October Midterm 2019 Flashcards
1
Q
Our cosmic address is?
A
Planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, local supercluster, Universe
2
Q
What is lb a unit of?
A
force
3
Q
On the moon where gravity is lower what is the relationship between your weight and mass?
A
On the moon where gravity is lower my weight is less, my mass is the same.
4
Q
how much of the moon is viewable at one time
A
always half, it rotates fully every 24 hours
5
Q
define planet
A
small, nonlumious bodies that shine by reflecting sunllght
6
Q
explain how far apart stars are from each other
A
a golf ball in vancouver compared to a golf ball in calgary
7
Q
what is a light year, and what is its measurment
A
the distance light travels in a year, roughly 10^13km
8
Q
what is an AU, what is its measurement
A
Astronomical Unit, the average distance from the earthto the sun. 1.5x10^8 km or 1.5x10^11 m
9
Q
How far awat from Earth si the nearest start to the sun?
A
4,2 ly
10
Q
what did the sun form from?
A
clouds of gas that are extremely thin vacuums.
11
Q
how long ago did our sun form?
A
about 5 billion years ago
12
Q
define a galaxy
A
a great cloud of stars, gasand dust bound together by the combined gravity of all the matter
13
Q
how many stars does our galaxy contain?
A
over 100 billion stars
14
Q
what are superclusters?
A
clusters of galaxies that grouped together
15
Q
how do all humans use scientific thinking?
A
it is based on everyday ideas og observation and trial-error experiements
16
Q
what were some ways that ancient societies used astornomy
A
- keeping track of time and seasons
- agriculture,navigation
17
Q
how did ancient people predict seasons?
A
the orientation of the cresecent moon
18
Q
where does modern science trace its roots too?
A
the greeks
19
Q
define experimentation
A
collecting data using instruments and mathe matical calculations
20
Q
what are the steps for the scientific method?
A
identifying patterns, hypothesis, prediction, experiementation, identifying patterns
21
Q
what is a scientific theory?
A
not a hypothesis, explains a wide variety of observatiosn with a few simple principles and must be supported by a large body of evidence
22
Q
what is the standarized systne of measurement?
A
a system of measurement agreed upon by an international committee in 1960
23
Q
who uses the metric system in the world?
A
it is a worldwide system used everywhere except for liberia, myanmar, and the United States of America
24
Q
define length and its unit of measurment
A
the distance travelled in metres
25
define mass and its unit of measurment
SI- kg
26
define time and its unit of measurment
in seconds
27
define inertia
Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain in motion in the absence of an unbalanced force such as friction of gravity
28
what is the equation for motion
speed= distance/time
29
define velocity
speed in a specific direction
30
define acceleration
rate of change in velocity
31
define force
is a push or pull on a body. Force is the agent for chnge in motion
32
what are the units of force
SI newton (N) or a metric ton (2000 N)
33
define external force
ny force that results from the interaction between the object and its interaction between the object and its environmentenvironme
34
define internal force
orces that originate within the object itselfitselfThey cannot change the object’s velocityThey cannot change the object’s velocity
35
what is newtons first law of motion?
a moving object will continue moving in a straight line at a constant speed, in a straight line at a constant speed, and a stationary object will remain at and a stationary object will remain at rest, unless acted upon by an rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced forceunbalanced force
36
what is newtosn 2nd law of motion
When a force F acts on a body of mass m, it produces in it an acceleration a equal to the force divided by the mass. Thus, a = F/m, or F = ma
37
what is newtosn 3rd law of motion
To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction
38
define gravity
attractive force between any 2 objects in the universe which is objects in the universe which is proportional to the masses of the proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the square of the distance between them”them
39
what is newtons law of universal gravitation state?
that every obnect exerts gravitational force on every other object
40
define weight
force of gravity on an object in a particular place it can change
41
define mass
amount of an actual matter an object has it always stays constant
42
why areastronauts weigthless in soace?
they are in a constant state of freefalleven though there is gravity in spcae
43
why dont we see the same constellations throguhout the year?
it depends where you travel and latitude. time of year and as we orbit the sun on Earth
44
define ecliptic
the apparent path of the Sun through the sky
45
define equinox
where the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator
46
define solstice
where the ecliptic is farthest from the celestial equator
47
define zodiac, how many are there?
the constellations which lie along the ecliptic
48
what causes seasons?
seasons are opposite in the N and S hemispheres, so distacne is not the reason. The real reason is Earths axis tilt. Not our distance from the sun either.
