Test#1 Flashcards
Eccentricity
Measure of how much an ellipse deviates from a perfect circle
Apparent retrograde motion
A planet appears to move westward with respect to the background stars
Ecliptic
Suns apparent path to the constellations
Newtons 1st Law of Motion
An object will remain at rest or move in a straight line at constant speed unless a force acts
Angular momentum
Momentum attributable to rotation or revolution
Alpha decay
Too many protons in nucleus; becomes unstable. Nucleus loses 2 protons and 2 neutrons causing it to change into another element. The sum of the mass numbers of the product is equal to the mass number of the parent nucleus
Electromagnetic radiation
Light of all types form radio waves to gamma rays
Electromagnetic spectrum
The complete spectrum of light including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet light, x rays, and gamma rays
Seafloor spreading
New sea floor crust at mid ocean ridges
Gamma rays
Lights with very short wave lengths
Photon
An individual particle of light
Planetary nebula
Glowing cloud of gas ejected from low mass stars at the end of it’s life
Velocity
Combination of speed and direction of motion
Differentiation
Gravity separates materials according to density
Wavelength
The distance between adjacent peaks of a wave
Local group
A group of 40 galaxies
Solar wind
A stream of charger particles ejected from the sun
Metamorphic rock
Rock made from igneous or sedimentary rock
Aurora borealis
Dancing lights in the skies cause by charged particles
3 types of rock
Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic
Where did the earths atmosphere and oceans come from?
Impacts of icy comets and volcanic outgassing
Ice age
Period of global cooling where glaciers and snow existed
Cosmic microwave background
Radiation from the Big Bang
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion
Principle that for any force, there is always an equal and opposite reaction force
The six periods on the Paleozoic era are
- Cambrian
- Ordovician
- Silurian
- Devonian
- Carboniferous
- Permian
Proterozoic eon
- earliest evidence of oxygen in atmosphere
- oldest eukaryotic fossils
- build up of oxygen
When where mammals prominent?
Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era
Phanerozoic eon is divided into three main eras
- Paleozoic “old life”
- Mesozoic “middle life”
- Cenozoic “recent life”
What are the three periods in the Mesozoic era?
- Triassic
- Jurassic
- Cretaceous
What did the Big Bang produce?
H, He, Li
Hydrogen, helium, lithium
Radiometric dating
Determining the age of a rock
Semi-major axis
1/2 the distance across the long axis of an ellipse
Dinosaurs prominent in what era?
Mesozoic era
Supernova
Explosion of a star
Big Bang
Event thought to mark the birth of the universe
Accretion
Small objects gathering together to make larger objects
Atoms
Made of protons and neutrons
Blueshift
Spectral features shifted to shorter wave length
Redshift
Wavelengths shift to longer wavelengths
Stars produce what?
Carbon and oxygen
Mass number
The number of protons and neutrons in an atom
Astrobiology
Study of the universe combined with the study of life
Silurian period
- Paleozoic era
- animals colonize land
Newtons 2nd law of motion
Law stating how a net force affects an objects motion
Frequency
Rate at which peaks of light of a wave pass by a point
What period were in the Cenozoic era?
Tertiary period
Lunar Maria
Regions of the moon that look smooth from earth but are basins
Beta decay
The ratio of protons and neutrons is unbalanced do a neutron inside the nucleus breaks down and changes into a proton, it emits an electron. The atomic number goes up by one & mass stays the same.
Ordovician period
- Paleozoic era
- plants and fungi colonize land
Erosion
Wearing down or building up of geological features by wind
Nucleus
Compact center of an atom made from protons and neutrons
Cambrian period
- Paleozoic era
- cambrian explosion of animal diversity
Kepler’s 2nd law
As a planet moves around it’s orbit, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times
Archean eon
- oldest stromatolites
- oldest microfossils evidence of life
Gamma decay
An unbanned unstable nucleus releases access energy by emitting a gamma ray. Mass number and atomic number are constant. Nucleus rearranges itself into a lower energy form
Triassic period
Mammals and dinosaurs appear
Aphelion
The point at which an object orbiting the sun is farthest from the sun
Alpha particle
Made of two protons and two neutrons; helium particle
When did hominids appear?
In the tertiary period of the Cenozoic era
Electron capture
Electrons jump into nucleus, atomic number goes down mass number remains constant opposite of beta decay
Keplers 3rd law
The square of a planets orbital period is proportional to the cube of it’s average distance from the sun
Doppler effect
Effect that shifts wavelengths of spectral features in objects
Ellipse
Type of oval that happens to be the shape of bound orbits
