Space Flashcards
What is a planet?
A spherical object that orbits a star.
What is a star?
A very large sphere of burning gas in space.
State the name of the star the earth travels around.
The sun
What word is used to describe the path an object takes around another object in space?
Orbit
What name is given to the planets and other objects that orbit the sun?
The solar system.
What shape do most planetary orbits have>
Elliptical.
Name the planets in our solar system in order of distance from the sun.
Mercury, Venus, earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
What is an asteroid?
A small rocky object orbiting the sun.
What is a comet?
An object made of rock, ice and dust orbiting the sun.
What is a galaxy?
A group of billions of stars.
What is the universe?
All objects in space together.
What is a vacuum>
An area which has no particles.
What is a light year?
The distance travelled by light in a year.
How is a protostar formed?
The force of gravity pulls the dust and gas together.
What word is used to describe the amount of material in an object.
Mass
What is the unit and unit symbol for mass.
kilograms, kg.
What is a field?
The area around an object where a non-contact force acts.
What kind of field causes weight?
Gravitational field.
How does mass change in the universe?
It does no change; it remains the same.
How does weight change in the universe?
It depend on the gravitational field strength of a location.
What type of force is gravity?
Non-contact force.
Which two factors affect the weight of an object?
Mass and gravitational field strength.
What is gravitational field strength?
How strong a gravitational field is.
What is the gravitational field strength on Earth?
9.8N/kg.
What is the unit and unit symbol for gravitational field strength?
Newtons per kilogram(N/kg)
What is the symbol for weight?
W
What is the unit and unit symbol for weight?
Newtons,N.
What is the equation that relates to weight, mass and gravitational field strength?
W= m x g
In what direction does gravity act?
Towards the centre of objects.
What is a satellite?
An object that orbits a larger object in space.
How long is a year on Earth in days.
365.25 days.
What is the name of the imaginary line that goes vertically through the Earth?
Earth’s Axis.
What is the name for the imaginary line that goes horizontally through the middle of the Earth?
The equator.
What causes day and night?
The earth spinning on it’s axis.
How long is a day on Earth in hours?
24 hours.
What does the equator separate the world into?
North and South hemisphere.
How far is the Earth axis tilted by?
23.4 degrees.
What causes seasons?
Earth’s tilted axis and it’s orbit around the sun.
Give three factors that are affected by seasons.
Average temperature, length of day, height of the sun in the sky.
Explain how the titled axis affects light from the sun?
The more tilted the surfaced, the greater the area light must spread out over.
If the North pole is tilted towards the Sun, what season will it be in the Northern hemisphere?
Summer.
If the North pole is tilted towards the Sun, what season will it be in the southern hemisphere?
Winter.
Why is it hotter in the hemisphere which is pointed to the sun?
The sunlight is concentrated.
