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Earth and astronomy flashcards

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1
Q

A solar eclipse can only occur at this phase of the moon

A

New Moon

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2
Q

Constellation that cannot be seen in the summer sky of the northern hemisphere

A

Orion

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3
Q

Percent of stars in the sky that appear to be single stars are actually binary stars

A

about 50%

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4
Q

The apparent speed of the Sun along the ecliptic

A

is constant

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5
Q

In the Australian winter night sky

A

the constellation Orion can be seen,in the northern sky

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6
Q

The 29 ? days it takes the Moon to complete an orbit around the Earth is called a

A

synodic month

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7
Q

What is NOT true about meteorites

A

on rare occasions, acid-etched iron meteorites display a pattern called the Widmanstatten pattern

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8
Q

According to Kepler’s Third Law

A

plotting the squares of the periods of the planet against the cubes of the semi- major axes of their orbits will result in what sort of graph,a straight line

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9
Q

The time between two successive meridian transits of the Sun as observed from a stationary spot on the Earth’s surface is called

A

an apparent solar day

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10
Q

The hydrogen envelope that surrounds the comet’s nucleus derives its hydrogen most directly from

A

breakdown of water by ultraviolet light

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11
Q

At a location half-way from the Equator to the North Pole

A

what correctly describes the stars apparent motion,they rise and set at an angle to the horizon

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12
Q

Light from distant galaxies comes mostly from what

A

high mass stars

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13
Q

What is NOT a superior planet

A

Venus or Mercury

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14
Q

Which planet has the highest escape velocity

A

Jupiter

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15
Q

The term for the amount of energy released from each square meter of an object’s surface each second

A

energy flux

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16
Q

Astronomers usually detect the electromagnetic emissions of a single neutron star in this single form

A

radio waves

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17
Q

An emission or bright line spectrum consists of

A

a series of bright lines superimposed on a black or continuous background.

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18
Q

Maria on the moon are

A

darker and smoother parts of the moon’s surface

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19
Q

Another name for the Pleiades

A

M45 or The Seven Sisters or The False Dipper

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20
Q

A pulsating variable star whose brightness varies in a very regular time period of about 1-50 days

A

Cepheid

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21
Q

The part of the Sun that we can see without any instruments

A

photosphere

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22
Q

All of Saturn’s moons are composed predominantly of this substance

A

ice

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23
Q

Rounded off to the nearest trillion

A

how many miles in a light year?,six

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24
Q

Most common type of meterorite to fall to Earth in recorded history

A

stony

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25
Q

Scientific names for the two regions of a sunspot

A

umbra and penumbra

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26
Q

The Kappa Cygnids and the Northern Delta Aquarids are names for what phenomena?

A

meteor showers

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27
Q

Substance responsible for Neptune’s blue-green color

A

methane gas

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28
Q

Common name for the phenomenon which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the Earth and faintly illuminating the darkened portion of the moon

A

Earthshine

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29
Q

Author of book titled “Concerning the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres” that marks the birth of modern astronomy

A

Copernicus

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30
Q

The celestial coordinate analogous to latitude

A

Declination

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31
Q

The point in the sky that is directly overhead

A

Zenith

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32
Q

A meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth

A

meteorite

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33
Q

Planet in our solar system with the most circular orbit

A

Venus

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34
Q

Mars has a thin atmosphere composed mainly of what gas

A

Carbon Dioxide

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35
Q

Which moon is the only other body in our solar system besides the Earth that has an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen

A

Titan

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36
Q

When a superior planet is at quadrature in reference to the Earth what is its elongation in degrees?

A

90o

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37
Q

Moon of Neptune that orbits in a retrograde direction

A

Triton

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38
Q

Name for the celestial body of interstellar gas and dust where stars are sometimes born

A

Nebula

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39
Q

In “best altitude conditions” what month in the northern hemisphere is the best time to observe the full moon

A

December

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40
Q

The work of this Harvard College Observatory scientist made possible the first accurate determination of extragalactic distances by what is often called Henrietta’s Law

A

Henrietta Leavitt

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41
Q

Term most commonly used to refer to the actual motion that stars have in relation to each other and over many years will lead to changes in the shapes of constellations

A

Proper Motion

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42
Q

The constant that is the average flux of the Sun’s energy arriving at the Earth

A

Solar Constant

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43
Q

Celestial body found after astronomers had searched for an orbital disturbance of the planet Uranus

A

Pluto

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44
Q

Sam Langley invented this instrument which allows astronomers to measure the energy output of the Sun and other stars

A

Bolometer

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45
Q

How many half- moons in a lunar cycle

A

two

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46
Q

The Persied’s Meteor Showers are viewed in the State of Maine during what month?

