Chapter 3 Solar Energy And Earth-sun Relationships

Question 1

What is a galaxy?

Answer 1

A large system of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity.

Question 2

What is a light-year?

Answer 2

The distance that light travels in one year.

Question 3

What is a solar system?

Answer 3

A collection of planets and other celestial bodies orbiting a star.

Question 4

What is gravity?

Answer 4

The force that attracts two bodies towards each other.

Question 5

What is mass?

Answer 5

The amount of matter in an object.

Question 6

What is a planet?

Answer 6

A celestial body that orbits a star and is large enough to be rounded by its own gravity.

Question 7

What is a terrestrial planet?

Answer 7

A planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals.

Question 8

What is a giant planet (gas planet)?

Answer 8

A large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter.

Question 9

What is an asteroid?

Answer 9

A small rocky body that orbits the sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt.

Question 10

What is a comet?

Answer 10

A small celestial body made of ice, dust, and rocky material that, when close to the sun, displays a visible atmosphere and sometimes a tail.

Question 11

What is a meteor?

Answer 11

A small particle from space that burns up upon entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 12

What is a meteorite?

Answer 12

A meteor that survives its passage through the atmosphere and lands on Earth.

Question 13

What is the habitable zone?

Answer 13

The region around a star where conditions may be right for life.

Question 14

What is a fusion (thermonuclear) reaction?

Answer 14

A reaction in which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy.

Question 15

What is solar wind?

Answer 15

A stream of charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere.

Question 16

What is an aurora?

Answer 16

A natural light display in the sky, typically seen in high-latitude regions.

Question 17

What is the aurora borealis?

Answer 17

The northern lights, a natural light display in the Arctic region.

Question 18

What is the aurora australis?

Answer 18

The southern lights, a natural light display in the Antarctic region.

Question 19

What is a sunspot?

Answer 19

A temporary phenomenon on the sun’s photosphere that appears as a spot darker than its surroundings.

Question 20

What is the solar constant?

Answer 20

The amount of solar energy received per unit area at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 21

What is a calorie?

Answer 21

A unit of energy defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

Question 22

What is electromagnetic energy?

Answer 22

Energy that is propagated through space by electromagnetic waves.

Question 23

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

Answer 23

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

Question 24

What is the visible spectrum?

Answer 24

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.

Question 25

What is shortwave radiation?

Answer 25

Radiation with a short wavelength, typically emitted by the sun.

Question 26

What is longwave radiation?

Answer 26

Radiation with a long wavelength, typically emitted by the Earth.

Question 27

What is galactic movement?

Answer 27

The motion of galaxies through space.

Question 28

What is rotation?

Answer 28

The spinning of an object around its own axis.

Question 29

What is revolution?

Answer 29

The movement of one object around another in an orbit.

Question 30

What is the circle of illumination?

Answer 30

The dividing line between the day and night sides of a planet.

Question 31

What is perihelion?

Answer 31

The point in the orbit of a planet where it is closest to the sun.

Question 32

What is aphelion?

Answer 32

The point in the orbit of a planet where it is farthest from the sun.

Question 33

What is the plane of the ecliptic?

Answer 33

The imaginary plane that contains the Earth's orbit around the sun.

Question 34

What is the angle of inclination?

Answer 34

The tilt of a planet's axis in relation to its orbital plane.

Question 35

What is parallelism of the axis?

Answer 35

The concept that a planet's axis maintains the same orientation throughout its orbit.

Question 36

What is the North Star (Polaris)?

Answer 36

A star located nearly directly above the North Pole, used for navigation.

Question 37

What is insolation?

Answer 37

The amount of solar radiation received by a given area.

Question 38

What is a solstice?

Answer 38

The time when the sun is at its greatest distance from the equator, occurring in summer and winter.

Question 39

What is an equinox?

Answer 39

The time when day and night are of equal length, occurring in autumnal and vernal.

Question 40

What is the Arctic Circle?

Answer 40

The latitude approximately 66.5° North, marking the southern limit of the polar day.

Question 41

What is the Antarctic Circle?

Answer 41

The latitude approximately 66.5° South, marking the northern limit of the polar night.

Question 42

What are direct (vertical) rays?

Answer 42

Sun rays that strike the Earth at a 90-degree angle.

Question 43

What is the Tropic of Cancer?

Answer 43

The latitude approximately 23.5° North, marking the northernmost point of the sun's direct rays.

Question 44

What is the Tropic of Capricorn?

Answer 44

The latitude approximately 23.5° South, marking the southernmost point of the sun's direct rays.

Question 45

What is solar declination?

Answer 45

The angle between the rays of the sun and the plane of the Earth's equator.

Question 46

What is the subsolar point?

Answer 46

The point on the Earth's surface where the sun is directly overhead.

Question 47

What is an analemma?

Answer 47

A diagram showing the position of the sun in the sky at the same time of day throughout the year.

Question 48

What is zenith?

Answer 48

The point in the sky directly above an observer.

Question 49

What is the tropical zone?

Answer 49

The region of Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Question 50

What is the midlatitude zone?

Answer 50

The region of Earth between the tropics and the polar circles.

Question 51

What is the polar zone?

Answer 51

The region of Earth within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.