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EXCOS 1X > The Solar System > Flashcards

The Solar System Flashcards

Lectures 1-3

1
Q

Out of the 13 planetary bodies, how many are planets?

A

8

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2
Q

Out of the 13 planetary bodies, how many are dwarf planets?

A

5

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3
Q

What are the three factors that define a planet by the IAU?

A
  • It must orbit the sun
  • It must be large enough to take a spherical shape.
  • It must have cleared it’s orbit of other planets
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4
Q

What are the four factors that define a dwarf planet by the IAU?

A
  • It must orbit the sun
  • It must be large enough to take on a spherical shape
  • It has not cleared it’s orbit
  • It is not a satellite
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5
Q

What are the two types of planets?

A

Terrestrial and Jovian

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6
Q

Which are the Terrestrial planets?

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

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7
Q

Which are the Jovian planets?

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

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8
Q

What three factors would define a terrestrial planet?

A
  • High Density
  • Solid Rocky Surface
  • Metallic core
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9
Q

What factors would describe a Jovian planet?

A
  • Low Density
  • Gaseous
  • Not defined surface
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10
Q

List the five official dwarf planets

A
  • Ceres
  • Pluto
  • Eris
  • Haumea
  • Makemake
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11
Q

What are Kepler’s three laws?

A
  • Planets orbit the sun in an ellipse with the Sun and the centre
  • The line between the planet and the sun sweeps out an area at a constant rate
  • The period of the orbit of a planet is proportional to a3/2 where a is the semi-major axis of the ellipse.
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12
Q

What is De Buffon’s Passing Star Model (Catastrophic Model)?

A

The theory that planets were formed by the sun pulling materials from another star close to it.

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13
Q

What are 3 examples of problems of De Buffon’s Passing Star Model?

A
  • The material pulled from the sun would be very hot and unlikely to form planets.
  • Circular orbits would be unlikely
  • Does not explain varying properties of different planets
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14
Q

What is the Evolutionary model?

A

The sun and the planets are formed from a nebula of gas and dust

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15
Q

What is stage 1 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis?

A

The cloud of Gas and Dust

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16
Q

What happens at stage 1 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis (The cloud of gas and dust)

A

The sun and the planets are formed at the same time from rotating cloud of gas.

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17
Q

What is stage 2 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis?

A

Disc rotation

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18
Q

What are the 3 steps of stage in the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis (Disc Rotation)?

A
  • As the clouds rotated, it became smaller.
  • Gravity causes a concentration at the centre of the disc which became the sun.
  • Further from the centre, dust and molecules of gas created other bodies by a process of accretion.
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19
Q

What is stage 3 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis?

A

The formation of planetesimals

20
Q

What happens during stage 3 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis? (the formation of planetismals) (3 factors)

A
  • The accretion bodies formed in Stage 3 are too small for gravity to be effective
  • Clumps of matter acted as condensation nuclei
  • Through electrostatic forces, the bodies started to coalesce and grow.
21
Q

What is stage 4 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis?

A

The formation of protoplanets

22
Q

What happens during stage 4 of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis? (the formation of protoplanets) (2 points)

A
  • At this point, clumps have coalesced into larger bodies (about 100km in diameter)
  • Due to their size, they have a large gravitional attraction and collect other bodies effectively until they become planets.
23
Q

What are the 2 successes of the evolutionary model/the solar nebula hypothesis?

A
  • Explains the disc shape of a solar system

- Explain why everything rotates the same way

24
Q

What two elements can small planets not capture?

A

Hydrogen and helium

25
Q

How many times the mass of the earth must a planet be before it captures gas?

A

15x the mass of the earth

26
Q

What is stage 1 of the formation of the planet?

A

Accretion and Differentiation

27
Q

What is accretion and differentiation?

A
  • Accrection is when it pulls part of matter to form protoplanets.
  • Differentation is when gravity pulls heavier elements to the planet’s core
28
Q

What is stage 2 of the formation of the planet?

A

Period of intense bombardment

29
Q

What happens at stage 2 of the formation of the planet? (The period of intense bombardment)

A

The planet pulls remaining debris and creates cratering.

30
Q

What is stage 3 of the formation of the planet?

A

Flooding by Lava and Water

31
Q

What is stage 4 of the formation of the planet?

A

Slow evolution

32
Q

What 2 points are made for the reason of excess debris being cleared?

A
  • Solar winds and radiation

- Gravity removed larger bodies

33
Q

How old is the solar system?

A

4.6 x 10-9 years old

34
Q

How old is the universe?

A

14 x 10-9 years old

35
Q

How do we know about the interior of the Earth?

A

Seismac waves

36
Q

What are the two types of seismac waves?

A

Shear and Pressure

37
Q

What are the three stages of the interior of the Earth?

A
  • The Crust
  • The Mantle
  • The Core
38
Q

What is the depth of the crust of the earth?

39
Q

What is the range between the mantle and the core?

A

60km-2800km

40
Q

What is the range of the outer part of the core and how dense is it? (Solid or Liquid?)

A

2800-5200km, liquid

41
Q

What is the range of the inner part of the core and how dense is it? (Solid or Liquid?)

A

5200-6300km, solid

42
Q

What is the temperature of the Earth’s core?

A

Around 5000 degrees.

43
Q

What are the three requirements for a magnetic field (dynamo effect)

A
  • Electrically conduncting liquid core
  • Convection currents in the core
  • Fast rate of rotation
44
Q

What is the Magnetosphere?

A

Region of space that is controlled by the magnetic field and not solar winds.

45
Q

What is the point of the Magnetosphere?

A

Keeps solar wind away from surface

46
Q

What region of the Earth is the lithosphere located?

A

The top of the mantle

EXCOS 1X (6 decks)

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