Chapter 2 - The Universe

Question 1

What are the 4 states of matter?

Answer 1

Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma

Question 2

How does heat move around the earth?

Answer 2

Conduction, Convection, and Radiation

Question 3

What are the parts of the earth system?

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

What is the atmosphere?

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

What are the layers of the atmosphere?

Answer 5

5. Thermosphere (farthest out)
6. Mesosphere
7. Stratosphere
8. Ozone Layer
9. Troposphere (where our weather is)

Question 6

How does water change state and move around the atmosphere?

Answer 6

Through the water cycle. Evaporation, condensation, precipitation.

Question 7

What is the water cycle?

Answer 7

The movement of water around the Earth.

Question 8

How does the atmosphere protect life on Earth?

Answer 8

It protects us from the sun’s damaging rays and helps to maintain the right temperature for us to live on Earth.

Question 9

What is wind?

Answer 9

Air that moves HORIZONTALLY or parallel to the ground.

Question 10

How does water move in the ocean?

Answer 10

Currents

Question 11

How have people modeled the solar system?

Answer 11

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).

Question 12

What are the properties of the sun?

Answer 12

The sun is a yellow star. It is made of mostly hydrogen and helium.

Question 13

What makes up the universe?

Answer 13

Space and all the matter and energy in it.

Question 14

What is a star?

Answer 14

A large “celestial” (in the sky) body that is made of gas and emits light. The sun is a star.

Question 15

Explain the life cycle of a star?

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

How is star brightness measured?

Answer 16

“Apparent magnitude” is the name for the star brightness as seen from Earth.

• • Brightest is -2
• • Faintest is +30

Question 17

What is the structure of the sun?

Answer 17

The sun has a core in the middle. It has 3 layers 1) photosphere, 2) chromosphere, 3) corona.

Question 18

What do we know about the sun?

Answer 18

The sun has a core in the middle.
The sun has 3 layers.
The sun produces energy

Question 19

Which physical properties of the sun can be seen with the naked eye?

Answer 19

It’s bright and round.

Question 20

What is known about terrestrial planets?

Answer 20

They are the 4 rocky planets that are closest to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
** Outer crust, central core, mantle **

Question 21

What is known about gas giant planets?

Answer 21

They are the 4 planets farthest from the sun: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
** huge, made of gasses like hydrogen and helium, COLD **

Question 22

What are the similarities of objects in our solar system?

Answer 22

All the planets rotate around the sun in an “orbit”.

Question 23

What are the differences of objects in our solar system?

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Mercury

Answer 24

Closest to the sun, made of rock, super hot and super cold.

Question 25

Venus

Answer 25

• *2nd from the sun
• *Similar size to earth
• *Rotates the slowest
• *Volcanoes & craters.

Question 26

Earth

Answer 26

• *Water and breathable air

* *Life

Question 27

Mars

Answer 27

• *4th from the sun
• *Freezing temperatures
• *Rocky
• *Orange-Red dust

Question 28

Saturn

Answer 28

• • Gas planet - hydrogen & helium
• • HUGE - 800 times Earth
• *Rings are rings of ice

Question 29

Jupiter

Answer 29

• • Gas planet - hydrogen & helium
• • Biggest planet
• • Stormy weather

Question 30

Uranus

Answer 30

• • Gas planet - hydrogen & helium
• • Blue-green color
• • Tilted on it’s side

Question 31

Neptune

Answer 31

• *Gas planet - hydrogen & helium
• • Most distance from the sun
• • Very little sunlight
• • Much like Uranus

Question 32

Law of Universal Gravitation

Answer 32

All objects in the universe are attracted to each other through the force of gravity.

• *Bigger = more gravity
• *More distance = less gravity

Question 33

How does gravity affect the movement off the planets?

Answer 33

The gravity of the sun keeps the planets moving around the sun.

Question 34

What would happen if we didn’t have gravity?

Answer 34

Earth and the planets would move in a straight line away from the sun and not orbit anymore. “Bye Bye”.