Section 23.1 The Solar System

which moon is known to have active volcanism?

a. Lo

venus's topography has been mapped from space and earth, using _____ pulses.

radar

almost all of the mass of the solar system is

sun

is the following sentence true or false? most of venus's surface consists of plains covered by lava flows.

true.

a comet's tail always points...

a. away from the sun

small, soolid particle from space that burns up in earth's atmosphere

a. meteor

identify the features labeled a and b in the figure.

a: volcanoes b: canyons

circle the letter of the term for the glowing head of a comet formed when frozen gases vaporize.

b. coma

which two planets are most alike?

b. earth and mercury

small, solid particle that travels through space

b. meteorooid

what theory describes the formation of the solar system from a huge cloud of dust and gases?

b. nebular theory

circle the letter of saturn's most prominent feature.

b. ring system

why has mars been the planet most studied by tlescopes?

because it is the only planet where its surface isn't hidden by clouds, and also once had water on it

why is it unlikely that life as we know it exists on venus?

becuae of both the temperatures and the pressure on venus, and the carbon dioxide atmosphere.

what is the origin of large craters on earth such as meteor crater in arizona?

formed when very large meteorites hit the earth surface

is the following sentence true or false? the nucleus of halley's comet is spherical.

false

ls the following sentence true or false? meterorites are ow the only extraterrestial materials scientists have to examine directly.

false

is the following sentence true or false? mars's atmosphere is 90 times the density of earth's.

false.

list four reasons venus is referred to as "earth's twin."

four reasons are: the size, density, mass, and also even the location in our solar system.

what sis olympus mons? where is it found?

olympus mons is a volcano that is three times taller than mt. everest and is located n mt. everest

pluto is no longer considered to be a ______ ___ ______ _________

planet, highly eccentric

circle the letter of the term for small, irregularly shaped bodies.

planetesimal.

why is it unlikely that life as weknow it exists on mecury?

the temperatures are way too extreme, and there isn't an atmosphere, and there are only three days of sunlight.

is the folllowing sentence true or false? jupiter's surface is thought to be a giant ocean of liquid water.

false

is the following sentence true or false? The farther a planet is from the sun, the shorter its period of revolution.

false

is the following sentence true or false? the jovian planets are huge rocky giants.

false

Give two reasons why the jovian planets have much thicker atmospheres than the terrestrial planets.

two reasons are, the surface gravity, and temperature.

what is unique about uranus's axis of rotation?

uranus rotates nearly parallel with the plane of the planet's orbit.

mars's polar caps are made of _____ ___ covered with a thin layer of frozen ______ _______ .

water ice, carbon dioxide

when do comets develop tails?

when the comet passes close to the sun, the heat then creates vapor, which then becomes a tail

circle the letter of the answer that correctly describes jupiter's mass.

c. 2 1/2 times greater than the mass of all of the other planets and moons combined

circle the letter of the planet(s) that have ring systems.

c. all four jovian planets

what bodies in the solar system orbit between mars and jupiter?

c. asteroids

which planet was explored by the rovers spirit and opportunity?

c. mars

small, solid particle from space that reaches earth's surface

c. meteorite

select the appropriate letter in the figure that identifies each of the following parts of a comet.

c. nucleus b. tail of ionized gases a. coma d. tail of dust

which of the following is NOT a characteristic of jovian planets?

c. the lack of moons

circle the letter of the gas that makes up most of the martian atmosphere.

carbon dioxide

the jovian planets contain large quantities of ices because it was ____ enough in the outer solar system for ices to form.

cold.