A

August

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47
Q

Telescope that weighs about 11 tons

A

has a primary mirror 7.9 feet in diameter, and orbits about 380 miles above the earth,Hubble

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48
Q

In the Doppler effect the correct term for the change in the color of light when an object that is emitting light is moving toward the observer

A

Blue-Shift

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49
Q

The thinnest layer of the Sun’s atmosphere

A

Corona

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50
Q

The only two planets to rotate from East to West

A

Venus and Uranus

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51
Q

The Magellan clouds are actually this type of celestial body

A

Galaxies

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52
Q

If the temperature of a star increases from 10

A

000K to 30,000K, by what factor will the rate of energy radiated per second increase?,81

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53
Q

Celestial bodies at the center of quasars and which are the main reason for their large energy emissions

A

Black Holes

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54
Q

Doughnut shaped zones of atomic particles consists of electrons and protons captured by the Earth’s magnetic field from the solar winds

A

Van Allen Belts

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55
Q

The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which planet?

A

Jupiter

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56
Q

Rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven away from the sun

A

Solar Wind

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57
Q

The biggest known asteroid

A

Ceres

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58
Q

The Mercurian year is equal to this many days

A

88

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59
Q

One of the largest volcanos in our solar system is named Olympus Mons and is on

A

Mars

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60
Q

One Jupiter day is equal to what

A

9 hours 50 minutes

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61
Q

Time interval between two successie occurrences of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth

A

a synodic period

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62
Q

During the period between 1979 and 1998 the farthest planet from the sun

A

Neptune

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63
Q

Time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun and be radiated

A

One million years

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64
Q

The sunspot cycle is this many years

A

11 years

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65
Q

The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares these TWO of the properties of stars

A

temperature and luminosity

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66
Q

The Andromeda Galaxy is this type of galaxy

A

spiral

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67
Q

About how many light years across is the Milky Way?

A

one hundred thousand

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68
Q

The unlucky Apollo lunar landing that was canceled after an oxygen tank exploded

A

Apollo 13

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69
Q

Device that first proved that Earth rotates on its axis

A

Foucault Pendulum

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70
Q

The smallest planet in our solar system

A

Mercury

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71
Q

The “planet” that has a moon almost as big as the planet itself

A

Pluto

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72
Q

What Sally K. Ride is known for

A

first woman in space

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73
Q

The year that Neil Armstrong made his historic walk on the Moon

A

1969

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74
Q

The only planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than its year

A

Venus

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75
Q

What is the heavenly body Charon?

A

Plutos moon

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76
Q

Where in space is Cassini’s division?

A

between two rings of Saturn

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77
Q

The first black American astronaut in space

A

Guion Bluford

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78
Q

What is the Vostok 1?

A

the first manned spacecraft

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79
Q

Heliocentric means around what?

A

the Sun

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80
Q

Triton Neptune’s moon has an ocean made of

A

Nitrogen

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81
Q

The first man to classify stars according to their brightness

A

Hipparchus

82
Q

Reason the Schmidt telescope was specially built

A

sky camera

83
Q

The star nearest to the sun

A

Alpha Centauri or Proxima Centauri

84
Q

The greatest distance of a planet from the sun

A

aphelion

85
Q

The name given to very bright meteors or bolides

A

fireballs

86
Q

Atmospheric pressure of Mars compared to the earth is

A

about 1/200th of Earth

87
Q

Gas that is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars

A

Carbon Dioxide

88
Q

The planet Jupiter has a mass that is greater than all the combined masses of all the other planets

A

all the other planets put together

89
Q

The moon feature that is named Copernicus

A

crater

90
Q

Day of the year on which the summer solstice usually occurs

A

21-Jun

91
Q

When the earth is farthest from the sun it is this season in the Northern Hemisphere

A

summer

92
Q

The only two moonless planets

A

Venus and Mercury

93
Q

The English nickname for this constellation is “The Chained Maiden” and what isthe astronomer’s name?

A

Andromeda

94
Q

In which season is the constellation “Pegasus” normally viewed?

A

autumn

95
Q

The constellation in which Vega can be found

A

Lyra

96
Q

The constellation in which Aldebaran can be found

A

Taurus

97
Q

The two observables in a binary star system that must be measured to make the total mass determination

A

separation of the two stars and the stars period of revolution

98
Q

The Orion Nebula is a good example of this kind of nebula

A

emission nebula

99
Q

A major component of the interstellar media consists of charged particles which have speeds close to that of light that are called

A

cosmic rays

100
Q

A typical galaxy such as our Milky Way galaxy contains how many billion stars

A

200 billion

101
Q

The path in the sky that the sun appears to traverse over the course of a year

A

ecliptic

102
Q

Light rock rich in silicate

A

What is the crust made up of?

