ISCI 3102 Chapters 16 & 17 – Flashcards
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The geocentric model of the solar system is attributed to
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Aristotle.
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The heliocentric model of the solar system was developed by
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Copernicus.
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Kepler's second law of planetary motion is known as the law of
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equal areas.
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That a planet moves with different speeds in its orbit is given by which of Kepler's laws?
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Second
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Kepler's first law states that the orbits of the planets around the Sun are
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ellipses.
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The name given to the point of a planet's orbit that is closest to the Sun is
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perihelion.
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The name given to the point of a planet's orbit that is farthest from the Sun is
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aphelion.
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Kepler's third law of planetary motion is also known as the ____________ law.
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Harmonic
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Retrograde motion of a planet refers to ___________ motion.
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east-to-west
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Earth's axis is tilted ______ degrees from the normal to the ecliptic plane.
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23.5
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The motion of a Foucault pendulum proves that earth is
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rotating.
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The closest planet to Earth is
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Venus.
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The planet Mercury is the smallest of the terrestrial planets.
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...
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The aberration of starlight gives proof that Earth is
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revolving.
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Which planet moves the fastest? A. Earth B. Mars C. Venus D. Mercury
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Mercury
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The terrestrial planets have relatively high densities, solid surfaces, and weak magnetic fields.
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...
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According to today's classification system, how many major planets are there in the solar system?
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8
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How many minor planets are known to exist in the solar system, using today's classification system?
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3
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The third brightest object in the sky is
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Venus.
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The second brightest object in the sky is
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the Moon.
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The brightest object in the sky is
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the Sun.
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A terrestrial planet that has seasonal changes is
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Mars.
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The Jovian planets are composed of mainly hydrogen and helium, have no solid surfaces, and all have rings.
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...
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The terrestrial planets and the Jovian planets are distinguished from each other in terms of
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density, size, and temperature.
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The most distant planet that can be seen with the unaided eye is
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Uranus.
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The planet whose axis of rotation lies almost in its orbital plane is
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Uranus.
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The planet with the Great Red Spot is
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Jupiter.
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The largest planet in the solar system is
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Jupiter.
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The planet with Red Spot Junior is
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Jupiter.
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The planet with a hexagonally shaped storm at its pole is
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Saturn.
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The planet with the Great Dark Spot is
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Neptune.
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The planet with the largest number of moons is
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Jupiter.
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The planet with the most prominent rings is
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Saturn.
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The planet with the largest volcano in the solar system is
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Mars.
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Which of the following is not a dwarf planet? A. Ceres B. Mercury C. Pluto D. Eres
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Mercury
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Which is the smallest dwarf planet?
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Ceres
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The three smallest major planets in the solar system all lack
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a moon.
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The flattened, rotating disk of gas and dust around the protosun, from which planets were believed to have formed, is called the
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solar nebula.
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At present, the formation of the solar system is believed by most astronomers to have begun with a large, swirling volume of cold gas and dust called the __________ nebula.
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primordial
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True or False? Planets in a planetary system other than the solar system have been detected.
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True
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Other planetary systems are best detected by the Doppler shifts that change the pattern of the star's __________.
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spectrum
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The solar system is a complex system of moving masses held together by ______________ forces.
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gravitational
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The dominant mass of the solar system is the _________.
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Sun
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Kepler's first law states that Earth's orbit around the Sun takes the shape of a(n) ____________.
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ellipse
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The solar system model of Copernicus is known as the _______________ model.
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heliocentric
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The Earth-centered model of the solar system is called the ___________ model.
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geocentric
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T2=KR3 is known as ___________.
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Kepler's third law
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Kepler's first law of planetary motion is known as the law of ___________ paths.
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elliptical
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The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 93,000,000 miles, or one _____________.
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astronomical unit (AU)
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Kepler's second law of planetary motion gives a relationship concerning equal _________ in equal periods of time.
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areas
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When a planet has the same meridian as a star, the planet is said to be in _____________.
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conjunction
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The fraction of incident sunlight reflected by a celestial body is called its ______________.
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albedo
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Earth's albedo is ____________.
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0.33, or 33%
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The Moon's albedo is _____________.
