chapter 2 flashcards
Galaxy in which we live?
Milk Way
Sun and the group of bodies that revolve around it?
Solar System
Major bodies that orbit a star?
planets
Body whose great size attracts other objects through gravity?
moons
Smaller outer planet that has a rocky core?
Uranus
Smaller objects that orbit a planet?
pluto
One of only two planets in the solar system that does not have a moon?
Mercury
Third planet from the sun and the fifth largest of the nine planets?
earth
Type of energy that reaches earth as light and heat?
sun
One complete spin of earth on its axis, which takes 24 hours to complete?
rotation
A _____ is a group of different parts that interact to form a whole
system
Geographers divide the earth system into ______ major parts, called hemispheres
four
The envelope of gases that surrounds earth is the called the _____
atmosphere
The ______ is the solid crust of earth, which includes land and soil
litosphere
The hydrosphere, earth’s water, covers approximately _____ percent of earth’s surface
71
Much of earth’s water in the form of ice is locked in _____ in the polar regions
glaciers
The _____ is the part of the earth system that includes all life forms, both plants and animals
biosphere
The part of the earth system that protects earth from the sun’s harmful radiation is the ______
stratosphere
Earth’s four spheres make up the _____, which indicates all the biological, chemical, and physical conditions that interact and affect life
environment
Individuals and groups sometimes try to influence governmental decisions on environmental issues, a practice called
lobbying
