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physical universe > physical universe unit 1 > Flashcards

physical universe unit 1 Flashcards

1
Q

age of our solar system

A

5 billion years

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2
Q

age of the universe

A

14 billion years

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3
Q

age of galaxies

A

10 billion years ago

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4
Q

modern man age

A

400,000 years

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5
Q

AU

A

astronomical unit, average distance between the sun and earth. describes distance WITHIN our solar system.

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6
Q

lightyear

A

distance that light travels in one year. used to measure distances OUT of our solar system.

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7
Q

nebula

A

large cloud of dust and gas, stars are born from here.

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8
Q

star cluster

A

a grouping of 10-10,000 stars that are in the same neighborhood

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9
Q

galactic cluster

A

galaxies appear clustered in groups of 20, our galaxy is part of the LOCAL GROUP
-nearest cluster is the Virgo Cluster

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10
Q

nucleus

A

positive charged

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11
Q

sidereal day

A

time it takes for earth to do one 360 degree spin (2h 56 mins)

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12
Q

solar day

A

time it takes for sun to return to the same E/W position above us. (24 hours)

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13
Q

synodic month

A

time it takes for moon to complete its phases (29.5 days)

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14
Q

spring equinox

A

march 21, equal day/night, the equator

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15
Q

fall equinox

A

sept. 21st, equal day/night, the equator

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16
Q

solar calendar

A

matches with the sun. our year starts 11 days after the winter solstice.

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17
Q

lunisolar calendar.

A

add a leap month. each month is a lunar month, so 29.5 days. SO they alternate 29/30 etc. new month = a new moon. to account for the 354 days that this lunisolar calendar creates, we add leap month every 2-3 years to make up for lost time.

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18
Q

kiva layout

A

wooden roofs above the kiva with an alter and benches

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19
Q

cultural significance of pueblo bonito

A

at the end of the north road form pueblo bonito, there is a lot of broken pottery. meant to help people in their next lives, left because climate became even worse

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20
Q

aristotle’s view of motion

A

earth material always returns to earth. everything returns to where it came from. heavier things fall faster than light things.

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21
Q

the universe’s layout according to aristotle

A

-the planets, moon, and sun all revolve around earth
-earth is geocentric (ptolemy believed this too)
-a celestial sphere surrounds the solar system with holes poked into it. light from the heavens shine through the holes and this is why we see stars

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22
Q

Matter is discrete.Or matter is made up of tiny building blocks called atoms.

A

democritus

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23
Q

Measured the size of the earth

A

Eratosthenes

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24
Q

Your senses cannot show your truth; only clear, rational thinking can lead you to truth

A

plato

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25
Q

Objects fall downward because they are made of earth, and earth wants to return to earth

A

aristotle

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26
Q

The stars lie in the celestial sphere. They are actually the light from the heavens shining through holes in the fabric of the celestial sphere.a

A

aristotle

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27
Q

Men have more teeth than women. Heavy objects fall faster than light ones.These statements make good, rational sense, so they must be true.

28
Q

Got science started when he argued that the universe can be known and understood.

29
Q

Allegory of the Cave

30
Q

Introduced epicycles to explain why we see retrograde motion of planets.

31
Q

Wrote the Almagest (the Great Book)

32
Q

His model of the universe can predict the positions of the planets with high accuracy (which is impressive, considering his model was wrong)

33
Q

Math is the tool that we must use to understand the universe.

A

pythagorous

34
Q

nanometer

A

1 billionth of a meter, 10^-9

35
Q

solar system

A

a star and everything that orbits around it

36
Q

binary star system

A

1/2 of stars in the sky are like this. 2 stars orbit around each other

37
Q

galaxy

A

collection of billions/hundreds of billions of stars that are held together by gravity. (milky way, large and small Magellanic cloud, andromeda)

38
Q

molecule

A

2+ atoms bonded

39
Q

atom

A

smallest component of an element which have chemical properties of the element

40
Q

quark

A

3 quarks/proton and 3 quarks/neutron

41
Q

sidereal month

A

time it takes the moon to do one orbit around the earth

42
Q

YEAR

A

when the sun returns to its same N/S position in the sky, time it takes earth to complete one full orbit around the SUN

43
Q

what causes the seasons?

A

directness of the light (more concentrated light)

44
Q

winter solstice

A

december 21, sun is at the most southern position

45
Q

summer solstice

A

june 21, longest day, sun is most northern position

46
Q

lunar calendar

A

new moon = start of a new month, months move through the seasons

47
Q

Pueblo Bonito

A

biggest structure, largest building in North America until 1900.

48
Q

Fajada Butte

A

spiral petroglyph. sun pierces through the three rocks and lands on the middle of the spiral (summer solstice). only at 12pm on summer solstice. SUN DAGGER (this pic is winter solstice)

49
Q

when they left pueblo bonito

A

-bricked up the windows and doors on kivas
-they removed the roofs
-maybe they are trapping the evil?

50
Q

Thales

A

THE UNIVERSE IS KNOWABLE. (first philosopher). father of science.

51
Q

Pythagoras

A

2nd philosopher, THE UNIVERSE CAN BE UNDERSTOOD THROUGH MATH

52
Q

Plato

A

allegory of the cave.
-don’t trust your senses
-trust your mind but only a well-trained mind
-there may always be more to learn.
(socrates- plato- aristotle)

53
Q

Aristotle

A

-fourth philosopher
-first natural philosopher
-the elements

54
Q

aether

A

aristotle’s belief that this fills empty space. it is the 5th substance (earth, wind, fire, water) which keeps things moving after you’ve pushed them

55
Q

how to do science according to aristotle?

A

listen to your mind

56
Q

the nature of matter according to aristotle

A

thought that matter was continuous and could keep being divided forever. (water example)

57
Q

why is aristotle famous?

A

-people believed him for a long time
-first natural philosopher
-his work in other areas are still really relevant

58
Q

Ptolemy

A

-150 CE, last of the philosophers
-astronomer, geographer
-wrote “The Almagest” which describes Aristotle’s universe mathematically (proofs book)
-retrograde motion (explains this mathematically)

59
Q

epicycle (ptolemy)

A

a small circle whose center moves around the circumference of a larger one.

60
Q

heliocentric (Aristarchus)

A

-sun is the center

61
Q

Aristotle’s teacher

62
Q

Aether fills all of the empty space between objects

63
Q

the Earth is at the center of all that exists, surrounded by moon, sun and planets all orbiting in perfect circles.

64
Q

The sun is at the center of the universe, not the earth.

A

aristarchus

65
Q

Embellished Aristotle’s model of the universe by adding mathematical detail

66
Q

Matter is continuous.For example, water cannot be divided down to a smallest piece because no such smallest piece exists.

67
Q

The Earth isn’t perfectly ordered nor totally chaotic. The earth separates the perfectly ordered heavens above from the chaotic turmoil below.

physical universe (5 decks)

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