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0.07, or 7%
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In 1851, Earth's rotation was demonstrated using a(n) __________________.
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Foucault pendulum
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_______________ is the apparent motion that occurs between two fixed objects when the observer changes position.
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Parallax
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The apparent displacement in the direction of light coming from a star because of Earth's orbital motion is called the ________________.
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Aberration of starlight
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Proof that the Earth revolves around the Sun is obtained by the use of ________________ and the _________________.
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parallax; aberration of starlight
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The fourth planet from the Sun is
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Mars.
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The planet that most resembles Earth is
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Mars.
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The surface of the terrestrial planet __________ cannot be seen from Earth.
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Venus
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"Canals" are a feature once associated with the planet
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Mars.
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The largest volcano on Earth is
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Mauna Loa.
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The planet with the polar "ice caps" of frozen carbon dioxide is
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Mars.
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Part of Pluto's orbit is inside the orbit of
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Neptune.
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The planets with known rings are
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Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Jupiter.
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The planet that contains more than half the mass of the solar system not in the sun is
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Jupiter.
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The Great White Spot is a feature of
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Saturn.
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The rings of Saturn were discovered by
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Galileo.
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The planet _____________ has retrograde motion.
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Uranus
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The planet that is farthest away from the Sun, but sometimes is not, is
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Pluto.
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The large, central portion of a swirling solar nebula is called a(n)
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protosun.
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Our solar system is thought to have evolved from a(n)
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solar nebula.
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"Wobbling" is a consequence of _______________ effects of a planet.
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gravitational
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The _____________ effect provides evidence of motions within other planetary systems.
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Doppler
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What percentage of the total mass of the nine planets exists in Jupiter?
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77%
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Which is the second largest moon in the solar system and what planet does it belong to?
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Titan, Saturn
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The major moons of __________ were named after literary characters.
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Uranus
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__________ is the major moon of Neptune.
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Triton
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__________ is the only moon in the solar system to have retrograde motion.
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Triton
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Charon is a moon of
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Pluto.
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The largest known asteroid is
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Ceres.
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When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, it is called a(n)
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meteor or "shooting star"
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When a meteor strikes Earth's surface, it is called a(n)
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meteorite
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The seriousness of an asteroid collision is gauged by the _________ scale.
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Torino
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A meteor __________ results when a large number of meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere.
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shower
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The ________ surrounds the nucleus of a comet.
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head or coma
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Comets are composed of
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dust and ice.
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Probably the best known comet is
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Halley's Comet.
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Halley's Comet returns about every ___ years.
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76
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As comets approach and move around the Sun, the coma and the tail _________ in size.
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increase
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Long-period comets are believed to come from
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the Oort cloud.
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Short-period comets, such as Halley's comet, are believed to come from
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the Kuiper Belt
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Particles of interplanetary dust are called
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micrometeoroids.
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If a person weighs 150 lb on Earth, what will the person weigh on the Moon?
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25 lb
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The diameter of the Moon is approximately
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2200 mi.
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True or False? The far side of the Moon has more craters than the near side.
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True
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Pulverized rock is believed to make up the Moon's
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rays.
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Moonquakes are believed to have caused the Moon's
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rills.
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The Moon is thought to be the same age as
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the Earth.
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Craters on the Moon are believed to have been caused by
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the impact of meteorites.
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The impact of meteorites on the Moon has caused
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rays and craters.
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The oldest rocks on the Moon were formed about how many years ago?
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4.4 billion
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The Moon's average density is
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less than Earth's.
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Rills on the Moon are believed to have been caused by
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moonquakes.
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The moon revolves about Earth from west to east, has a day equal to 29.5 Earth days, and has an elliptical orbit about the Earth.
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...
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The Moon completes one orbit around the Earth about every
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29.5 days.
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The direction of the Moon's orbit about the Earth is
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eastward.
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The Moon revolves around the Earth in a _______ direction, as viewed from above Earth's North Pole.
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clockwise
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Which is Jupiter's largest moon?
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Ganymede
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Which of the Galilean moons has volcanic activity?
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Io
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Which of Jupiter's moons is believed to be covered with water ice?
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Europa
