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C H A P T E R
1 2
KEY TERMS
accretion (p. 253)
asteroid (p. 245)
carbonaceous chondrite (p. 249)
catastrophic theory (p. 258)
comet (p. 245)
condensation (p. 253)
condensation sequence (p. 253)
debris disk (p. 260)
differentiation (p. 254)
evolutionary theory (p. 258)
extrasolar planet (p. 260)
Galilean satellite (p. 247)
gravitational collapse (p. 254)
half-life (p. 250)
heat of formation (p. 259)
heavy bombardment (p. 255)
ice line (p. 253)
Jovian planet (p. 246)
Kuiper belt (p. 249)
meteor (p. 249)
meteor shower (p. 250)
meteorite (p. 249)
meteoroid (p. 249)
NEO (Near Earth Object) (p. 256)
Oort cloud (p. 259)
outgassing (p. 254)
planetesimal (p. 253)
protoplanet (p. 254)
solar nebula theory (p. 242)
Terrestrial planet (p. 246)
uncompressed density (p. 252)
volatile (p. 248)
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1.
What produced the helium now present in the sun’s atmosphere? In Jupiter’s atmosphere? In the sun’s
core?
2.
According to the solar nebula theory, why is the sun’s equator nearly in the plane of Earth’s orbit?
3.
Why does the solar nebula theory predict that planetary systems are common?
4.
What is the difference between condensation and accretion?
5.
What evidence can you cite that planets orbit other stars?
ADDITIONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
1.
What produced the iron and heavier elements like gold and silver in Earth’s core and crust?
2.
What evidence can you cite that disks of gas and dust are common around young stars?
3.
Why do astronomers think that the solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago?
4.
If you visited another planetary system, would you be surprised to find planets older than Earth? Why or
why not?
5.
Why is almost every solid surface of our solar system scarred by craters?
6.
Why don’t Terrestrial planets have rings like the Jovian planets?
7.
How does solar nebula theory explain the dramatic density difference between the Terrestrial and Jovian
planets?
8.
What does the term differential mean when applied to a planet? Would you expect to find that planets
are usually differentiated? Why?
9.
What processes cleared the nebula away and ended planet building?
10. What is the difference between the dense hot disks seen around some stars and the low-density cold
debris disks seen around some other stars?
11. What is the difference between a catastrophic theory and an evolutionary theory?
12. How can scientists know anything about the formation of the solar system when there was nobody there
to witness those events?
13. Why don’t scientists automatically accept the measurements and hypotheses of other scientists?
Chapter 12