Unit 1 Vocabulary

Question 1

What is matter?

Answer 1

Matter is anything that takes up space AND has mass.

Question 2

What is mass?

Answer 2

The amount of matter in an object. The base unit for mass is grams. Mass is measured using a scale.

Question 3

What is weight?

Answer 3

The mass of an object multiplied by the force of gravity.

Question 4

What is density?

Answer 4

Density is how tightly packed an object’s molecules are. The base unit for density is g/cm^3. Density is measured using a scale and a graduated cylinder. Density = Mass / Volume.

Question 5

What is volume?

Answer 5

Volume is the amount of space that something takes up. The base unit for volume is the Liter. We measure volume using a graduated cylinder.

Question 6

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

Answer 6

The range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.

Question 7

What is visible light?

Answer 7

The segment of the electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view.

Question 8

What is radiation?

Answer 8

Energy that comes from a source and travels through space at the speed of light.

Question 9

What is wavelength?

Answer 9

The distance from the top or bottom of one wave to the next wave.

Question 10

What is frequency?

Answer 10

The number of waves in a specific space. Short wavelength means higher frequency. Long wavelength means lower frequency.

Question 11

What is the Doppler Effect?

Answer 11

The frequency of waves increases when an object is moving towards us. The frequency of waves decreases when an object moves away from us.

Question 12

What is red shift?

Answer 12

When an object in space is moving away from us, the light from the object shifts towards red. When the object is moving towards us, the light from the object shifts towards blue.

Question 13

What is the Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy?

Answer 13

The law states that within a closed system, matter and energy can change form, but the total amount of matter and energy is constant.

Question 14

What is luminosity?

Answer 14

The actual brightness of a star. Luminosity does not take distance into consideration.

Question 15

What is an HR-Diagram?

Answer 15

A graph that shows the relationship between a star’s luminosity and its temperature. The types of stars on an HR diagram are blue giant, main sequence, white dwarf, red giant and red supergiant.

Question 16

What is revolution?

Answer 16

When an object of a lower mass moves around an object with a greater mass due to gravity.

Question 17

What is an orbit?

Answer 17

The shape of the path of an object’s revolution.

Question 18

What is rotation?

Answer 18

Spinning on an axis.

Question 19

What is the habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone?

Answer 19

The distance a planet needs to be from its sun to potentially sustain life. Cannot be too hot or too cold.

Question 20

What is an exoplanet?

Answer 20

A planet located outside of our solar system.

Question 21

What is Nuclear Fusion

Answer 21

Where two light atomic atoms combine to form a heavier atom, releasing a significant amount of energy in the process

Question 22

What is eccentricity?

Answer 22

The shape of an object’s orbit.