Download Unit 2 Study Guide - Effingham County Schools

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Universe and Solar System Test Study Guide
(Test Date: September 1, 2016)
I. REVIEW QUESTIONS
1.Heliocentric Theory is sun centered and Geocentric Theory is Earth centered.
2. What items in the solar system orbit the Sun? planets, comets, and asteroids.
3. What makes up the solar system? (3 things) the sun, planets and moons, asteroids and
comets.
4. Definition of AU:Astronomical Unit is distance between Earth and Sun (93 million miles /
150 million kilometers).
5. What planet is closest to Earth in size and mass? Venus
6. List the gas giants in our solar system? Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
7. What is in the rings that surround many of the planets? Frozen ice, dust, small rocks, and
gas.
8. List the planets that have rings? Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
9. What shape are most of the orbits of planets in the solar system? elliptical
10. The universe is 10 – 15 billion years old and the solar system is about 4.6 billion years
old.
11. What is a comet? A frozen ball of gases and liquids with small amounts of rock.
12. A meteor is a a small rock flying through Earth’s atmosphere, a meteoroid is a small rock
flying through space, and a meteorite is a small rock that landed on Earth from outer space.
13. Why do terrestrial planets have atmospheres? gravity
14. Who was Copernicus? Developed the Heliocentric Theory
15. Who was Galileo? Invented the first telescope
16. One planetary year is one planetary revolution around the sun and one planetary day is
one planet’s complete rotation on its axis.
17. A comet is often called a dirty snowball.
18. The tails of comets always point away from the sun because the sun’s radiation slowly
burns away some of the comet as it orbits the sun.
19. Why does a meteor glow? The small rock burns as it flys through the atmosphere.
20. How often do large asteroids similar to the one that killed all of the dinosaurs hit Earth?
Approximately once every 50 million years.
21. The last massive asteroid that hit Earth landed approximately 65 million years ago.
22. Based on past asteroid activity, when is the next massive asteroid due to hit Earth? The
next major asteroid should have hit Earth approximately 15 million years ago. We are
overdue.
23. This planet’s axis is tilted so severely it looks like it must have once been hit by another
planet sized object? Uranus
24. A large cloud of dust and gas in space is called a nebula.
25. Why is gravity important to the solar system? It holds everything in their orbits.
26. This terrestrial planet (Venus) has the densest atmosphere and this terrestrial planet
(Mercury) does not have any atmosphere.
27. Name the terrestrial planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
28. Venus’ atmosphere is very dense and causes the planet to be much hotter than all of the
other planets.
29. Four things that support the big bang theory are background radiation in the universe,
expanding universe, wavelengths of light from stars consistent with age of universe, and
energy can turn into matter.
30. The three types of galaxies are spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
31. The speed of light is 186,000 per second. It is a very accurate way to measure distance
because the speed of light does not change in space.
32. An exploding star is known as a supernova.
33. Our exact location in space is in Orion’s Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy.
34. The three locations in our solar system where asteroids are found are Asteroid Belt,
Kuiper Belt, and Ort Cloud.
35. Place in correct size order (planet, galaxy, star, nebula, universe, asteroid, meteor, black
hole, globular cluster, and solar system) meteor, asteroid, planet, star, solar system,
constellation, galaxy, and universe.
36. Cosmology is the study of the formation of the universe.
37. The coldest terrestrial planet is Mars and the warmest terrestrial planet is Venus. The
largest planet is Jupiter and the smallest planet is Mercury.
38. A large star that implodes because of gravity is a(n) black hole.
39. Constellations change because the Earth orbits around the sun.
40. The spinning of an object on its axis is rotation and the movement of an object around
another object is revolution.
II. Vocabulary (Review the following terms prior to the test)
Gas Giant
Terrestrial Planet
Heliocentric
Copernicus
Galileo
Gravity
Revolution
Rotation
Meteor
AU
Asteroid
Light Year
Geocentric
Orbit
Comet
Gas Giant
III. All answers to the review questions will be presented in class. Students are expected to write
the answers on this study guide during class. The study guide will be turned in on the day of
the test as a graded assignment.
IV. Every test question is based on the general concepts presented in the review questions listed
above. The key to success is not merely memorizing the correct answer. The successful
student will understand why each answer is correct.
V. If you have questions concerning any of the information in this study guide, please call me at
754-7757 or email me at [email protected]
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