Chapter 6 ASTR: Study Questions – Flashcards

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question
Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's North Pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?
answer
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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The jovian planets in our solar system are _________.
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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
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When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all 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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The terrestrial planets are made almost entirely of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. According to modern science, where did the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium 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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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 we mean by the frost line when 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 our 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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Suppose you start with 1 kilogram 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 0.25 kilogram of the radioactive substance remaining.
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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, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
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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 crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
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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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What are the names of Mars' two moons?
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Phobos and Deimos
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Name the large moons of each of the jovian planets
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io, europa, ganymede, and callisto
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Name Pluto's three moons
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Charon, Nix, and Hydra
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State the relative position of the Asteroid Belt in the solar system
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The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter forms the boundary between the inner solar system and the outer solar system.
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State the relative position of the Kuiper Belt in the solar system
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begins near the orbit of Neptune and continues beyond Pluto
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State the general observed features for our solar system
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the fact that the planets and the sun rotate counterclockwise, there are two kinds of planets (terrestrial and jovian), and that their orbits are almost circular
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State the general observed features specific to the terrestrial planets
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small and rocky, higher density, closer to the sun, few or no moons, no rings
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State the general observed features specific to the jovian planets
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large and gaseous, lower desnity, farther from the sun, many moons, rings
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State exceptions to the general observed features and which planets are the exception
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the tilted rotation of uranus and the reverse rotation of venus
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What is nebular theory
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the formation of our solar system from a nebula cloud made from a collection of dust and gas. It is believed that the sun, planets, moons, and asteroids were formed around the same time around 4.5 billion years ago from a nebula.
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Describe the stages that the solar nebula went through as it passed from cloud to solar system
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Conservation of angular momentum rotational motion is conserved Our Solar System formed from a giant, swirling cloud of gas & dust. The nebular theory holds that our Solar System formed out of a nebula which collapsed under its own gravity.
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Describe the evidence we have to support the nebular theory
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All the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction. Most of their moons also orbit in that direction, and the planets (and the Sun) rotate in the same direction
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