Planets Flashcards

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1
Q

Inner Planets

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

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2
Q

Outer Planets

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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3
Q

Mercury’s period of revolution

A

88 days

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4
Q

Which planet has the hottest surface of any planet?

A

Venus

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5
Q

Why is Mars red?

A

because of the iron in the soil

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6
Q

Name the largest planet

A

Jupiter

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7
Q

What is the Great Red Spot?

A

the storm system on Jupiter that is 400 years old

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8
Q

What is the 2nd largest planet?

A

Saturn

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9
Q

What color does Uranus appear?

A

blue green

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10
Q

Which planet’s axis is tilted on its side?

A

Uranus

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11
Q

Which planet has the great dark spot?

A

Neptune

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12
Q

Which planet rotates in the opposite direction from the Earth?

A

Venus

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13
Q

What are the gas giants?

A

the outer planets are called gas giants because they have a deep, massive atmosphere

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14
Q

What are terrestrial planets?

A

the inner planets are terrestrial planets because they are dense and rocky

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15
Q

the amount of time an object takes to rotate

A

period of rotation

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16
Q

the amount of time an object takes to revolve around the sun once

A

period of revolution

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17
Q

the counter-clockwise spin of a planet or moon as seen from its north pole

A

prograde rotation

18
Q

the clockwise spin of a planet or moon as seen from its north pole

A

retrograde rotation

19
Q

the average distance between the Earth and the sun

A

astronomical unit (approx. 150 million km) symbol is AU

20
Q

Kepler’s 3 Laws of Planetary Motion

A

1- the orbit of every planet is an ellipse with the sun at its focus
2- Planets move faster when they are closer to the sun than when farther away
3- Calculation: relationship between how long a planet’s rotation is and its distance from the sun

21
Q

the spin of a body on its axis

A

rotation

22
Q

the path that a body follows as it travels around another body in space

A

orbit

23
Q

the motion of a body that travels around another body in space

A

revolution

24
Q

cooler, dark spots on the photosphere of the sun that have a strong magnetic field

A

sunspots

25
Q

sunspot cycle

A

11 years

26
Q

regions of extremely high temps and brightness that develop on the sun’s surface

A

solar flares

27
Q

linked to climate change

A

sun spots

28
Q

can interrupt radio communications

A

solar flares

29
Q

Which planet is most like Earth’s twin?

A

Venus

30
Q

Scientists believe that the water on Mars now exists as:

A

two polar icecaps

31
Q

List 3 differences between and 3 similarities of Venus and Earth

A

Differences: 1- direction of rotation, 2- Venus’ atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide and some destructive acids, 3 the greenhouse effect traps heat causing Venus’ surface temp to be very high.
Similarities: 1- similar in size, 2- both have volcanoes, 3- Venus’ gravity is 91% of Earth’s

32
Q

What are some characteristics of Earth that make it suitable for life?

A

Earth is warm enough to keep most of its water from freezing and cool enough to keep it from evaporating.

33
Q

Why is the surface temp of Venus higher than the surface temps of other planets in our solar system?

A

The high carbon dioxide content of the air on Venus causes a greenhouse effect, trapping heat and raising the surface temp.

34
Q

What are Saturn’s rings made of?

A

icy particles

35
Q

Which outer planets have rings?

A

all of them

36
Q

Why does Jupiter give off more energy into space than it receives from the sun?

A

Jupiter’s interior is very hot

37
Q

What is unusual about Pluto’s moon Charon?

A

Charon is more than half the size of Pluto, making it the largest satellite relative to its planet in the solar system.

38
Q

The many colors of Jupiter’s atmosphere are probably caused by what in the atmosphere?

A

organic compounds

39
Q

a large cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space. a region in space where stars are born or where stars explode at the end of their lives

A

nebula

40
Q

the cloud of gas and dust that formed our solar system

A

solar nebula

41
Q

the process by which two or more low-mass nuclei join together (fuse) to form another nucleus

A

nuclear fusion