Astronomy ch 6 – Flashcards
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Supposing view the solar system from high above earths north pole. Which of the following statements. About planetary orbits will be true?
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All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the sun
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The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is ______.
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Venus
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Assuming the other planetary systems form in the same way as our solar system formed, where would you expect to find terrestrial planets?
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Terrestrial planets will likely be located near the planetary systems than any Jovian planets
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Compare to the terrestrial planets Jovian planets are ____.
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More massive and lower in average density
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Which planet is approximately halfway between between Pluto's orbit and the sun?
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Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun
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Consider only the observed patterns of motion in the solar system. Scientifically, which of the following possible conclusions is justified from the patterns of motion alone?
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The planets were not each born in a separate, random event
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The Jovian planets in our solar system are _____.
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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
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When we say the Jovian planets contain significant amount of hydrogen compounds, we mean all of the following chemicals except ______.
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Carbon dioxide
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In essence, the nebular theory holds that ____.
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Our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust
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Where would you expect terrestrial planets to form in the solar nebula?
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Anywhere between .3 AU and the frost line
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The Jovian planets are thought to have formed is gravity drew hydrogen and helium gas around planetesimals made of _____.
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Rocks, metals, and ices
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The terrestrial planets are made almost entirely of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. According to modern science, where did these elements come from?
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They were produced by stars that lived and died before our solar system was born
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According to our theory of solar system formation, what three major changes occurred in the solar nebula as it shrank in size?
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It got hotter, it's rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk
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Which of the following types of material can condense into what we call ice at low temperatures?
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Hydrogen compounds
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What do you mean by the frost line can we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?
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It is a circle at a particular distance from the sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ice to condense
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According to your theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets?
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Leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
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What is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the moon?
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The moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and the crowds by the impact of a Mars sized object
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Suppose you start with 1 kg of a radioactive substance that has a half-life of 10 years. Which of the following statements will be true after 20 years pass?
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You'll have .25 kg of the radioactive substance remaining
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According to modern scientific dating techniques, approximately how old is the Solar system?
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4.5 billion years
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Imagining that an alien spaceship crashed onto earth. Which statement would most likely be true?
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It would crash in the ocean
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Which of the following statements about the recently discovered object Eris is not true?
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It is thought to be the first example of a new class of object
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Which planet listed below has the most extreme seasons?
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Uranus
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About 2% of our solar nebula consisted of elements besides hydrogen and helium. However, the very first generation of star systems in the universe probably consisted only of hydrogen and helium. Which of the following statements is most likely to have been true about these first-generation star systems?
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There were no comets or asteroids in these first generation star systems
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Cording to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following best explains why the solar nebula ended up with a disc shaped as it collapsed?
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It flattened as a natural consequence of collisions between particles in the nebula
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What is the primary basis upon which to divide the ingredients of the solar nebula into four categories (hydrogen/helium; hydrogen compound; rock; metal)?
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The temperature at which various materials will condense them gaseous form to solid form
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Many meteorites appear to have formed very early in the solar systems history. How do these meteorites support our Siri about how the terrestrial planets formed?
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The meteorites appearance and composition is just what we'd expect if metal and rock condensed and accreted as our theory suggests
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According to our present theory of solar system formation, why were solid planetesimals able to grow larger in the outer solar system then in the inner solar system?
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Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system
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According to our basic scenario of solar system formation, why do the Jovian planets have numerous large moons?
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As the growing Jovian planets capture gas from the solar nebula, swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion with these disks
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Which of the following is not evidence supporting the idea that her moon formed as a result of a giant impact?
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The Pacific ocean appears to be a large crater probably one made by the giant impact
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Three universal system between mercury and Mars has very few astroids, while the region between Mars and Jupiter has many astroids. Based on what you have learned, what is the most likely! The lack of astroid between mercury and Mars?
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There were very few planetary leftovers in this region because most of the solid material was created by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed
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Which Jovian planet does not have rings?
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All the Jovian planets have rings
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The Cassini mission to Saturn consists of ____.
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An orbiter that orbits Saturn in the probe that to send it to the surface of Titan
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According to modern science, what is the approximate chemical composition of the solar nebula?
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98% hydrogen and helium, 2% everything else
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The terrestrial planets are made almost entirely of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. According to Ron and science, where did these elements come from?
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They were produced by stars that lived and died before our solar system was born
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What do we mean by the period of compartment in the context of the history of our solar system?
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The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed.
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How does the sons mass compared with that of the planets?
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It is 1000 times more massive than all the planets combined
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Went to planet, other than earned, has visible water ice on it?
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Mars
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Which of the following observations indicates the conditions on Mars they have been suitable for life in the past?
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There are dried up riverbeds on Mars
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Which planet couldn't ask not visit without the need for space suit and survive?
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None; and I Junot would need a space he doesn't arrive a visit to any other planet in the solar system
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Which of the following is not an exception to the general patterns of motion in the solar system?
