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What Is Mercury Like

Interactive passage with audio narration, comprehension questions, and printable PDF.

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Format: Interactive (Online), Printable (PDF)
Grades: 5678
Subjects: scienceela
Standards: MS-ESS1-3
Languages: English, Spanish

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What's included

Reading passage

Reading comprehension

Audio narration

With word word highlighting

Comprehension quiz

Auto-graded

Writing activity

Open-ended response

Glossary & flashcards

Vocabulary practice

Differentiated version

Adapted for varied levels

Spanish translation

Bilingual support

About this reader

This comprehensive reading passage introduces middle school students to Mercury, the smallest and innermost planet in our solar system. Aligned with NGSS standard MS-ESS1-3 and Disciplinary Core Idea MS-ESS1.B (Earth and the Solar System), the passage explores Mercury's unique characteristics including its heavily cratered surface, absence of atmosphere, and extreme temperature swings. Students learn how Mercury's lack of atmosphere causes temperatures to vary from extremely hot during the day to freezing cold at night. The passage includes audio integration for enhanced accessibility, differentiated versions for English Language Learners and struggling readers, Spanish translations, and engaging activities including multiple-choice questions, writing prompts, and graphic organizers. Students examine cause-and-effect relationships and compare Mercury to other planets while developing understanding of planetary science and solar system formation.

Written by Workybooks TeamPublished by Workybooks

Sample passage and quiz content

CONTENT PREVIEW

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system and the closest one to the Sun. This rocky world has a heavily cratered surface that looks similar to Earth's Moon. Mercury has almost no atmosphere to protect it or trap heat. Because of this, Mercury experiences the most extreme temperature swings of any planet in our solar system.

Scientists explain that Mercury's lack of atmosphere causes its dramatic temperature changes. During the day, the side facing the Sun can reach temperatures of about 430 degrees Celsius. This heat is intense enough to melt lead. At night, the same surface drops to around negative 180 degrees Celsius. Without an atmosphere to distribute warmth, heat escapes quickly into space. The planet rotates very slowly, so one side faces the Sun for a long time. This rotation pattern makes the temperature differences even more extreme.

Mercury's surface shows evidence of billions of years of impacts from space rocks. The craters formed when asteroids and comets crashed into the planet. The largest crater, called Caloris Basin, measures about 1,550 kilometers across. Scientists observe that Mercury has cliffs and ridges that may have formed when the planet's interior cooled and shrank. The surface also contains plains of ancient volcanic rock. Mercury has a large iron core that makes up about 75 percent of the planet's radius.

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft studied Mercury from orbit between 2011 and 2015. This mission provided detailed maps and measurements of the planet's surface and composition. Scientists discovered ice in permanently shadowed craters near Mercury's poles. This finding surprised researchers because Mercury is so close to the Sun. The ice can exist because sunlight never reaches the bottoms of these deep craters. Understanding Mercury helps scientists learn how rocky planets form and change over time.

Interesting Fact: A year on Mercury (one orbit around the Sun) takes only 88 Earth days, but a single day on Mercury (one complete rotation) lasts 59 Earth days. This means Mercury completes three rotations for every two orbits around the Sun.

What is Mercury's position in the solar system?

The smallest and closest planet to the SunThe largest and farthest planet from the SunThe second smallest planet in the solar systemThe planet with the most moons

Why does Mercury experience extreme temperature swings?

Because it rotates too quicklyBecause it has almost no atmosphere to trap or distribute heatBecause it is too far from the SunBecause it has too many volcanoes

What does the word 'atmosphere' mean in this passage?

The rocky surface of a planetThe center core of a planetThe layer of gases surrounding a planetThe craters on a planet's surface

How hot can Mercury's surface get during the day?

About 100 degrees CelsiusAbout 430 degrees CelsiusAbout negative 180 degrees CelsiusAbout 1,000 degrees Celsius

What caused the craters on Mercury's surface?

Volcanic eruptionsWind and water erosionImpacts from asteroids and cometsEarthquakes and tectonic activity

Based on the passage, what can you infer about planets without atmospheres?

They have more stable temperaturesThey cannot have any surface featuresThey experience more extreme temperature changesThey are always closer to the Sun

Why was the discovery of ice on Mercury surprising to scientists?

Because Mercury is the largest planetBecause Mercury is so close to the SunBecause Mercury has a thick atmosphereBecause Mercury has no craters

If you were designing a spacecraft to land on Mercury, what challenge would the extreme temperatures create?

The spacecraft would need special materials to withstand both extreme heat and coldThe spacecraft would only need to protect against cold temperaturesTemperature would not be a concern for spacecraft designThe spacecraft would need to land only at night

True or False: Mercury's surface looks similar to Earth's Moon because both have many craters.

TrueFalse

True or False: Mercury has a thick atmosphere that protects it from temperature changes.

TrueFalse