49
```
When is the:
Summer solstice?
Winter Solstice?
Spring (vernal) Equinox?
Fall (autumnal) Equinox?
```
June 21
Decmber 21
March 21
September 21
50
Describe the Summer Solstice
The day when the northern hemisphere is maximally tilted towards the su and gets most direct sun
51
describe the winter solstice
The Day when the Southern Hemisphere is maximally tilted towards the sun and gets the msot direct sun
52
Why do we have certain lengths of time for our days and nights?
because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. On equinoxes our dasy and nights are roughly of equal length
53
what is an evening star
any planet visible in the sunet sky
54
what is a mornign star?
any planet visible in the dawn sky
55
what is the closest distance that the earth can be to the moon?
380,000km
56
how often does the moon orbit the earth?
once every 27.38 . once a month
57
describe the motion of the moon in our night sky
rises in the East and sets in the West every night
58
why do we have lunar phases?
the moon reflects light from the sun, so half of the moon is illumated and half of its not, as it orbits we see changing faces of the moon
59
define synchronous rotation
the moon rotates exactly once with each orbit
60
what causes eclipses?
the Earth andmoon cast shadows, when either passes through the others shadow we have an eclipse
61
Why don't we have an eclipse at every full and new moon?
the moons orbit is tilited at 5degrees, so we have two eclipse seasons each year, 1 at new moon and 1 at full moon
62
describe a lunar eclipse
at a full moon, when we are between the sun and the moon, can be partial or total
63
describe a solar eclipse
at a new moon, when the moon is between the sun and the Earth, partial, total, or annular
64
what two conditions must be met to have an eclipse?
It must be full moon (for a lunar eclipse) or new moon (for a solar eclipse). AND The Moon must be at or near one of the two points in its orbit where it crosses the ecliptic plane (its nodes)
65
define galaxy
a very large aggregare of stars, gas, and dust held together by their mutaul gravitational attraction
66
Whtat other galaxy is believed to be similiar in size and shape to the Milky Way Galaxy?
The Andromeda Galaxy
67
define spiral galaxy
stars, plus gas and dust arranged into three general components:
- the halo
- the nuclear bulge and galactic Center
- the disk
68
what is the halo of a spiral galaxy
a roughly spherical distribution which contains the oldest stars in the Gala
69
what is the disk of a spirla galaxy?
contains the majority of the stars, including the sun, and virtually all of the gas and dust
70
define elliptical galaxies
stars are arranged into a spherical or elliptical shape•An elliptical galaxy does not have extending curved “arms.
71
define a whirlpool galaxy
a normal spiral galaxy
72
how is a star "Born" ?
When thermonuclear fusion begins, this is the time a star is actually born.•It moves onto the H-R main sequence, in a position determined by its temperature and brightness.–Ultimately both temperature and brightness are dependent upon the star’s mas
73
define photosphere
"sphere of light", the vivisble surface of the sun
74
chromosphere
"Sphere of colour" visible during solar eclipses
75
corona
the Sun's outermost atmosphere. The outflow of gas in this region is called the solar wind, which is protons and electrons that have escaped the Sun's gravity
76
what is commonly the most accepted model of our solar system?
Heliocentric model
77
what is the most accepted theory of the origin of our solar system?
