Unit 5: The Solar System & Planets Flashcards
1
Q
What kind of interior does Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Pluto have?
A
An Iron-nickel core and rock
2
Q
What kind of interior does Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have?
A
Liquid metallic hydrogen, water, rock and iron, and molecular hydrogen gas changing to liquid at base
3
Q
What allows a planet to form?
A
The conservation of angular momentum converts the slowly rotating molecular cloud into a fast-spinning disk
4
Q
What is angular momentum
A
It’s the rotational equivalent of momentum
5
Q
What is kinetic energy?
A
Energy in motion
6
Q
What is gravitational potential energy?
A
Energy contained within gravitational attraction
7
Q
What causes material to heat up as it collapses, with it being the hottest near the center
A
Conservation of energy
