Solar System

Question 0

Convection envelope

Answer 0

Hot gases from the radiative zone are able to rise to the surface and fall as they cool which creates large convection cells

Question 1

What three components make up the majority of the Sun’s mass?

Answer 1

Hydrogen (70%)
Helium (28%)
Metals (2%)

Question 2

Photosphere

Answer 2

The visible surface of the sun

Question 3

Chromosphere

Answer 3

Temperatures increase and large solar flares occur here

Question 4

Radiation zone

Answer 4

Energy generated by nuclear fusion moves outward as electromagnetic radiation. This energy is conveyed as gamma ray photons.

Question 5

Corona

Answer 5

A very thin and hot layer of the Sun that is only visible during a total eclipse

Question 6

Core (of the sun)

Answer 6

The hear in the core destroys the composition of atoms

Question 7

Solar flare

Answer 7

Sudden, bright outbursts of energy that happen as the sun’s magnetic fields twist, tear, and reconnect

Question 8

Sunspot

Answer 8

Dark, planet-sized regions of the sun that are cooler than the surrounding surface

Question 9

List the five terrestrial worlds

Answer 9

Mercury
Venus
Earth
The moon
Mars

Question 10

3 features of Mercury’s core

Answer 10

Thick
Makes up 75% of the planet’s radius
Partially molten
-causes magnetic field

Question 11

Why does Mercury lack an atmosphere?

Answer 11

The intense solar winds

Question 12

Atmosphere on Venus

Answer 12

It produces a run-away greenhouse gas effect

Question 13

What’s unique about the clouds on Venus?

Answer 13

The planet is surrounded by a thick layer of clouds composed of sulfuric acid

Question 14

Earth’s core

Answer 14

The core is a nickel iron mixture and is solid. It spins in a molten outer core which causes a magnetic field that protects the earth from solar winds

Question 15

How long does it take the moon to orbit the earth?

Answer 15

29.5 days

Question 16

Name and describe the two types of terrain on the moon

Answer 16

There’s heavily crated and older highlands as well as younger and smoother maria (impact craters later flooded by lava)

Question 17

Why don’t solar eclipses happen every month?

Answer 17

The moon’s orbit is tilted 5% to Earth’s orbit around the sun

Question 18

What are two types of lunar eclipses and how do they differ?

Answer 18

Penumbral Shadow: the earth blocks only some of the Sun’s rays from reaching the moon

Umbral Shadow: the earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon

Question 19

Core of mars

Answer 19

Not very dense and made up of iron sulfide

Question 20

What exists at the north and south poles of Mars?

Answer 20

North - many volcanoes

South - heavily crated

Question 21

Atmosphere on Mars

Answer 21

It’s a very thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide

Question 22

What are asteroids?

Answer 22

Chunks of rock and metal that orbit around the Sun. Most likely rocks and debris that never formed into planets.

Question 23

Composition of Jupiter’s atmosphere

Answer 23

Hydrogen (75%)
Helium gas (24%)

Structure similar to those of terrestrial planets but temperature and pressure vary greatly

Question 24

What creates the banding pattern on Jupiter?

Answer 24

Circulation cells

Question 25

What is the Great Red Spot?

Answer 25

A storm, similar to a hurricane, that has been going on for centuries on Jupiter. Caused by a continual high pressure.

Question 26

What are Saturn’s rings composed of?

Answer 26

Ice particles

Question 27

What gives Uranus its blue color?

Answer 27

Condensed methane gas in the atmosphere

Question 28

How can a spherical planet be tipped in its side?

Answer 28

A collision with another planet-sized body early in the history of the solar system caused Uranus to tip

Question 29

What makes up neptune’s atmosphere?

Answer 29

Hydrogen, helium, and methane

Question 30

What are comets?

Answer 30

Small icy bodies that spend most of their lives well beyond the orbit of Neptune

Question 31

What causes the tails of comets to form?

Answer 31

Comets from tails when they enter the inner solar system. Their tails are made of melting ice and dust being blown into space by solar winds.

Question 32

In what regions are the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud found?

Answer 32

Kuiper Belt: begins in Neptune’s vicinity and extends about 100 AU into space

Oort Cloud: a huge spherical region centered on the Sun and extends about halfway to the nearest stars