Exam 2 study guide Flashcards
planets
mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
solar systems inventory
one star, 8 planets, 200+ moons, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, dwarf planets, kuiper belt objects
terrestrial planets are made of…
small, rocky, metallic
made of rock (silicon) and iron
high density
99.8% of Solar Systems mass is
the sun
Earths composition
R: 6400 km
D: 5000 kg/m^3 (5x density of water)
thick atmosphere mostly nitrogen and oxygen
active volcanoes & plate tectonics
magnetic field
jovian planets are made of…
large, gaseous, or liquid/ice
made of gases (hydrogen, helium, methane, water, ammonia)
lower density
early astronomers knew
sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, saturn, comets, meteors and stars
solar system now
1 star, 8 planets, 293 moons, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, dwarf planet, kuiper belt objects
planetary orbits are all nearly in the same plane (T/F)
true
what direction do planets orbit?
W to E along the ecliptic
nearly all mass is in the sun (T/F)
true
formula of density
Density = Mass / Volume
mercury
R: 2400km
Mass: 5% of earth
D: 5400kg/m^3
no atmosphere/volcanoes
has a magnetic field
venus
R: 6100km
Mass: 82% of earth
D: 5300kg/m^3
thick atmosphere
hottest surface temp
volcanic features but indirect evidence of activity
earth
R: 6400km
D: 5000kg/m^3
this atmosphere mostly nitrogen and oxygen
active volcanoes and plate tectonics
magnetic field
earths atmosphere composition is mainly…
nitrogen and oxygen
carbon dioxide and water vapor contribute to earths greenhouse effect (T/F)
true
a high speed collision in early solar system is believed to have been the reason the moon was formed (T/F)
true
pangea was ____ million years ago and about ____ million it began to broke apart
260, 225
plate tectonics are driven by motion of magma in earths mantle (T/F)
true
mars
R: 3400km
Mass: 10% earth
D: 3900 kg/m^3
thin atmosphere
extinct volcanoes
weak magnetic field
olympus mons is on mars and the largest volcano in the solar system (T/F)
true
jupiter
R: 70,000 km (largest in solar system)
Mass: 300x earth
D: 1300 kg/m^3
composed of mostly hydrogen and helium
no surface
strong magnetic field
jupiter rotates in 10 hours (T/F)
true
jupiter gives off twice as much heat as it received from the sun (T/F)
true
transportation of this heat drives convection in the metallic hydrogen mantle producing a strong magnetic field (T/F)
true
moons of jupiter
I’m, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
Io
closest to J, most volcanically active body in solar system
surface is very new, no new craters
Ios volcanoes are powered by…
Tides
Saturn
R: 9x earth
Mass: 100x earth
D: 700kg/m^3
composed of hydrogen and heluim
no surface
strong magnetic field
Saturn would float (T/F)
True
Saturn gives off 3x more heat than it receives from the sun (T/F)
True
Saturn has helium rain (T/F)
true
titan is Saturns largest moon and the second largest moon in the solar system (T/F)
True
titan has seas and lakes of _____
methane
Uranus
R: 4x earth
Mass: 15x earth
featureless
Uranus rotates on its side (T/F)
true
Neptune
R: 4x earth
Mass: 17x earth
has band of clouds
Neptunes great dark spot is a…..
large storm
all 4 jovian planets have rings (T/F)
true
rings are probably made of…
material too close to the planet to condense in a moon or debris of a moon destroyed by impact or tidal forces
plutoids
small icy bodies, the size of dwarf planets in the kuiper belt
where is the kuiper belt?
extends from orbit of neptune (20AU) to 50 AU from the sun
Eris is the most massive object in the Kuiper belt (T/F)
true, pluto is second
where is the asteroid belt?
between mars and jupiter
asteroids
rocky bodies held together by gravity
comets
icy bodies made of rocks, water ice, frozen methane, frozen ammonia, frozen carbon dioxide
commets originate beyond the orbit of pluto in the…
oort cloud
comet tails always point….
away from the sun
comet tail points away from the sun because of solar wind
ion tail
the ____ tail points away from the sun but dust particles are more massive and leave a curved tail
dust tail
what are meteor showers?
debris left over with a comet break up
meteoroids
small rocks in space
what are meteors?
if they enter earths atmosphere and burn up
meteorites are…
meteors that penetrate the atmosphere and hit the ground
formation sequence for terrestrial planets
collapse, condensation, accretion, clearing
the solar nebular hypothesis discusses the formation of the sun and the planets (T/F)
true
accretion
clumps of dust grow larger, sweeping up more and more material
age of the sun and planets
4.6 billion years
collaps of gas clouds form a ____ and __ ____ of gas surrounding it
protostar, the disk
when objects eventually reach a few hundred km in size and have enough gravity to affect neighbor’s and sweep up more material is….
planetesimals
when nearly all material is swept up into _____
protoplanets
