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Intro to Astronomy > Ch 7+8 > Flashcards

Ch 7+8 Flashcards

1
Q

Order of Mass of Members of the Solar System

A

Sun, Jupiter, Comets, All Other Planets + Dwarf planets, Moons + Rings, Asteroids, Cosmic Dust

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2
Q

Which planets were known to the ancients?

A

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn || Uranus + Neptune after invention of telescope

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3
Q

What are the terrestrial planets?

A

The inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

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4
Q

What are characteristics of the terrestrial planets?

A
  • Composed primarily of rock & metal

- Have solid surfaces that bear the records of their geological history via craters, mountains, and volcanoes

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5
Q

What are the jovian / giant planets?

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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6
Q

What are characteristics of the jovian planets?

A
  • Do not have solid surfaces where explorers could land
  • Are more like vast, spherical oceans with smaller, dense cores.
  • All have rings and moons.
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7
Q

How many known moons are there?

A

180

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8
Q

What are asteroids?

A

Rocky bodies that orbit the Sun like miniature planets, mostly in the space between Mars and Jupiter

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9
Q

What are comets?

A

Small bodies composed mostly of ice, made of frozen gases such as water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide

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10
Q

What is a meteorite?

A

A meteor that has struck the ground.

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11
Q

How old is the universe?

A

13.8 billion years old

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12
Q

What is the chemical make-up of Jupiter & Saturn?

A

75% hydrogen and 25% helium

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13
Q

What are the cores of Jupiter & Saturn made up of?

A

Heavier rock, metal, and ice – because under the force of gravity, heavier elements sink toward the inner parts of the planet

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14
Q

What does Mercury have the greatest proportion of?

A

Metals (Earth has lowest)

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15
Q

What are compositions of Earth, Venus, Mars?

A

1/3 iron-nickel or iron-sulfur combos, 2/3 silicates || chemistry said to be oxidized

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16
Q

Solar Nebula

A

The cloud of gas and dust from which the solar system formed.

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17
Q

Differentiation

A

Gravitational separation of materials of different density into layers in the interior of a planet or moon

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18
Q

Earth’s Diameter

A

12,760 km

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19
Q

Elemental Composition of Earth

A

Iron, Silicon, Oxygen

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20
Q

Layers of the Earth

A

Crust, Mantle (largest), Core, Inner Core

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21
Q

Moon Crust Composition

A

> Oceanic (55%) – typically consisting of volcanic rocks called basalt
Continental (45%) – composed of granite

22
Q

Igneous Rocks

A

Any rock that has cooled from a molten state (ex. all volcanically produced rock)

23
Q

Sedimentary Rocks

A

Made of fragments of igneous rock or the shells of living organisms deposited by wind or water and cemented together without melting (ex. sandstones, shales, limestones)

24
Q

Metamorphic Rocks

A

Produced when high temperature or pressure alters igneous or sedimentary rock physically or chemically

25
Q

Primitive Rock

A

The original material out of which planetary system was made – (comets, asteroids, small planetary moons)

26
Q

To detect oil & natural gas on Earth…

A

Set charges inside Earth like seismograph to listen to echoes

27
Q

How many years old is the sun?

A

4.6 billion years

28
Q

Plate Tectonics

A
  • A theory that explains how slow motions within the mantle of Earth move large segments of the crust, resulting in a gradual “drifting” of the continents as well as the formation of mountains and other features
  • On Earth’s crust + Upper mantle
29
Q

Convection

A
  • A process by which heat escapes from the interior through the upward flow of warmer material & slow sinking of cooler material
  • Provides power to move the plates
30
Q

What are the 4 basic kinds of crustal plate interactions?

A

(1) They can pull apart
(2) One plate can burrow under another
(3) They can slide alongside each other
(4) They can jam together

31
Q

Rift Zones

A

Where plates pull apart (ex. central African rift)

32
Q

Subduction Zone

A

Where on plate burrows under another (ex. deep Japan trench along coast of Asia)

33
Q

Fault Zones

A

Where crustal plates slide parallel to each other (ex. San Andreas Fault in Cali)

34
Q

Mountain Building

A

When plates jam together, raising other folds to heights of many kilometers then its’ rocks are subject to erosion by water and ice.

35
Q

Volcanoes

A

Mark locations where lava rises to the surface from Earth’s mantle at plate boundaries

36
Q

What is the atmosphere pressure at sea level?

A

1 bar (term comes from same root as barometer, used to measure atmospheric pressure)

37
Q

How much is a bar of pressure?

A

Each square centimeter of Earth’s surface has a weight equivalent to 1.03 kilograms pressing down on it

38
Q

Total Mass of Earth’s Atmosphere

A

5*10^18 kilograms

39
Q

Layers of Atmosphere (Low to High)

A
  • Troposphere
  • Stratosphere
  • Ozone
  • Mesosphere
  • Ionosphere
40
Q

Atmosphere Composition at Earth’s Surface

A

78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Argon & traces of water vapor & CO2

41
Q

Volatile Materials

A

Those that evaporate at a relatively low temperature

42
Q

Weather

A

Name given to the circulation of the atmosphere

43
Q

Climate

A

Effects of the atmosphere that last through decades and centuries

44
Q

Snowball Earth

A

Not certain, but about a billion years ago, the entire ocean froze over

45
Q

What do the patterns in rocks on Earth tell you?

A

Earth’s magnetic fields have switched (N–S) many times

46
Q

At what speed to Earth’s continental plates / year?

A

4-5 cm / year

47
Q

Atmosphere of early Earth

A

abundant in CO2 and some methane but no oxygen gas

48
Q

Blue-Green Algae

A

Early life form on earth that takes CO2 and releases O2 as a waste product

49
Q

Greenhouse Effect

A

CO2 acts like a blanket trapping heat in the atmosphere and preventing flow back to space. More CO2, higher temp on Earth’s surface

50
Q

Consequences of Greenhouse Effect

A
  • Floods & Droughts
  • Extreme weather
  • Difficulty growing crops
  • Destroys environments for animals
  • Rising sea level
51
Q

Names of Famous Earth Craters

A
  • Meteor Crater (Arizona)

- Uuarkziz Impact Crater (Algerior)

52
Q

Cretaceous Period

A
  • Period marked by mass extinction / more than half of species on our planet died out
  • Took place 65 million years ago

Intro to Astronomy (13 decks)

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