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Physical Science
The Solar System
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Earth has a coordinate system that uses | Longitude and Latitude. |
| also called meridians. These are the imaginary lines that run from North Pole to South Pole. They measure distance east or west of the Prime Meridian. | Longitude |
| The Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian is | 0◦ longitude. |
| Maximum longitude is ____________ of the Prime Meridian. | 180◦ east or west |
| the imaginary line that divided the Earth into a North half and a South half. | Equator |
| also called parallels. They run parallel to the equator and measure the distance north or south of the equator. | Latitude |
| The equator is | 0◦ latitude. |
| Maximum latitude is | 90◦ north or south. |
| North Pole = | 90◦ N |
| South Pole = | 90◦ S |
| The Earth is divided into | 360◦ of arc measure. |
| 1 degree = | 60 minutes of angle measure. |
| Each minute = | 1 nautical mile. |
| 1 nautical mile = | 6080 feet. |
| 1st person to give us a collection of maps called an Atlas in 1589. | Gerardus Mercator |
| from noon one day until noon the next day.(with respect to the Sun) | Solar Day |
| elapsed time between 2 successive crossings of the same Meridian by a star other than the Sun. | Sidereal day |
| The Earth moves about ____ in 1 day in its revolution about the Sun. | 0.985◦ (if we moved exactly 1◦ per day, we would have exactly 360 days in a year instead of 365.2455) |
| The solar day is about _________ than a sidereal day so this means that the Sun rises about _______________. | 4 minutes longer/4 minutes later each day |
| The Earth rotates on its axis about | 15◦ per hour (1◦ every 4 minutes) |
| A.M. – ante meridiem – | hours before noon |
| P.M. – post meridiem – | hours after noon. |
| Theoretically – if there are 6.5 hours of daylight before 12-noon local time, then there should be ____ hours of daylight after 12 noon. | 6.5 |
| There are | 24 time zones. |
| Each time zone contains on average | 15◦ of longitude or 1 hour. P. 427-429 |
| it is at 180◦ longitude. If you cross it heading west, you add a day. If you cross it heading east, you subtract a day. | International Date Line |
| We have seasons because the Earth is tilted | 23.5◦ on its axis |
| During the _________, the north end of the axis is tilted toward the Sun. | summer During ___________the south end of the axis is tilted toward the Sun. |
| The tilt changes only because of the Earth’s ________ around the Sun. | revolution |
| The north end of the axis is ALWAYS pointed toward the | North Star – Polaris. |
| time of year when the Sun is directly over the equator. | Equinox |
| Equinox days and nights have ____ hours each. | 12 This occurs twice a year. |
| Vernal Equinox (spring) | on or about March 21st. |
| Autumnal Equinox (fall) | on or about September 22nd. |
| The Sun will only travel as much as ______ North or South of the Equator during the year. Therefore, if you are anywhere farther north or south of this degree, the Sun will never be over your head at 12 noon. | 23.5◦ |
| 23.5◦ N | the Tropic of Cancer |
| 23.5◦ S | the Tropic of Capricorn |
| the time when the Sun is at its farthest point north or south of the equator. | Solstice This would be at the latitudes of 23.5 degrees north or south. (Tropics) |
| Summer Solstice | on or about June 21st. |
| The longest day of the year for the Northern latitudes. | First day of summer. |
| Winter Solstice | on or about December 21st. |
| The shortest day of the year for the Northern latitudes. | First day of winter. |
| The number of daylight hours any place on Earth depends on | the day of the year and the latitude. |
| During the spring and summer months in the north, the North Pole has ___ hours of daylight and ___ hours of darkness during the fall and winter months. | 24 |
| The maximum number of daylight for the northern latitudes during the spring and summer is ___ hours, the minimum is ___ hours. | max 24; min 12 |
| the year of the seasons. It is measured from vernal equinox to vernal equinox. | Tropical Year |
| the slow rotation of the Earth’s axis. | precession |
| One complete rotation of the earth’s axis takes about | 25,800 years. |
| In about ______ years Polaris will no longer be the North Star. It will be Vega, which is in the constellation Lyra. | 12,000 |
| B.C. | “before Christ” |
| A.D. | “anno Domini” |
| The _____________ gave us our first calendar. | Sumerians |
| The Sumerian calendar had _________ with 30 days each for 360 days per year. About every 6 years they would add an extra month to make up for the extra days. | 12 lunar months |
| Our calendar originated with the __________. It had only 10 months beginning with March. | Romans |
| Our present day calendar is the one that was corrected by | Pope Gregory XIII. |
| astronomical unit (au) | the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, which is 93 million miles |
| astronomy | the scientific study of the universe beyond the Earth's atmosphere |
| condensation theory | a process of solar system formation in which interstellar dust grains act as condensation nuclei |
| conjunction | the time at which a planet and the Sun are on the same meridian |
| equal areas, law of (Kepler's second law) | as a planet (or asteroid or comet) revolves around the Sun, an imaginary line joining the planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal periods of time |
| Foucault pendulum | any pendulum that is used to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth |
| geocentric model | the old false theory of the solar system, which placed the Earth at its center |
| harmonic law (Kepler's third law) | the square of the sidereal period of a planet is proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis (one-half the major axis) |
| heliocentric model | the model of the solar system that places the Sun at its center |
| International Date Line (IDL) | the meridian that is 1800 E or W of the prime meridian |
| Jovian planets | the four outer planets-Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. All |
| have characteristics resembling those of Jupiter opposition the time at which a planet is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun | |
| parallax | the apparent motion, or shift, that occurs between two fixed objects when the observer changes position |
| prograde motion | orbital or rotational motion in the forward direction. In the solar system, this is west-to-east, or counterclockwise, as viewed from above the Earth's North Pole |
| retrograde motion | orbital or rotational motion in the backward direction. In the solar system, this is east to west, or clockwise, as viewed from above the Earth's North Pole |
| revolution | the movement of one mass around another |
| rotation | the turning of a mass about an axis passing through the mass |
| sidereal period | the orbital or rotational period of any object with respect to the stars |
| solar nebula | A large, swirling volume of interstellar cold gas and dust that contracted under the influence of its own gravity and formed in the shape of a flattened rotating disk |
| solar system | the Sun, nine planets and their satellites, the asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and interplanetary dust |
| terrestrial planets | the four inner planets-Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. All are similar to the Earth in general chemical and physical properties |
| The ecliptic is | the apparent path followed by the Sun on the celestial sphere. |
| Which of the following is a terrestrial planet? | Mercury |
| What is the name of the largest moon of Neptune? | Triton |
| Which of the following planets has the highest surface temperature? | Mercury |
| One of the planets that revolves around the Sun seems to have characteristics that more closely resemble an asteroid than the other planets. Which planet is this? | Pluto |
| The time interval between two successive conjunctions (either inferior or superior) of a planet with the Sun as observed from Earth is known as the planet's | synodic period. |
| An ancient theory that Earth was the center of the solar system (or universe)is referred to as the | geocentric theory. |
| Where is most of the mass of our solar system concentrated? | in the Sun |
| About how long does the condensation theory suggest that it took for our solar system to form? about 100 million y | |
| What does statistical analysis suggest about the existance of other planetary systems in the universe? | It shows that there is a good probability that many exist. |
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malrey3
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