Chapter 2 - The Universe Flashcards
What are the 4 states of matter?
Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma
How does heat move around the earth?
Conduction, Convection, and Radiation
What are the parts of the earth system?
All of the non living things, living things, and processes that make up the planet Earth. Including the solid Earth, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere.
What is the atmosphere?
It’s the blanket that keeps Earth warm.
**A mixture of gases that surround a planet, a moon, or another celestial body like a star.
What are the layers of the atmosphere?
- Thermosphere (farthest out)
- Mesosphere
- Stratosphere
- Ozone Layer
- Troposphere (where our weather is)
How does water change state and move around the atmosphere?
Through the water cycle. Evaporation, condensation, precipitation.
What is the water cycle?
The movement of water around the Earth.
How does the atmosphere protect life on Earth?
It protects us from the sun’s damaging rays and helps to maintain the right temperature for us to live on Earth.
What is wind?
Air that moves HORIZONTALLY or parallel to the ground.
How does water move in the ocean?
Currents
How have people modeled the solar system?
Aristotle - Earth in the center.
Aristarchus - Sun in the center
Ptolemy - Earth in the center.
Copernicus - Sun in the center.
Kepler - Sun in the center (closer to the correct)
Galileo - Sun in center with elliptical orbit of planets (correct).
What are the properties of the sun?
The sun is a yellow star. It is made of mostly hydrogen and helium.
What makes up the universe?
Space and all the matter and energy in it.
What is a star?
A large “celestial” (in the sky) body that is made of gas and emits light. The sun is a star.
Explain the life cycle of a star?
Birth - Stars start out in giant clouds of dust called nebulae. Gravity forces the dust to bunch together. As more and more dust bunches up, gravity gets stronger and it starts to get hot and becomes a protostar. Once the center gets hot enough, nuclear fusion will begin and a young star is born.
Main Sequence Star - Once a star, it will continue to burn energy and glow for billions of years. This is the state of the star for the majority of its life and is called the “main sequence”. During this time a balance is met between gravity wanting to shrink the star and heat wanting to make it grow bigger. The star will remain this way until it runs out of hydrogen.
Red Giant - When the hydrogen runs out, the outside of the star expands and it becomes a red giant.
Collapse - Eventually the core of the star will start to make iron. This will cause the star to collapse. What happens to the star next depends on how much mass it had (how big it was). The average star will become a white dwarf star. Larger stars will create a huge nuclear explosion called a supernova. After the supernova it may become a black hole or a neutron star.
How is star brightness measured?
“Apparent magnitude” is the name for the star brightness as seen from Earth.
- Brightest is -2
- Faintest is +30
What is the structure of the sun?
The sun has a core in the middle. It has 3 layers 1) photosphere, 2) chromosphere, 3) corona.
What do we know about the sun?
The sun has a core in the middle.
The sun has 3 layers.
The sun produces energy
Which physical properties of the sun can be seen with the naked eye?
It’s bright and round.
What is known about terrestrial planets?
They are the 4 rocky planets that are closest to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
** Outer crust, central core, mantle **
What is known about gas giant planets?
They are the 4 planets farthest from the sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
** huge, made of gasses like hydrogen and helium, COLD **
What are the similarities of objects in our solar system?
All the planets rotate around the sun in an “orbit”.
What are the differences of objects in our solar system?
Some are made of gas, some of rock. Some have toxic atmospheres, Earth isn't. Only Earth has water. Their temperatures are different. Their gravity is different. Their weather is different.
Mercury
Closest to the sun, made of rock, super hot and super cold.