103
Q

the core

A

Which layer of the earth is the hottest, under the most pressure, and the most dense-the crust, the mantle, or the core?

104
Q

Continental crust

A

Which is thicker-continental crust or oceanic crust?

105
Q

Oceanic crust

A

Which is denser-continental crust or oceanic crust?

106
Q

Continental crust

A

Which is older-continental crust or oceanic crust?

107
Q

Made of heavy rocks that have iron and magnesium

A

What is the composition of the mantle?

108
Q

Lithosphere

A

Which part of the mantle is rigid rock?

109
Q

Aesthenosphere

A

Which parts of the mantle have soft moving currents of rock?

110
Q

current caused by the expansion of a liquid, solid or gas as its temperature rises

A

convection current

111
Q

Aesthenosphere

A

Which layer of the mantle has convection currents?

112
Q

Magma closer to core heats up, expands, and rises (less dense). Magma closer to crust cools and sinks (denser).

A

Describe the movement of rock in a convection current?

113
Q

Heat from the Earth’s interior

A

What causes convection currents?

114
Q

lithosphere (crust and upper mantle)

A

What layers of earth make up the plates?

115
Q

Plate movement is caused by convection currents of magma in the aesthenosphere.

A

Why do plates move?

116
Q

The core is made of heavy metals like iron and nickel.

A

What is the composition of the core?

117
Q

4300 degrees Celsius

A

What is the temperature of the core?

118
Q

By interpreting seismic waves

A

How do we learn about Earth’s interior if we cannot observe the Earth’s interior directly?

119
Q

solid collection of minerals or mineral materials

A

rock

120
Q

Formed when magma or lava cools and hardens

A

Igneous rock

121
Q

melted rock and gas below the earth’s surface

A

magma

122
Q

magma that has reached the earth’s surface

A

lava

123
Q

an igneous rock that forms underground from hardened magma

A

intrusive rock

124
Q

an igneous rock that forms at Earth’s surface

A

extrusive rock

125
Q

fragments of older rock and fossils, or living things, and minerals

A

sediment

126
Q

forms when fragments of rock are compacted and cemented together

A

sedimentary rock

127
Q

forms from a previous rock that is changed by heat or pressure

A

metamorphic rock

128
Q

Weathering/Deposition of Sediments/Cementation

A

What processes in the rock cycle form sedimentary rocks?

129
Q

Melting/Cooling and Solidfying

A

What processes in the rock cycle form igneous rocks?

130
Q

Heat and Pressure

A

What processes in the rock cycle form metamorphic rocks?

131
Q

Continents were once joined together in a super-continent called Pangaea and have since drifted apart.

A

Continental Drift

132
Q

an ancient supercontinent formed about 300 million years ago which later gave rise to today’s continents

A

Pangaea

133
Q

Theory that the earth is made up of rigid slabs of rock (the lithosphere) that move

A

Plate Tectonics

134
Q

underwater mountain chain

A

Mid-ocean ridge

135
Q

process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as older crust moves away

A

sea-floor spreading

136
Q

process by which oceanic crust sinks into the mantle

A

subduction

137
Q

a long deep depression where old oceanic crusts sinks into the mantle

A

trench

138
Q

boundary in which tectonic plates move away from each other

A

divergent boundary

139
Q

boundary in which tectonic plates collide

A

convergent boundary

140
Q

boundary in which tectonic plates slide past each other

A

transform boundary

141
Q
  1. Continents seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. 2. Fossil records show similar plant and animal fossils on continents separated by oceans suggesting that continents were once one land mass. 3. Evidence of glaciers suggest that some continents must have been closer to the poles at one time. 4. Similarities in geological formations, like mountain chains, on different continents.
A

What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?

142
Q

It couldn’t explain the mechanism of how the continents moved.

A

Why wasn’t the theory of Continental Drift accepted at the time?

143
Q

study of the planet Earth’s composition and structure

A

Geology

144
Q

rocky, outer layer of earth

A

crust

145
Q

thick layer of hot but solid rock beneath Earth’s crust

A

mantle

146
Q

layer of relatively cool, rigid rock that includes the uppermost part of the mantle as well as Earth’s crust

A

lithosphere

147
Q

layer of softer, weaker rock beneath Earth’s lithosphere which can flow slowly

A

aesthenosphere

148
Q

lower portion of Earth’s mantle

A

mesosphere

149
Q

dense sphere at Earth’s center made mostly of iron and nickel

A

core

150
Q

Mid-ocean ridges, trenches, seamounts

A

What are features of the sea floor?

