Planet Flashcards
what is the planet sequence
- mercury
- venus
- earth
- mars
- Jupiter
- staurn
- uranus
- neptune
what are stars
fiery balls of plasma and gas
what are planets
large rocky spheres that orbit a star or large spheres full of gas
what is orbit
the path a planet takes to go around a star
what does a planet need to be habitable
- liquid water
- right temperature - not too hot, not too cold
what is the goldilocks zone
an area in the solar system where the temperature is not too hot and cold, has liquid water and can support plant and animal life
what is the axis
an imaginary line going from the north to south pole
how is the axis positioned
tilted
what would happen if the axis was not tilted
we would not have 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night
how long is one year
365 days or 52 weeks
what angle is the axis on
23.5 degrees
what does earth spin on
its axis
what does earth orbit around
the sun
what does orbiting around the sun cause
- day and night
- seasons
- year length
how long is one day
24 hours
what is it called when earth spins on its axis
it is called a rotation
what direction does earth rotate towards
East to West or Anticlockwise. Therefore, sun rises in east and sets in west
what causes day and night
earth’s rotation on its axis
what side is daytime
the side that is facing the sun
what side is nighttime
the side that is facing away from the sun`
how long does it take to make a full rotation
24 hours
what direction are we facing in summer
tilted towards the rays of the sun
what direction are we facing in winter
tilted away from the rays of the sun
what is the sun like in summer
- sun rays are more concentrated
- the sun is higher in the sky
- sun rays point you from above
what is the sun like in winter
- sun rays are more spread out
- sun rays are less concentrated
- sun rays aren’t as warm
- sun is lower in the sky
- sun rays point towards you
what is the temperature of a planet determined by
determined by the distance from the sun of the planet
what determines seasons
seasons are determined by the axis tilt
1. medium tilt (around 23,5) = around 4 seasons
2. no tilt or low tilt = no seasons
3. high tilt = lots of seasons
what determines the length of a day
how long it takes a planet to rotate once on its axis
how many spheres does earth have
4
what are the 4 spheres and what do they represent?
- hydrosphere = water in a solid or liquid state (oceans, rivers, lakes, seas)
- geosphere or lithosphere = system associated with the solid rocky portions of Earth and all the things that shape Earth the way it is (rock, mountains, sea bed)
- atmosphere = particles in the air (clouds, gases, hurricanes)
- biosphere = all living things on Earth (animals, plants)
what are constellations
groups of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure.
what are star clusters
a star cluster is a group of stars that share a common origin and have been gravitationally bound together for some time
what are the 4 layers of the earth and their definition
- crust - the outer layer of the earth made of plates. we live on this. it is 8-65km thick
- mantle - the layer of molten rock on which the crust floats on
- outer core - liquid iron and nickel
- inner core - solid iron and nickel
what are plates
the earth is divided into many plates. they are constantly moving and have shaped the continents we see today
what is the theory of continental drift
all continents used to be joined together and are slowly shifting their position
what is a supercontinent
many continents joined together
what supercontinent was NZ from
gondawa
what was on NZ before humans arrived
their were no land-based mammals on earth before humans arrived
what was similar about areas that used to be joined together
similar rock types, deserts, fossils, animals, biomes
what happens when you heat a liquid or gas
it expands, becomes less dense and rises
what happens when you cool a liquid or gas
the liquid or gas drops down and repeats the process
what is convection
the process of gas or liquid heating up and rising and then cooling and dropping
what are convection currents
convection currents are the process of convection in earth’s mantle
what causes plates to move
convection currents in the liquid mantle generated by heat from deep inside the core cause the Earth’s plates to move
how can plates move
they can move towards, away or slide past one another
