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Physics > P1 - The Earth in the Universe > Flashcards

P1 - The Earth in the Universe Flashcards

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1
Q

How many planets are there in our solar system?

A

8 planets.

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2
Q

What objects orbit the sun?

A

The planets, asteroids, dwarf planets, comets and asteroids.

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3
Q

How long ago was the solar system formed?

A

Approximately five thousand million years ago (4.5 billion years ago)

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4
Q

What are the names of the planets in our solar system?

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

‘Many Vile Earthlings Munch Jam Sandwiches Under Newspapers’

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5
Q

Is the Sun unique amongst the Milky Way Galaxy?

A

No, there are billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.

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6
Q

What was the Solar System formed from?

A

The Solar System was formed over very long periods from clouds of gases and dust in space about 5 billion years ago.

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7
Q

What is the centre of our Solar System?

A

The Sun is the centre of our Solar System.

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8
Q

What characteristic do the four planets closest to the Sun share?

A

They are solid rock -

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

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9
Q

What characteristic do the four outer planets share?

A

They are gas giants -

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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10
Q

What are Asteroids?

A

Asteroids are irregular lumps of rock, mostly in circular orbit between Mars and Jupiter.

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11
Q

What are Comets?

A

Comets are small objects made of rock and ice, with very elongated orbits around the Sun.

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12
Q

What are Dwarf Planets?

A

Dwarf Planets are small spherical lumps of rock in orbit around the sun.
Pluto is a dwarf planet.

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13
Q

What percentage of the Solar System’s Mass is the Sun?

A

The Sun accounts for 99% of the Solar System’s mass.

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14
Q

Which is the heaviest planet?

A

Jupiter is the heaviest planet.

Followed by Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury.

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15
Q

Which planet has the largest orbit?

A

Neptune has the largest orbit.

Followed by Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus and Mercury. (Orbits get larger the further away from sun the planet is).

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16
Q

What is 300,000 km/s in standard form?

A

300,000 km/s = 3.0 x 10^5 km/s

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17
Q

Define a Light Year.

A

1 Light Year = Distance traveled by Light in a Year

9.5 million million kilometres

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18
Q

How many km are there in a light year?

A

9.5 million million kilometres.

19
Q

How fast does light travel through a vacuum?

A

3.0 x 10^5 km/s

or 300,000 km/s

20
Q

Why can we not observe stars in their current state?

A

The light from stars takes a long time to reach our eyes. Therefore we can only observe what stars were like in the past, when the light left them.

21
Q

Regarding stars, what are real and relative brightness?

A

Real Brightness is how bright a star appears to an observer on Earth. Relative brightness is there brightness accounting for their distance.

22
Q

How can measuring real and relative brightness be useful?

A

If the distance is known to a certain star, the difference in relative brightness between another star can be used to calculate the distance to the other one.

23
Q

What uncertainties are there with the light method to measure distance to stars?

A
  • It is based on the assumption that similar types of stars have the same real brightness.
  • It is based on estimating the distance to one of the stars.
  • Observation of stars can be hampered by pollution, clouds, rain and dust.
24
Q

What is an advantage of space based telescopes?

A

They can take measurements without distortions from the Earth’s atmosphere.

25
Q

Describe the process of Nuclear Fusion.

A

Nuclear fusion is when hydrogen atoms collide with enough force and under high pressure to combine and form helium. This process releases huge amounts of energy.

26
Q

What conditions are required for nuclear fusion?

A

For nuclear fusion to occur there must be very temperature and high hydrogen densities.

27
Q

Can hydrogen nuclei combine to form other elements apart from helium?

A

Yes, fusion can force H nuclei to combine to make other elements. At high enough densities heavier elements up to iron can be formed.

28
Q

How do heavy stars end their lives?

A

Heavy stars end their lives as Supernovas. This is a massive explosion that allows for the heavier elements above iron to be formed under the extreme temperatures and densities.

29
Q

What is Nuclear Fission?

A

Nuclear Fission is the process by which heavy nuclei are broken into lighter ones releasing energy.

30
Q

What formed our solar system?

A

The solar system was formed from a collapsing cloud of dust and gas about 5 billion years ago.

31
Q

In which direction are galaxies moving?

A

Most galaxies are moving away from us.

32
Q

What is Redshift?

A

Redshift is the increase in wavelength as a galaxy moves away from us.

33
Q

What can the measurement of Redshift tell us?

A

Redshift increases as a galaxy moves away from Earth. The further away from Earth a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away from us.

34
Q

What evidence does Redshift provide?

A

Redshift provides evidence that all parts of the Universe are expanding with galaxies moving apart from each other as time goes on.

35
Q

How long ago did the Universe begin?

A

The Universe started expanding rapidly from a single point 14,000 million years ago.

36
Q

When was the Sun created?

A

The Sun was created 5000 million years ago.

37
Q

When was the Earth created?

A

The Earth was created 4500 million years ago.

38
Q

What event began the Universe?

A

The Big Bang.

39
Q

What evidence is there to support the Big Bang theory?

A

The amount of cosmic background radiation reinforces the Big Bang theory.

40
Q

What determines the fate of the Universe?

A

The ultimate fate of the Universe depends on how it continues to expand. If there is enough mass in the Universe, gravity will slow down the expansion and make it collapse again.

41
Q

Why is the fate of the Universe difficult to predict?

A

It is difficult to predict because we can only measure the mass of the parts of the Universe which emit radiation.

Precise measurements of the speed and distance of the galaxies is difficult because their radiation travels huge distances to reach us.

42
Q

What type of scientists study rocks?

A

Geologists study rocks.

43
Q

How to fossils form?

A

Fossils are formed when plants or animals are buried by sediments or lava.

44
Q

Slow movements of the Earth’s crust can form…

A

… fold rocks and new mountains.

Physics (1 decks)

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