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Physical Geography > Chapter 3 Solar Energy And Earth-sun Relationships > Flashcards

Chapter 3 Solar Energy And Earth-sun Relationships Flashcards

1
Q

What is a galaxy?

A

A large system of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity.

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2
Q

What is a light-year?

A

The distance that light travels in one year.

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3
Q

What is a solar system?

A

A collection of planets and other celestial bodies orbiting a star.

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4
Q

What is gravity?

A

The force that attracts two bodies towards each other.

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5
Q

What is mass?

A

The amount of matter in an object.

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6
Q

What is a planet?

A

A celestial body that orbits a star and is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity.

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7
Q

What is a terrestrial planet?

A

A planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals.

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8
Q

What is a giant planet (gas planet)?

A

A large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter.

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9
Q

What is an asteroid?

A

A small rocky body that orbits the sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt.

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10
Q

What is a comet?

A

A small celestial body made of ice, dust, and rocky material that, when close to the sun, displays a visible atmosphere and sometimes a tail.

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11
Q

What is a meteor?

A

A small particle from space that burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

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12
Q

What is a meteorite?

A

A meteor that survives its passage through the atmosphere and lands on Earth.

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13
Q

What is the habitable zone?

A

The region around a star where conditions may be right for life.

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14
Q

What is a fusion (thermonuclear) reaction?

A

A reaction in which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy.

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15
Q

What is solar wind?

A

A stream of charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere.

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16
Q

What is an aurora?

A

A natural light display in the sky, typically seen in high-latitude regions.

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17
Q

What is the aurora borealis?

A

The northern lights, a natural light display in the Arctic region.

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18
Q

What is the aurora australis?

A

The southern lights, a natural light display in the Antarctic region.

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19
Q

What is a sunspot?

A

A temporary phenomenon on the sun’s photosphere that appears as a spot darker than its surroundings.

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20
Q

What is the solar constant?

A

The amount of solar energy received per unit area at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

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21
Q

What is a calorie?

A

A unit of energy defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

22
Q

What is electromagnetic energy?

A

Energy that is propagated through space by electromagnetic waves.

23
Q

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

A

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

24
Q

What is the visible spectrum?

A

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.

25
Q

What is shortwave radiation?

A

Radiation with a short wavelength, typically emitted by the sun.

26
Q

What is longwave radiation?

A

Radiation with a long wavelength, typically emitted by the Earth.

27
Q

What is galactic movement?

A

The motion of galaxies through space.

28
Q

What is rotation?

A

The spinning of an object around its own axis.

29
Q

What is revolution?

A

The movement of one object around another in an orbit.

30
Q

What is the circle of illumination?

A

The dividing line between the day and night sides of a planet.

31
Q

What is perihelion?

A

The point in the orbit of a planet where it is closest to the sun.

32
Q

What is aphelion?

A

The point in the orbit of a planet where it is farthest from the sun.

33
Q

What is the plane of the ecliptic?

A

The imaginary plane that contains the Earth’s orbit around the sun.

34
Q

What is the angle of inclination?

A

The tilt of a planet’s axis in relation to its orbital plane.

35
Q

What is parallelism of the axis?

A

The concept that a planet’s axis maintains the same orientation throughout its orbit.

36
Q

What is the North Star (Polaris)?

A

A star located nearly directly above the North Pole, used for navigation.

37
Q

What is insolation?

A

The amount of solar radiation received by a given area.

38
Q

What is a solstice?

A

The time when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator, occurring in summer and winter.

39
Q

What is an equinox?

A

The time when day and night are of equal length, occurring in autumnal and vernal.

40
Q

What is the Arctic Circle?

A

The latitude approximately 66.5° North, marking the southern limit of the polar day.

41
Q

What is the Antarctic Circle?

A

The latitude approximately 66.5° South, marking the northern limit of the polar night.

42
Q

What are direct (vertical) rays?

A

Sun rays that strike the Earth at a 90-degree angle.

43
Q

What is the Tropic of Cancer?

A

The latitude approximately 23.5° North, marking the northernmost point of the sun’s direct rays.

44
Q

What is the Tropic of Capricorn?

A

The latitude approximately 23.5° South, marking the southernmost point of the sun’s direct rays.

45
Q

What is solar declination?

A

The angle between the rays of the sun and the plane of the Earth’s equator.

46
Q

What is the subsolar point?

A

The point on the Earth’s surface where the sun is directly overhead.

47
Q

What is an analemma?

A

A diagram showing the position of the sun in the sky at the same time of day throughout the year.

48
Q

What is zenith?

A

The point in the sky directly above an observer.

49
Q

What is the tropical zone?

A

The region of Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

50
Q

What is the midlatitude zone?

A

The region of Earth between the tropics and the polar circles.

51
Q

What is the polar zone?

A

The region of Earth within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

Physical Geography (4 decks)

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