Astrophysics (Seneca) Flashcards

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1
Q

Our solar system is a small part of the ————- Galaxy

A

Milky Way

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2
Q

Our solar system is a small part of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is made up of:

A
  • The Sun
  • Planets and dwarf planets
  • Moons
  • Comets and asteroids
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3
Q

The —— is the only star in our solar system.

A

Sun

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4
Q

————— orbit around the Sun.

A

Planets and dwarf planets

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5
Q

There are ——- planets in our solar system (Pluto is a dwarf planet).

A

eight

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6
Q

Moons are in orbit around many of…

A

the planets.

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7
Q

Moons are called …

A

natural satellites.

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8
Q

Comets and asteroids also orbit around …

A

the Sun.

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9
Q

The Sun was formed from a …

A

cloud of dust and gas (called a nebula).

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10
Q

The Sun was formed from a cloud of dust and gas (called a nebula). The forces of ——— pulled the dust and gas together.

A

gravity

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11
Q

The Sun was formed from a cloud of dust and gas (called a ———-).

A

nebula

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12
Q

When the gas and dust collapses two things happen:

A
  • The cloud suddenly decreased in volume as the pressure in the cloud increased.
  • This formed a protostar.
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13
Q

Materials continued to collide (come together) until the …

A

temperature and pressure were high enough for hydrogen nuclei to start fusing and form helium (in nuclear fusion).

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14
Q

Materials continued to collide (come together) until the temperature and pressure were high enough for hydrogen nuclei to start fusing and form helium (in nuclear fusion).
The star then went into a stable period, called a ‘——————-’.

A

main star sequence

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15
Q

Materials continued to collide (come together) until the temperature and pressure were high enough for hydrogen nuclei to start fusing and form helium (in nuclear fusion).
The star then went into a ————, called a ‘main star sequence’.

A

stable period

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16
Q

The energy released from the nuclear fusion in the Sun keeps the …

A

Sun’s core hot.

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17
Q

The energy released from the ———— in the Sun keeps the Sun’s core hot.

A

nuclear fusion

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18
Q

Planets, moons (1. satellites) and man-made satellites (2. satellites) are all in orbit.

A
  1. natural
  2. artificial
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19
Q

The Sun is still in its stable main sequence phase.
In this phase, the outward force of the energy released by …

A

nuclear fusion is balanced by the force of gravity pulling the Sun inwards.

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20
Q

In the Sun, what process creates a force outwards, balancing the inward force of gravity?

A

Nuclear fusion

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21
Q

Weight (N) =

A

Mass (kg) x gravitational field strength (N/kg)

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22
Q
A
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23
Q

Objects in the Solar System travel in stable orbits. There is a relationship between their …

A

speed and radius.

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24
Q

If the speed of the object in orbit ———- , the radius of the orbit also changes.

A

changes

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25
Q

If the speed of the object in orbit changes, the radius of the orbit …

A

also changes.

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26
Q

If the radius of the orbit decreases, the speed increases as the gravitational attraction is …

A

greater

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27
Q

If the radius of the orbit ————, the speed increases as the gravitational attraction is greater.

A

decreases

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28
Q

If the radius of the orbit ————, the speed decreases as the gravitational attraction is smaller.

A

increases

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29
Q

If the radius of the orbit increases, the speed decreases as the gravitational attraction is …

A

smaller

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30
Q

If the speed of the object in orbit changes, the radius of the orbit also changes. This explains why …

A

planets closer to the sun travel at a faster speed.

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31
Q
A
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32
Q

Planets closer to the sun travel at a … speed.

A

faster

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33
Q

Which force holds a man-made satellite in orbit?

A

Gravity

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34
Q

What do planets orbit around?

A

A star

35
Q

Every star has a life cycle that depends on its …

A

size

36
Q

All stars begin their life cycle in the same way as the Sun:

A

Gravity pulls nebulae (more than 1 nebula) together to form a protostar. This protostar then becomes a main sequence star.

37
Q

In a main sequence star, —————- are fused together to form helium.

A

hydrogen nuclei

38
Q

In a main sequence star, hydrogen nuclei are fused together to form …

A

helium

39
Q

This releases …

A

energy as heat and light.

40
Q

In main sequence stars, eventually all the ———- runs out.

A

hydrogen fuel

41
Q

In main sequence stars, eventually all the hydrogen fuel runs out.
The star then …

A

cools and expands, becoming a red giant.