______ are pieces of rocky and metallic materials held together by frozen gases.

comets

circle the letter of the substance that most likely makes up neptune's upper cloud layer.

d. frozen methane

which of the following is NOT true of jupiter?

d. it has a solid surface

meteoroides that strike Earth are called...

d. meteorites

which of these planets is not a terrestrial planet?

d. uranus

describe pluto's structure.

dirty ice ball made up of gases, and less amounts of rocky substances

what are the seven wonders of the solar system?

enceladus, rings of saturn, jupiter's great red spot, the asteroid belt, olympus mons, the sizzling surface of the sun, and earth

to escape from a planet's gravity, an objet much reach a speed called the ______ ________

escape velocity

color changes on mars's surface observed from earth may be caused by _________ ____ ______ in mars's atmosphere.

extensive dust storms

what substance makes up most of the solar system? classify them as gas, rock, or ice.

hydrogen ad helium are gases, silicate minerals, and Amelina are rocks, and methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, water are ice

circle the letter of mercury's position in the solar system.

innermost terrestrial planet.

jupiter

jovian

neptune

jovian

saturn

jovian

uranus

jovian

uranus's moon miranda has a greater variety of _________ than any solar system body yet examined.

landforms

one of jupiter's moons, __, is one of only four volcanically active bodies in the solar system.

lo

asteroids cannot be the remains of a broken planet because they do not have enough total ____.

mass

list the planet or planets whose orbital planes lie more than 3 degrees from the plane of the sun's equator

mercury and pluto

a(n) ______ _______, or display of frequent meteor sightings, can result when earth encounters a swarm of meteoroids.

meteor showers

where are most asteroids found?

most asteroids are found in between the orbit of mars and jupiter

a(n) ______ is a cloud of dust and gas in space.

nebula

name four ways in which mercury is similar to the moon and two ways in which it is different.

similar:absorbs sunlight, only gives back 6%, cratered highlands and also smooth terrains that resemble maria, they are both about the same size, don't have an atmosphere. different: mercury is way denser, and the moon also has long scarps that cut across the plain, and also the craters.

one piece of evidence that there was once water on mars is that some areas have drainage patterns similar to those made by _______ on earth.

streams.

mercury has the greatest ___________ extremes of any planet.

temperature

mars

terrestial

mercury

terrestial

the __________ planets are relatively small and rocky.

terrestial

venus

terrestial

what objects are found in the solar system?

the bodies are, planets, the sun, the mood, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids, and stars

list the groups of substances that make up the planets

the groups of substances are, gases, rocks, and ices.

describe the nebular theory of the formation of the solar system.

the nebular theory the sun and also the planets formed from a rotating disk of dust and also gases.

list the main differences between the terrestrial and jovian planets

the size, the chemical makeup, the density, and the rate of rotation

list the three sources of most meteoroids.

the three sources are, interplanetary debris that was not gravitationally swept up by the planets during the formation of the solar system, material from the asteroid belt, or the solid remains of comets that once traveled near earth's orbit

list the two regions from which comets originate.

the two regions are, the kuiper belt, and the oort cloud

describe the features of the a and b rings in the figure.

these rings are densely packed together and contain small moonlets

what are jupiter's rings made up of?

they are made up of, fine dark particles, or even also smoke particles.

describe general characteristics and location of the terrestrial planets.

they are relatively small and rocky They are closer in the solar system

what unual feature does saturn's moon titan share with neptune's moon triton?

they are the only moon's in the soolar system to have a substantial atmosphere.

how were the large canyons on mars thought to have formed?

they are thought to have been formed the slippage of material along the huge faults that are in the crustal layer

describe the features of the e rings in the figure.

this ring is made up of very widely dispersed particles

what does the tetrograde motion of neptune's moon triton indicate about its origin?

this shows that triton formed independently, but then was gravitationally captured by neptune.

is the following sentence true or false? asteroids are small, rocky bodies in space,.

true

is the following sentence true or false? neptune has winds exceeding 1,00 km per hour.

true

is the following sentence true or false? saturn has large cyclonic "storms" similar to jupiter's great red spot.

true

is the following sentence true or false? the finding of evidence of liquid water on mars is important because water is essential for life.

true

is the following sentence true or false? the largest volcano on mars is over 2 1/2 times higher than mount everest.

true

is the following sentence true or false? uranus's rings were discovered when uranus passed in front of a distant star and blocked its view.

true

is the following sentence true or false? the inner planets formed mainly from metals and silicate minerals because of the high temperatures near the sun.

true.