The Solar System And Its Functions Flashcards
0
Q
Inertia
A
- an object will stay at rest
- and a object in motion will maintain the direction and speed of that motion
1
Q
The planets and all other bodies that orbit the sun operate under a balance between…..
A
Inertia and gravitation
2
Q
Gravitation
A
- the attractive force that exists between any two objects in the universe
- rules 1: the greater the mass of one or more objects, the greater the gravitational attraction
- rules 2: the closer together two objects are, the greater the gravitational attraction between them
3
Q
Orbital speed
A
- each planets orbit has some eccentricity
- Each planets orbital speed velocity will vary during the year
- when a planet is closer to the sun it is called perihelion and its orbital speed will be the fastest: January 3rd
- when a planet is furthest from the sun it is called aphelion and its orbital speed will be the slowest: July 4th
4
Q
Motions of earths moon
A
- the revolution of the moon around earth as earth revolves around the sun results in: phases of the moon, tides, and eclipses
- moon revolves around earth in elliptical orbit
- tilted about 5 degrees from earths orbit
- has a period of 27.3 days
- the moon also rotates on axis in 27.3 days
5
Q
Moon phases
A
- half of the moon is always receiving light from the sun at any given time - except during lunar eclipses
- varying amounts of lighted moon seen from earth known as the phases of the moon
- because the revolution of the moon around earth is cyclic the phases of the moon are also cyclic
- *bc of the revolution of the earth moon system around the sun, the cycle of phases is longer than the time of one revolution of the moon
- from one full moon to the next it is 29.5 days
6
Q
The term solar system refers to any star of group of stars that has
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Any non-star objects orbiting it (planets, moons, astroids)
7
Q
What makes up our solar system is the
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Sun and all objects that orbit the sun under its gravitational force
8
Q
Planet characteristics
A
- a planets distance from the sun has a major effect on its characteristics
- the planets are grouped into two categories:
1. Inner terrestrial planets
2. Outer jovian planets
9
Q
Inner terrestrial planets
A
- close to the sun and mostly solid
- have relatively small diameters and high densities
- have rocky surfaces and few to no moons Nd no rings
- includes: mercury, venus, earth, and mars
10
Q
Outer jovian planets
A
- far from the sun and largely gasious
- relatively large diameters and low densities
- NO solid surfaces and therefore no craters
- many moons, has rings
- includes: jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
11
Q
My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles
A
Mercury(my) Venus(very) Earth(educated) Mars(mother) Jupiter(just) Saturn(served) Uranus(us) Neptune(noodles)
12
Q
Planet revolution
A
- a planets revolution is its movement around the sun in a path called an orbit
- the planets revolve around the sun in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from polaris
- earths orbit is an oval shape called an ellipse
- within the ellipse are two fixed points called foci
- the sun is at one of the foci of each planetary orbit in the solar system
- the major axis of an ellipse is the longest straight-line distance across an ellipse- the biggest diameter- and it cuts through the two foci
13
Q
Eccentricity of planet orbits
A
- oval and ellipse is measured by its eccentricity
- eccentricity….. Highest value is 1 and the lowest value is 0
- if the eccentricity of an ellipse is close to 1 the ellipse is long and skinny: more oval like
- if the eccentricity is close to 0 the ellipse is more like a circle
14
Q
When the ellipse becomes more like a circle, the eccentricity will begin to
A
Decrease towards 0
