The Solar System

Question 1

The _________ is the sun and all of the planets and other bodies that travel around it.

Answer 1

SOLAR SYSTEM

Question 2

Until the time of Copernicus, most scientists thought the _________ model of the solar system was correct.

Answer 2

GEOCENTRIC

Question 3

An apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations is called ______.

Answer 3

PARALLAX

Question 4

Who first observed the phases of Venus?

Answer 4

Galileo Galilei

Question 5

Who attempted to measure the relative distance to the moon and the sun?

Answer 5

Aristarchus

Question 6

Who replaced circles with ellipses in a heliocentric model of the universe?

Answer 6

Kepler

Question 7

Whose heliocentric model is seen as the first step in the development of modern models of the solar system?

Answer 7

Ptolemy

Question 8

How did data gathered using Galileo’s early telescope support the heliocentric model?

Answer 8

Galileo discovered the moons Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede orbiting Jupiter. This proved that Jupiter, like Earth, had bodies orbiting it. Galileo also observed the phases of Venus. This indicated that Venus traveled around the sun and not
Earth.

Question 9

How did Aristotle’s inability to detectparallax lead him to propose a geocentricmodel of the solar system?

Answer 9

Because Aristotle could see no detectable change in the positions of the stars, he thought that Earth was immovable and that Earth was the center of the solar
system

Question 10

Small bodies from which the planets formed are called ________.

Answer 10

PLANETESIMALS

Question 11

The path that a body follows as it travels aroundanother body in space is its __________.

Answer 11

ORBIT

Question 12

The ________ is the cloud of gas and dust from which our solar system formed.

Answer 12

SOLAR NEBULA

Question 13

Define GRAVITY:

Answer 13

Gravity is a universal force of attraction between bodies that is due to their masses and the distance between them.

Question 14

How did the sun formed?

Answer 14

Temperatures in the center of the protostellar disk grew so hot that the fusion process began. The fusion process caused outward pressure to balance the inward pull of gravity, which stopped the collapse of matter and gave birth to the sun.

Question 15

How did planetesimals form?

Answer 15

Dust grains stuck together to form dust granules. Dust granules increased in size until they became meter sized objects. Meter-sized objects collided to form
kilometer-sized planetesimals.

Question 16

On page 481, what law is illustrated in this diagram?

Answer 16

Kepler 2nd Law- planets move faster in their orbits when closer to the sun.

Question 17

How does gravity keep the planets in orbit around the sun?

Answer 17

The sun exerts a gravitational force upon the planets that causes the planets to move in elliptical orbits around the sun.

Question 18

How do temperature differences in the protoplanetary disk explain the arrangement of the planets in the solar system?

Answer 18

In the hot inner protoplanetary disk, only rocky, metallic planets could form. In the cold outer protoplanetary disk, only planets with small, rocky cores and thick
gaseous atmospheres could form.

Question 19

The process by which two or more low-mass atomic nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus is called ________.

Answer 19

NUCLEAR FUSION

Question 20

A _______ is a dark area on the surface of the sun that is cooler than the surrounding areas.

Answer 20

SUNSPOT

Question 21

A _________ is a loop of relatively cool gas that extends above the photosphere.

Answer 21

PROMINENCE

Question 22

What is the layer of the sun from which energy escapes into space?

Answer 22

Photosphere

Question 23

What is the layer of the sun in which energy is produced?

Answer 23

Core

Question 24

What is the layer of the sun through which energy is transferred away from the core by radiation?

Answer 24

Radiative Zone

Question 25

What is the composition of the sun?

Answer 25

hydrogen (74%), helium (25%), and other elements (1%)

Question 26

Where in the universe is the sun located?

Answer 26

The sunspot cycle is a roughly 11-year period during which the number of sunspots on the sun’s surface goes from a minimum to a maximum and then back to a minimum.

Question 27

How many days does it take for the sun to spin once on its axis at location A? How many days does it take for the sun to spin once on its axis at location B?

Answer 27

A: 25 days; B: 35 days

Question 28

How is the rotation of the sun different from the rotation of Earth?

Answer 28

Unlike Earth, which has the same rotation period at all latitudes, the sun has different
rotation periods at different latitudes.

Question 29

Explain how energy is transported from the core to the surface of the sun by radiation and by convection.

Answer 29

Radiation: energy is transferred through the radiative zone in the form of electromagnetic waves; electromagnetic waves do not travel directly through the radiative zone but are absorbed and re-emitted by particles until they reach the top of the radiative 3 zone; Convection: energy is transported to the sun’s surface in convection cells in which hot gases rise to the sun’s surface, cool, and sink back into the convective zone.