42
Q

In main sequence stars, e ventually all the hydrogen fuel runs out.
The star then cools and expands, becoming a red giant.
The star then starts to …

A

fuse together helium nuclei to release energy.

43
Q

To produce red giants, as the helium fuel runs out, the outward forces …

A

reduce in size and the star collapses inwards.

44
Q

To produce red giants, as the helium fuel runs out, the outward forces reduce in size and the star collapses inwards.
This causes its temperature to …

A

increase

45
Q

To produce white dwarf, as the helium fuel runs out, the outward forces …

A

reduce in size and the star collapses inwards.

46
Q

To produce white dwarf, as the helium fuel runs out, the outward forces reduce in size and the star collapses inwards.
This causes its temperature to increase.
A white dwarf is formed, which is the …

A

hot core of the star.

47
Q

When the star ————-, the star becomes a black dwarf.

A

completely cools

48
Q

When the star completely cools, the star becomes a ——-.

A

black dwarf

49
Q

A black dwarf doesn’t emit (send out) any …

A

light or heat.

50
Q

A ———- doesn’t emit (send out) any light or heat.

A

black dwarf

51
Q
A
52
Q
A
53
Q

A star like our Sun is formed by a collapsing nebula, becomes a …

A

main sequence star, then a red giant, then shrinks to a white dwarf, then forms a black dwarf.

54
Q

If a star is much bigger than the Sun, its life cycle looks like this:

A
  1. Red supergiant
  2. Supernova
  3. Black hole or neutron star
55
Q

———— changes more and more of the star’s mass into energy.
The star expands into a red supergiant.

A

Nuclear fusion

56
Q

Nuclear fusion changes …
The star expands into a red supergiant.

A

more and more of the star’s mass into energy.

57
Q

The largest stars explode in a …

A

supernova

58
Q

A supernova produces ————— and scatters them throughout the universe.

A

elements heavier than iron

59
Q

A supernova produces elements heavier than iron and …

A

scatters them throughout the universe.

60
Q

The supernova leaves behind either …

A

a black hole or a neutron star.

61
Q

Nuclear fusion changes more and more of the star’s mass into energy.
The star ——— a red supergiant.

A

expands into

62
Q

The fusion processes in stars produce …

A

all of the naturally occurring elements.

63
Q

Different size stars produce …

A

different elements.

64
Q

All stars fuse hydrogen nuclei into ——— in nuclear fusion.

A

helium

65
Q

Larger stars fuse hydrogen nuclei into …

A

lithium and other light metals.

66
Q

A supernova produces ————- for hydrogen nuclei to form elements heavier than iron.

A

enough energy

67
Q

A supernova produces enough energy for hydrogen nuclei to form …

A

elements heavier than iron.

68
Q

All stars fuse 1. into 2. in nuclear fusion.

A
  1. hydrogen nuclei
  2. Helium
69
Q

What is formed when the outward force of the energy is larger than the inward force of gravity so the star expands?

A

Red giant

70
Q

What is formed when the star cools and the helium fuel runs out, the outward forces reduce in size and the star collapses inwards?

A

White dwarf

71
Q

Which stellar process produces elements heavier than iron?

A

Supernova

72
Q

A star begins when a ——— (a cloud of dust and gas) collapses under gravity to form a protostar.

A

nebula

73
Q

Light from distant objects in space becomes shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. This effect is called …

A

Red-shift

74
Q

As an object moves away from us, the wavelength of light that the object emits (sends out) gets …

A

longer

75
Q

The light gets redder because red has the ——— wavelength of the visible colours.

A

longest

76
Q

The faster the object is moving away from us, the ——— its wavelength gets and the redder it appears.

A

longer

77
Q

Light from distant galaxies in space is red-shifted.
The further a galaxy is from Earth, the greater the red-shift.
This means that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us.
This is evidence that the …

A

universe is expanding.

78
Q

The Big Bang theory says that the universe began from ….

A

a single point.

79
Q

There are many forms of evidence to support the Big Bang model of the universe.
An example is the …

A

observation of red-shift in distant galaxies.

80
Q

The Big Bang theory states that the universe began from …

A

a very small region that was hot and dense.

81
Q

The Big Bang theory states that this region …

A

‘exploded’ and started expanding.
This expansion is still happening.

82
Q

Although science can explain so much of what we see in the universe, there is still a …

A

lot we cannot currently explain.

83
Q

Some scientists think that the universe is mostly made up of …

A

dark matter (an unknown substance that holds galaxies together but doesn’t emit electromagnetic radiation) and dark energy (the thing that causes the universe to quickly expand).