beyond the gas giants. Scientists have found objects bigger than Pluto in this belt.
Thus, the outer solar system has many secrets to explore.(387 words Source-CBSE Sample paper 2017 -18)
Based on your understanding of the passage, answer the questions given below: 12
I. An amazing fact about Jupiter in terms of its proportion is
that_______________________________________________________________.1
[Link] makes the moons of Uranus peculiar? 1
III. What are ‘gas giants.’? How does Neptune stand out from them? Explain in about 40 words. 2
[Link] two gases which make up most of Jupiter and Saturn are----1
A. hydrogen and ammonia
B. hydrogen and methane
C. hydrogen and helium
D. None of these
[Link] the option similar in meaning of the word “faint” given in para 2 1
A. indistinct
B. slight
C. muffled
D. unconscious
VI. Pluto does not enjoy the status of other planets. Justify this statement in about 40 words 2
[Link] Kuiper belt is an area of rocks, dust, and ice that------------------- 1
A. is between Jupiter and Saturn
B. is beyond Pluto
C. includes Pluto
D. surrounds Saturn’s rings
VIII. Voyager 2 spacecraft is credited with ______________________________________ 1
IX. What prompts the writer to say that the outer solar system has many secrets to explore? Answer
in about 40 words. 2