151
Q

New ocean floor is created through sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges. Old ocean crust moves away and gets destroyed through subduction at a plate boundary.

A

How is the sea floor recycled?

152
Q

divergent

A

What plate motion makes new ocean floor?

153
Q

convergent (subduction)

A

What plate motion destroys old ocean floor?

154
Q

Sea floor rocks become older as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge.

A

How does the age of sea floor rocks change as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge?

155
Q

Seafloor spreading and rifting

A

What types of geological events occur at divergent plate boundaries?

156
Q

New ocean crust forms at a fissure and old crust pushed away.

A

What are the results of seafloor spreading?

157
Q

Crust thins>Land plates pull apart> Rift valley forms>Sea develops.

A

What are the results of rifting?

158
Q

subduction and mountain building

A

What types of geological events occur at convergent plate boundaries?

159
Q

Dense ocean plate sinks under land back into mantle.

A

What are the results of subduction?

160
Q

earthquakes

A

What occurs at a transform boundary?

161
Q

Mid-Atlantic Ridge

A

Where does seafloor spreading occur?

162
Q

Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, East African Rift

A

Where in the world does rifting occur?

163
Q

ocean trenches

A

Where does subduction occur?

164
Q

Himalayas

A

Where in the world does mountain building occur at a convergent plate boundary?

165
Q

San Andreas fault

A

Where in the world is a transform fault boundary located?

166
Q

Movement of Earth’s lithosphere that occurs when rocks in the lithosphere suddenly shift, releasing stored energy

A

Earthquake

167
Q

location beneath Earth’s surface where an earthquake begins

A

Focus

168
Q

location on Earth’s surface directly above the focus

A

Epicenter

169
Q

force that squeezes rocks together, stretches or pulls them apart, or pushes them in different directions

A

stress

170
Q

a break in a mass of rock along which movement occurs

A

Fault

171
Q

bend in layers of rock

A

Fold

172
Q

device that can detect and record seismic waves

A

seismograph

173
Q

longitudinal waves similar to sound waves

A

P waves

174
Q

transverse waves

A

S waves

175
Q

waves that develop when seismic waves reach Earth’s surface

A

Surface waves

176
Q

Earthquakes are caused when stress builds when rocks along 2 sides of a fault snag and lock

A

What causes earthquakes?

177
Q

Earthquakes occur because stress forces have exceeded the strength of a rock.

A

Why do earthquakes happen?

178
Q

faults and folds

A

What does stress on rocks cause?

179
Q

along plate boundaries

A

Where do most earthquakes occur?

180
Q
  1. accordion-like motion (up and down) 2. fastest moving waves 3. travel through solids and liquids 4. cause least amount of damage
A

Characteristics of P waves

181
Q
  1. snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
A

Characteristics of S waves

182
Q
  1. snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
A

Characteristics of S waves

183
Q
  1. uses seismogram 2. measures earthquake by the size of the waves
A

Richter scale

184
Q
  1. uses seismogram 2. measures earthquakes in terms of energy released
A

Moment Magnitude scale

185
Q
  1. does NOT use seismogram 2. rates earthquakes based on damage to structures
A

Mercalli scale

186
Q

mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface

A

volcano

187
Q

a pocket where magma collects

A

magma chamber

188
Q

vertical channel

A

pipe

189
Q

an opening on the surface through which magma escapes

A

vent

190
Q

depression formed from collapsed volcanoes

A

caldera

191
Q

region of active magma under a plate

A

hot spot

192
Q

wide, flat volcano

A

shield volcano

193
Q

bowl-shaped pit

A

crater

194
Q

simple, small, steep-sided volcano

A

cinder cone

195
Q

volcano that forms from explosive eruptions that produce a combination of lava and ash

A

composite volcano

196
Q

large type of intrusive igneous rock mass that can form the core of a mountain range

A

batholith

197
Q

structure formed when magma hardens in a crack parallel to existing rock layers

A

sill

198
Q

structure formed when magma hardens in a crack that cuts across rock layers

A

dike

199
Q

mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface

A

volcanic neck

200
Q

Rock inside the earth melts forming liquid magma. Magma rises through the crust erupting at the surface. Magma rises because it is less dense than the surrounding rock.

A

Why do volcanoes erupt?

Science Bowl (1 decks)

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