Earth and Space Flashcards
What is a gravitational field?
The region around an object with mass where other objects experience weight
What is weight?
A force experienced by an object with mass that is inside a gravitational field
Give the formula for weight
weight = mass x gravitational field strength
What is the gravitational field strength of the earth?
10 N/kg (or 9.8)
What are the units of mass?
kg (kilograms)
What are the units of force?
N (newtons)
Name the planets
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Name the five largest dwarf planets
Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea
Why is Venus considered a “terrestrial” planet?
It is made of rock
Which planets are the ice giants?
Uranus and Neptune
What is meant by a “Jovian planet”
A planet that is similar to Jupiter (a gas giant)
What is the speed of light?
300,000,000 m/s
How long does it take for light to travel from the Moon to the Earth?
1.25 seconds
How long does it take for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth?
500 seconds (approximately 8 minutes)
What do stars form from?
Nebulae
What is the name for most stars in the stable portion of their life cycle?
Main sequence star
What is the name for the hot ball of gas that begins to form a star?
Protostar
Which colour of star is the hottest?
Blue
Which colour of star is the coolest?
Red
Name the closest star to the solar system other than the sun
Proxima Centauri
Give the name for the whole of space
Universe
What is a group of billions of stars called?
Galaxy
What is the name of the galaxy that the solar system is in?
Milky Way
What is a year?
The time taken for a planet to orbit its star
What is a day?
The time taken for a planet to rotate fully on its axis
How long does it take for the Earth to orbit the Sun?
365.25 days
What is the main factor controlling the length of a year for a planet?
The distance the planet is from the sun.
Why does the Earth experience seasons?
The axis of rotation is tilted around 23 degrees from the plane of its orbit
Mercury does not have a tilted axis of rotation. Will it experience seasons?
No
Why is winter cooler than summer?
Away from the equator, sunlight is spread over a larger area of ground so warms it less. The days are also shorter, so there is less time for the ground to warm up.
If something is moving in a circle e.g. a planet orbiting the sun, in which direction is the force?
Towards the centre of the circle
Which force causes a moon to orbit a planet
gravitational force (directed towards the centre of a circle)
Draw the magnetic field around a bar magnet
Draw the magnetic field around the Earth
Remember - the Earth’s geographic north pole is a magnetic south pole (we still call it magnetic north when referring to where our compass needle points!)
Draw the gravitational field around the Earth
It will be the same shape for other planets and stars
