Astronomy honors solar system review
The (blank) have larger radii than the (blank) planets
1)jovian 2)terrestrial
A (blank) theory of the formation of the solar system uses sudden events that drastically alter the form of the early solar system.
catastrophic
the dirty snowball model is used as a model for the physical structure of (blank)
comets
the largest volcano found on one of the terrestrial planets is (blank)
olympus mons
the atmosphere of (blank) contains acid compounds including sulfuric and hydrochloric acid.
venus
the largest satellite orbiting a terrestrial planet is
earths moon
the terrestrial planet with the oldest surface is
mercury
the terrestrial planet with the most moons is
mars
the terrestrial planet with the most effective greenhouse effect is
venus
Besides earth, which of the terrestrial planets show evidence for the possible existence of liquid water flowing on its surface in the past?
mars
the largest satellites of jupiter are known as the (blank)
satellites
satellites
galilean
volcanism is apparent on many objects in the solar system, however, volcanic activity is known to be currently occurring on earth and (blank)
Io
the one object in the solar system besides earth suspected of currently having a liquid on its surface is
Titan
a (blank) occurs when a bit of material enter earths atmosphere and becomes incandescent due to friction with the atmosphere.
meteor
long period comets are believed to originate in the
oort cloud
a (blank) is produced when earth passes through the debris left by a comet as it passed through the inner solar system.
meteor shower
the average distance from the earth to the sun is one
astronomical unit
light takes about 8 minutes to travel from the sun to earth and about 40 minutes to travel from the sun to jupiter. jupiter is about (blank) au from the sun.
5
the distance to the star nearest the sun is approximately 4.2
light years
the oldest objects found,so far, in our solar system are earth rocks that are 3.9 billion years old (true/false)
false
the jovian planets have lower average densities than the terrestrial planets
true
the original cloud, from which the sun and planets formed, had a composition rich in hydrogen and helium
true
the present motions of the planets were inherited from the rotation of the solar nebula
true
the condensation sequence cannot explain he composition of the terrestrial and jovian planets
false
when particles in the solar nebula grew large enough, they stopped growing by accretion and began growing by condensation
false
heterogeneous accretion means that all of the particles that formed a planet had the same composition
false
the pressure of sunlight was one of the forces that cleared the solar nebula
true
we know mercury must have a large metal core because it has a high density
true
jupiter radiates less heat than it absorbs from the sun
false
jupiters interior is mostly liquid helium
false
both jupiter and saturn contain liquid metallic hydrogen
true
jupiter ring is composed of particles about the size of tennis balls
false
saturns belts and zones are obscured by haze high in its atmosphere
true
saturns rings composed of icy particles
false
meteorites seem to be primarily composed of material very similar to the material in comets
false
the meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits
true
jupiter was probably influential in preventing the formation of a planet at the present location of the asteroid belt
true
some asteroids show evidence of surface activity such as lava flows
true
the type 2 tail of a comet always points towards the sun
false
the dirty snowball theory suggests that the head of a comet is composed of ices
true
the kuiper belt is predicted to be the place where most of the short period comets formed
true
the existence of the oort cloud cannot be confirmed observationally from earth because the objects are too small
true
the average distance from earth to the sun is 1 AU
true
the nearest star is 1 light year from the solar system
false
a light year is the distance light travels in one year
true
a kilometer contains 1 million meters
false
the sun is a star in the milky way galaxy
true
an astronomical unit is larger than a light year
false
how do the motions of the sun and the planets reflect the disk shape of the solar nebula?
as the initial dust and gas cam together, the gas and dust began to spin faster and flatten out. the solar system maintains the same rotation, the planets are all found on the same plane as the flattened disk.
how does the solar nebula theory explain the present densities and chemical compositions of the planets?
the more dense material will form near the central buldge. lighter materials will form further out. leftover, debris will be furthest out since they were “blown” out by the intitial radiation pressure of the new sun.
describe four effects that helped to clear the solar nebula.
gravitational collapse-
spinning and fattening of the solar nebula-
accreation-
radiation pressure-
spinning and fattening of the solar nebula-
accreation-
radiation pressure-
what factors determine the rate of the loss of gases from a planets atmosphere?
to reach escape velocity! low mass, high temperature, shear volume(amount of matter) (less volume escapes faster)
how does the dirty snowball theory explain the observed characteristics of comets?
nucleus of ice and dust just like you made it from the plowed up street snow. tails of vapor and dust caused as the dirty snowball “melts”. directions of tail is in the same direction as solar wind. Coma caused by density difference directly above the nucleus
why do we measure some distances in astronomy in light-years and some in astronomical units?
for the same reason we don’t measure the distance traveled across Nazareth in inches *define light year and AU*
light year
the distance light travels in a vacuum in one year
astronomical unit
the semi-major axis of earth’s orbit; the average distance between the earth and the sun
nucleus of ice and dust just like you made it from the plowed up street snow. tails of vapor and dust caused as the dirty snowball “melts”. directions of tail is in the solar wind. coma caused by density difference directly above the nucleus
how does the dirty snowball theory explain the observed characteristics of comets?
what is the most important effect in clearing the solar nebula?
T Tauri wind
chondrules are round bits of glass. where are they from?
inside the stellar nursery(the cloud of gas and dust while the solar system was first forming)
how rapidly a planet loses its atmosphere depends on the planet’s….?
gravity and how heavy or light the gases are