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43 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Which one of the following is NOT a correct description of a pattern of motion shared by the planets in our solar system
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Most planets rotate in the opposite direction compared to the direction in which they orbit the Sun
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Which one of the following is NOT an exception to the general patterns seen in the solar system
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the rings of Saturn
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Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of the inner (terrestrial) planets
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They all have substantial atmospheres
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Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of the outer (jovian) planets
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They have very few, if any, satellites
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Which planet has the Highest average surface temperature, and why
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Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere that traps heat
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Which one of the following observations BEST indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past
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There are numerous dried-up riverbeds on Mars
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Through nuclear fusion, the Sun converts 4 million tons of ___ into energy per second
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Hydrogen
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Which one of the following statements is NOT correct (Earth)
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Earth's atmosphere is mostly oxygen
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The nebular theory explains ___
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the formation of the solar system
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The shrinking solar nebula does three things. Which of the following is NOT one of those things?
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Generates a huge magnetic field because of the fluid nature of the small rtating particles
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Two scientists associated with the nebular hypothesis are
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Kant and Laplace
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What do meteorites reveal about the solar system
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Meteorites reveal that the age of the solar system is between 4.55 and 4.60 billion years old
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The nebular theory of the formation of the solar system successfully predicts all but ONE of the following. Which one does the theory NOT predict
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The equal number of terrestrial and jovian planets
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Planetesimal seed formation was due to ___ of solid particles at low temperatures
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condensation
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The ___occurs between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where the temperature is less than 150 K
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frost line
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The process of growth by colliding and sticking is called
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accretion
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The first few hundred million years of the solar system saw a period of
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heavy bombardment
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Which lists the major steps of solar system formation in the correct order
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collapse, condensation, accretion
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Leftover ice-rich planetesimals are called
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comets
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Why didnt a terrestrial planet form at the location of the asteroid belt
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Jupiter's gravity kept sizable planetesimal from accreting
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What is the leading theory for the formation of the Moon?
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The moon formed from the material ejected in a a giant impact (giant impact theory)
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Radiometric dating has also indicated that the source of the "trigger" to begin our solar system formation came from
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the explosion of a nearby star (supernova)
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Which planet is the LEAST dense, such that it would float in a tub of water (if a large enough tub could be found)
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Saturn
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Rocks well over 4 billion years old have been found on the Moon. Why are most of the oldest complete rocks found on the Earth only about 3.7-3.8 billion years old?
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Plate tectonics subducted most of the oldest rocks back into the Earth where they were re-melted and thus lost to us.
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In August 2006, the IAU defined what makes a planet in our solar system. Which one of the following statements is NOT part of that definition
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A plaent must be larger in diameter than 1,000 km (621 miles)
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The Sun's radius is approximately ___ times the radius of the Earth
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100
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From our point of view here on Earth, when a planet crosses in front of the Sun or a mooon crosses in front of its plaent, we call that phenomenon a
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transit
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The extreme greenhouse effect on Venus occurs because
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incoming visible light strikes the surface, is absorbed, and radiates as infrared light, which cannot penetrate the dense clouds composed mostly of CO2
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The Van Allen belts that encircle the Earth are a consequence of Earth's
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magnetic field
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Jupiter is a little over ___ AU from the Sun. (hint: Each number below is associated with an actual planet)
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5
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Neptune's largest moon, Triton, orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to its other satellites, implying that Triton ___
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is most likely a Kuiper Belt object that wandered too close to Neptune and was captured by its gravity
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The largest Kuiper Belt object found so far, 2003 UB313, was given what "proper" name by the IAU in 2006
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Eris
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Pluto currently has ___ moons
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3
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Finding the ages of rocks using the principles of radioactive decay in isotopes is called
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radiometric dating
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The ___ extends outward to between 50,000 and 100,000 AU, may contain 10^12 comets, and is roughly speherical in shape
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Oort Cloud
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Elements that make up the planets and us were formed through the process of
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galactic recycling
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The shrinking solar nebula flattened into a disk because of
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collisions between particles in a spinning cloud
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Rock (silicon-based minerals) condenses at around
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500-1,300 K
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At the end of the era of planet formation, the remaining H and He gas was swept away into interstellar space primarliy by the
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Strong solar wind
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Angular momentum transfer from the young Sun occurred because of a
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strong solar wind and strong solar magnetic field
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After its birth, the young Sun was spinning much ___ than it is now
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faster
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___ discovered the two moons of Mars_Phobos and Deimos- in 1877
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Hall
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The discovery of the 4.4-billion-year-old zircon on Earth implies that
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Earth was much cooler earlier than anyone had previously thought
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