chapter 28 — our solar system

radar measurements show that the surface of Venus is very hot and is: a) rotating quickly. b) orbiting quickly. c) rotating slowly. d) orbiting slowly.

c) rotating slowly

Earth's atmosphere is moderately dense and is composed of 78% oxygen and 21% nitrogen.. true or false?

false

galileo discovered Jupiter's: a) rings. b) 12 smaller satellites. c) four major satellites. d) Great Red Spot.

c) four major satellites

Saturn is the only planet with rings.. true or false?

false

Uranus's tilt and its great distance from the Sun result in seasons on Uranus that last about 21 Earth years.. true or false?

false

of falling objects on Earth. he learned that two bodies attract each other with a..

force

gravity

force that pulls matter together

interstellar cloud

gas and dust from which stars and planets form

Uranus was discovered accidentally in 1781.. true or false?

true

a meteoroid is a broken fragment of an asteroid or other interplanetary material.. true or false?

true

asteroids are thought to be planetesimals that never formed planets.. true of false?

true

most asteroids are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.. true of false?

true

astronomical unit (au)

unit of measurement that is the average distance between the Sun and Earth

between the bodies. this is called the law of..

universal gravitation.

today, we are certain that Uranus has no moons and 15 rings.. true or false?

false

the ringlets and open gaps in Saturn's rings are caused by the gravitational effects of: a) Saturn. b) Jupiter. c) Saturn's moons. d) the Sun.

c) Saturn's moons

what is a meteor shower?

when Earth intersects a comet's orbit particles from the comet burn up upon entering Earth's upper atmosphere producing the bright streaks of light known as meteors

the surface of Mercury is similar to the surface of: a) Earth. b) the Moon. c) Venus. d) Mars.

b) the Moon

what is a periodic comet? give an example.

a comet that repeatedly orbits into the inner solar system; Halley's Comet

eccentricity

a planet's elliptical orbit as the ratio of the distance between the foci and the length of the major axis

how many times bigger is Mercury than Earth? a) two times. b) three times. c) four times. d) five times.

b) three times

one day on Venus is equal to how many days on Earth? a) 243 days. b) 43 days. c) 143 days. d) 4 days.

a) 243 days

observations of Mercury suggest that it was originally much larger, with a mantle and crust similar to that of: a) Earth. b) the Moon. c) Venus. d) Mars.

a) Earth

which of Jupiter's largest moons is almost completely molten inside? a) Io. b) Europa. c) Ganymede. d) Callisto.

a) Io

Jupiter

believed to be the first large planet to develop

the brightest planet in Earth's nighttime sky is: a) Mercury. b) the Moon. c) Venus. d) Mars.

c) Venus

he also determined that each planet orbits a point between itself and the Sun. that point is called the..

center of mass.

what percentage of all planetary matter in the solar system is in Jupiter's mass? a) 40% b) 60% c) 50% d) 70%

d) 70%

the atmosphere of Venus is mostly: a) nitrogen and oxygen. b) sodium. c) oxygen. d) carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

d) carbon dioxide and nitrogen

english scientist..

isaac newton

what happens when a comet comes within 3 au of the Sun?

it begins to evaporate, becomes much brighter, and forms a head and 1 (or more) tails

inner planets

lacking in satellites because of their proximity to the Sun

hydrogen

main element in the early interstellar clouds

that depends on their..

masses

developed an understanding of gravity by observing the motion of the..

moon

heliocentric

nicholaus copernicus's model of the solar system in which the planets orbit the Sun

planetesimal

objects that collided and merged to form other various objects in the solar system

ellipse

oval shape centered on two points instead of one point

planetesimals

solid bodies hundreds of kilometers in diameter that merged to form the planets

retrograde

the motion of a planet moving in the opposite direction of the normal direction of planetary motion as observed from Earth

the orbits of the planets, and the..

acceleration

semimajor axis

average distance of a planet to the Sun

the closest planet to the Sun is: a) Venus. b) Mercury. c) Mars. d) Earth.

b) Mercury

low, warm, dark-colored, sinking clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere are known as: a) belts. b) the Great Red Spot. c) zones. d) rings.

a) belts

many astronomers hypothesize that Saturn's rings were formed from: a) debris left over from the formation of Saturn and its moons. b) debris left over from collisions of asteroids and other objects. c) debris that escaped from Jupiter's gravitational pull. d) asteroids attracted by Saturn's gravitational pull.

a) debris left over from the formation of Saturn and its moons

the form of hydrogen that has properties of both a liquid and a metal is: a) liquid metallic hydrogen. b) magnetic hydrogen. c) liquid hydrogen. d) electric hydrogen.

a) liquid metallic hydrogen

Saturn's larger moon is named: a) Io. b) Titan. c) Europa. d) Ganymede.

b) Titan

Jupiter's four moons are composed of: a) clouds. b) ice and rocks. c) hydrogen and oxygen. d) ice.

b) ice and rock

Jupiter spins once on its axis in a little less than: a) 5 hours. b) 12 hours. c) 10 hours. d) 2 hours.

c) 10 hours

what is Jupiter's Great Red Spot? a) a surface ocean. b) a large moon. c) an atmospheric storm. d) an ice cap.

c) an atmospheric storm

Venus's spin is an example of: a) retrograde motion. b) backward rotation. c) retrograde rotation. d) backward motion.

c) retrograde rotation

the four inner planets of our solar system are: a) gas giant planets. b) interplanetary asteroids. c) terrestrial planets. d) meteorites.

c) terrestrial planets

Saturn's average density is lower than that of: a) helium. b) hydrogen. c) water. d) methane.

c) water

and the..

distance

A meteor is a meteoroid that bypasses Earth's atmosphere.. true or false?

false

Mars is referred to as the red planet as a result of its high iron content and reddish appearance.. true or false?

false

Mars's atmosphere is similar to that of Venus , and it has a strong greenhouse effect.. true or false?

false

Most of Uranus's atmosphere is composed of helium and hydrogen, which causes its atmosphere to reflect blue light back into space.. true or false?

false

Neptune's largest moon, Triton, has a retrograde orbit, which means it orbits like every other satellite in the solar system.. true or false?

false

Pluto is larger than Earth and is made of ice.. true or false?

false

Uranus has a large, solid core that extends almost to the planet's surface.. true or false?

false

like Earth's moon, Pluto has no atmosphere.. true or false?

false

the Sun formed outside the rotating interstellar could.. true or false?

false

the orbit of Pluto is a perfect circle.. true or false?

false

the southern hemisphere of Mars is dominated by sparsely cratered plains.. true or false?

false

A large meteorite will cause an impact crater when it collides with Earth.. true or false?

true

Earth's distance from the Sun and it's nearly circular orbit allow water to exist on its surface as a solid, liquid, and gas.. true or false?

true

Neptune has a cloud-streaked atmosphere like Jupiter.. true or false?

true

Neptune's six rings are composed of microscopic dust particles.. true or false?

true

Pluto has three moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra.. true or false?

true

Pluto is not classified as a terrestrial planet because of its low density and small size, among other things.. true or false?

true

Pluto's properties more closely resemble those of the gas giants' large moons than of the other planets.. true or false?

true

Triton has nitrogen geysers and a thin atmosphere.. true or false?

true

the rotational axis of Uranus is tipped over so far that the North Pole lies in its orbital plane.. true or false?

true

until 1994, Neptune had a persistent storm, the Great Dark Spot, with characteristics similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.. true or false?

true