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The rings of Saturn
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The planet closest in size to earth is ____.
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Venus
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Which of the following is not a characteristic of the outer planets?
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They have very few, if any, satellites
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Where did the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium come from?
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They were produced inside stars
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According to your theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?
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The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk
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What percentage of the solar nebula's mass consisted of Rocky material?
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.4%
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What kind of material in the salon if you look at her main saw the temperatures as high as 1500 K, such as existed in the inner regions of the nebula?
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Metals
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Observations of young stars (as well as theory) tell us that when the sun was young, the solar wind ____.
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Was stronger than it is today
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Which of the following puzzles in the solar system cannot be explained by giant impact event?
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The orbit of triton in the opposite direction to Neptunes Rotation
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If the freezing point of ices of all types were at a much lower temperature, what changed with the formation of our solar system?
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The gas giants would have to form at a larger distance
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Which of the following statements of the accelerations and gravitational forces between a planet and a star is true?
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Forces are equal and opposite, the planet is accelerated more than the star
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Which of the following statements does not apply to the formation of gas giants like Jupiter, compared to terrestrial planets?
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Surface dramatically altered during bombardment
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If the protostar that became our son have been hotter and more luminous when it formed, what changes if any might have been experienced by our solar system?
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Jupiter would not be farther from the sun
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Which of the following statements best explains what the planets orbit in nearly a single plane and in the same direction around the sun?
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The planets formed from a disc of rotating gas
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How do we know the mass of Neptune?
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The periods and sizes of the orbits of the moons around Neptune
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Observations va. explanations. Which of the following statements is an explanation?
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The orderly orbits of planets arose from their formation and rotating cloud of gas
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Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is _____.
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Much larger
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What percentage of the mass of the solar nebula consisted of elements other than hydrogen and helium?
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2%
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Which of the following discoveries would cause us to reevaluate the nebular theory for forming planets?
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The stars at five terrestrial planets orbit in the opposite direction of its three Jovian planets
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In what ways Pluto more like a comet than a planet?
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It is made mostly of rock and ice
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Which planet, besides earth, has been visited by the largest number of robotic spacecraft?
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Mars
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In what way is Venus most similar to earth?
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Both planets are nearly the same size
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Mars has two moons that are most similar in character to ____.
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Small asteroids
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Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and Jovian planets in our solar system?
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Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice, and Jovian planets do not
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Suppose that the temperature of the solar nebula have been much colder. How much of the solar system look different today?
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The gas giant planets might be bigger and closer to the sun
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Which moons are sometimes called the Galilean moons?
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The four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto
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What do you meteorites reveal about the solar system?
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They reveal that the age of the solar system is approximately 4.6 billion years
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Where does nuclear fusion occur in the sun?
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In its core
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Based on our current theory of earths formation, the water we drink comes from ____.
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Comets that impacted earth
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Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
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Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
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Which is the densest planet in the solar system?
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Earth
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Which of the following is furthest from the sun?
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A comet in the Oort cloud
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Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system?
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Nearly all comets orbit the sun in same direction and roughly the same plane
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The age of the solar system can be established by radioactive dating of _____.
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The oldest meteorites
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Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?
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As the cloud shrank, it's gravitational potential energy is converted to thermal energy
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When we say the Jovian planets contain significant amount of hydrogen compounds, if you mean all of the following chemicals except ______.
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Carbon dioxide
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Which of the following is not a characteristic of the inner planets?
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They all have substantial atmospheres
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The heavy bombardment phase of the solar system lasted _____.
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Several hundreds of millions of years
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According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the central regions of the solar nebula got hotter as the nebula shrank in size?
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The law of conservation of energy
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According to our present theory of solar system formation, how did earths and up with enough water to make oceans?
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The water was brought to the forming earth by planetesimals that accreted beyond the orbit of Mars
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According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following statements about the growth of terrestrial and Jovian planets is not true?
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Jovian planets began from planetesimals made only of ice, all the terrestrial planets began from planetesimals made only of rock and metal
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According to our theory of soliciting formation, which is best explained by the solar nebula spin faster as a shrank in size?
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The law of conservation of angular momentum
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Why are terrestrial planets denser than Jovian planets?
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Only dense materials could condense in the inner solar nebula
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How is Einstein's famous equation, E = mc^2 important in understanding the sun?
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The sun generates energy to sign by losing 4,000,000 tons of mass each second
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Where are most of the known astroids found?
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Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
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The nebular theory of the formation of the solar system successfully critics all but one of the following. Which one does the theory not predict?
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The equal number of terrestrial and Jovian planets
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According to your theory of solar system formation, why do we find some exceptions to the general rules and patterns of the planets?
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Most of the exceptions are the result of giant impacts or close gravitational encounters
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According to present understanding, which of the following statements about the solar wind is not true?
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It is even stronger today than it was when the sun was young
