Prelim 1

Question 1

What are the characteristics of a star?

Answer 1

• Large glowing balls of gas
• Releases heat and light through nuclear fusion
• Made up of mostly Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He)
• Is most of our visible universe

Question 2

What is our sun?

Answer 2

A star

Question 3

What are the standards for a celestial body to be considered a planet?

Answer 3

• Orbits a star
• Sufficient self-gravity to maintain a spherical shape
  *Most of its gravity is towards its center/core
• Mass low enough NOT to trigger nuclear fusion
• “Cleared the neighborhood around its orbit”
  *The biggest celestial body in its immediate
  surrounding area

Question 4

Can planets produce their own light?

Answer 4

No, planets reflect light from stars

Question 5

What are the three different materials planets are made of?

Answer 5

• Rocks
• Gas
• Ice

Question 6

What are moons?

Answer 6

Moons are satellites that orbit plantes

Question 7

What are the characteristics of asteroids?

Answer 7

• Relatively small
• Rocky
• Orbits stars

Question 8

What are the characteristics of comets?

Answer 8

• Relatively small
• Icy
• Orbit stars

Question 9

What is found in solar systems?

Answer 9

• Stars
• Planets
• Moons
• Asteroids
• Comets

Question 10

What are star clusters?

Answer 10

Star clusters are when stars are found in groups of other stars.

Question 11

What are the two types of star clusters?

Answer 11

• Open clusters
• Globular clusters

Question 12

What are the characteristics of open clusters?

Answer 12

• Few thousand stars
• 1-10 million years old

Question 13

What are the characteristics of globular clusters?

Answer 13

• 10-100 million stars
• 10-14 billion years old

Question 14

What is a nebula?

Answer 14

A nebula is are interstellar clouds of gas and/or dust

Question 15

How are nebula created?

Answer 15

Nebulas are created when stars die.

Question 16

What are galaxies?

Answer 16

Galaxies are islands of stars.

Question 17

What are the characteristics of galaxies?

Answer 17

• Held together by gravity
• Orbiting a common center

Question 18

What are the characteristics of galaxy clusters?

Answer 18

Collections of galaxies held together by gravity.
- 100s-1000s of galaxes

Question 19

What are galaxy superclusters?

Answer 19

Galaxy superclusters are large groups of smaller galaxy clusters.

Question 20

What is the size of the Hydrogen (H) nucleus?

Answer 20

1 x 10^-15 m

Question 21

What is the product rule?

Answer 21

X^a * X^b= X^a+b

Question 22

What are astronomical units (AU)?

Answer 22

The average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
- 1.5 x 108 km= 150,000,000 km

Question 23

The equation for a light year

Answer 23

Speed of light x 1 year
- speed of light: 2.998 x 10^5 km/s, ~ 3 x 10^5 km/s

Question 24

Kilometer

Answer 24

1 x 10^3 m = 1000 km

*1000 km = 1 m

Question 25

Hectometer

Answer 25

1 x 10^2 m = 100 cm

*100 hm = 1 m

Question 26

Decameter

Answer 26

1 x 10 m = 10 dam

*10 dam = 1 m

Question 27

Decimeter

Answer 27

1 x 10^-1 m = 0.1 dm

• 0.1 dm = 1 m

Question 28

Centimeter

Answer 28

1 x 10^-2 m = 0.01 cm

*0.01 cm = 1 m

Question 29

Millimeter

Answer 29

1 x 10^-3 m = 0.001 mm

*0.001 mm = 1 m