Chapter 8 Terms

Question 1

Accretion

Answer 1

is the addition of matter to a body

Question 2

Asteroid

Answer 2

is a small, generally rock, solid body orbiting the Sun

Question 3

Asteroids Belt

Answer 3

is a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in which most of the Solar System’s asteroids are located

Question 4

Bode’s Rule

Answer 4

is a numerical expression for the approximate distances of most of the planets from the Sun

Question 5

Comet

Answer 5

is a small body in orbit around the sun, consisting of a tiny, icy core and a tail of gas and dust

Question 6

Condensation

Answer 6

is the conversion of free gas atoms or molecules into a liquid or solid

Question 7

Dwarf Planet

Answer 7

is an object that orbits the Sun and is massive enough that its gravity compresses in into an approximately spherical shape

Question 8

Exoplanet

Answer 8

is a planet not orbiting our sun

Question 9

Gravitational Lensing

Answer 9

an object that bends space

Question 10

Inner Planet

Answer 10

a planet orbiting in the inner part of the solar system and (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars)

Question 11

Interstellar Cloud

Answer 11

is a cloud of gas and dust in between the stars

Question 12

Interstellar Grain

Answer 12

is solid dust particles in interstellar space that absorb starlight and makes stars that are far appear dimmer and redder than they are

Question 13

Jovian Planet

Answer 13

Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

Question 14

Kuiper Belt

Answer 14

a region from which some comets come

Question 15

Oort Cloud

Answer 15

is a vast region in which comet nuclei orbit

Question 16

Outer Planet

Answer 16

is a planet who’s orbit lies in the outer part of the Solar System (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)

Question 17

Planetesimal

Answer 17

is a small, solid body that when accreted together, they form a planet

Question 18

Solar Nebula

Answer 18

the rotating disks have a gas and dust from which the Sun and planets formed

Question 19

Solar Nebula Theory

Answer 19

the theory that the Solar System formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust

Question 20

Terrestrial Planet

Answer 20

is a rocky planet similar to Earth in size and structure (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars)

Question 21

Transit

Answer 21

the passage of a planet directly between the observer and the Sun