Protoplanetary nebular model
78
describe physical characteristics of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
mainly rock and metal, relatively high densities, slow rotation, solid surfaces, no rings, few satellites
79
describe the physical characteristics of Juptier, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
mainly hydrogen and helium, low densities, rapid rotation, deep atmospheres, rings, lots of satellites
80
what is the order of planets out from the sun?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, asteroid belt, Jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune
81
what is keplers first law?
planetary orbit as an ellipse, the sun is located at one focus of the ellipse
82
what is keplers secodn law?
a line form the sun to a planet at a point A sweeps the same area in the same time as from C to D
83
what is keplers thrid law?
harmony of orbits: the square of the period of a planet’s orbit is proportional to the cube of that planet’s semimajor axis t2d
84
what are the three necessary criteria for a solar system body to be considered a planet?
- must orbit around the sun
- must have a sufficient mass for self-gravity to form a nearly round shape
- it must be the dominant body within its orbit
85
why is pluto not a planet, what its official scientific name?
It orbits inside of neptunes orbit, so it is considered a dwarf planet
86
what are the names of the three dwarf planets in our solar system?
pluto, ceres, and Eris
87
what is a comet
small bodies made of frozen CO2, NH3, CH4, and particles of dust and rock mixed. the comets tail always points away from the sun as it moves and they originate approximately 30 A.U. away from the sun
88
what is the Keiper belt
a disk shaped region of smaller icy bodies from30 to 100 AU from the sun. this is the source of short period comets
89
define a meteoroid
remnants of asteroids and comets
90
define a meteor
the streak of light and smoke left in the sky by a meteoroid, AKA a meteor
91
define a meteor shower
earth passes through a stream of particles that are left by a comet
92
describe the formation of the Earths crust
during Earth's early formation it was molten and the heavier elements, like iron and nickel, sank deep into the interior of the earth. This left a thing layer of lighter materials on the surface that is now called the crust.
93
how are seas and mountaisn formed?
internal changes alter the earths surface by the moving of the tectonic plates
94
what is the rock cycle
the continually changing structure of rocks, igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic. These are all temporary changes that rocks undergo
95
define a mineral
a solid inorganic material of the Earth that has both a known chemical composition and a crystalline structure that is unique to that miner
96
define a rock
a solid aggregate of one or more minerals that have been cohesively brought together by a rock-forming process
97
define a crystal structure
can be made up of atoms of one or more kinds of elements
98
what is a silicate and how much of earths crust does it make up?
made of silicon and it makes uo 92% of the Earths crust
99
define magma
molten rock from which minerals are formed
100
define lava
magma that is foced to the surface
101
what is the rock cycle?
```
Igneous Metemorphic
^ ^
| | | |
v v
Sedimentary
```
102
what is a conservation law?
the msot fundamental ideas we have in physics are consevation laws. Statements that tell us that some quantity does not change
103
what is the conservation of mass?
it states that the total mass of an isolated system is constant
104
what are the forms of energy?
mechanical, chemical, electromagnetic, nuclear
105
define energy and give a formal and the two mains types of energy
the ability to do work,
E=mc^2
potential vs. kinetic
106
what things are potential energy?
gravitational, chemical, elastic, electromagnetic
107
what things are kinetic energy?
moving objects, heat, sound waves, other waves
108
where do living organisms get energy?
sunlight, absorbed by plants,high energy compounds made through photosynthesis
109
define work and give a formula
the product of force and the distance through which an the force moves an object in the direction of the force,
work=w=Fd
110
define kinetic energy
the energy associated with an objects motion
111
define potential energy
energy associated with the systems position or orientation
112
define gravitational potential energy
energy associated with the relative position of an object in the space near the Earth's surface
113
what is the law of conservation of energy
energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another
114
define power
the rate of energy transfer
115
what is geoloy the study of?
the study of the planet earth, it's composition, structure, process, and history
116
what are plate tectonics?
the primary mover of the Earth's outer shell, they make mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, spread the seafloor and were a huge part of the continental drift
117
what is/was pangea
continents were at one time part of a supercontinent called pangea, this supercontinent driftef apart in what is called the continental drift
118
define paleomagnetism
the branch of geophysics concerned with the magnetism in rocks that was induced by the earth's magnetic field at the time of their formation.
