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80 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the largest planet in our solar system?
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Jupiter
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How many planets are in our solar sytem?
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8 (eight)
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Name the terrestrial planets in our solar system.
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Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
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Name the Jovian planets in our solar system.
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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
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Name the dwarf planet that used to be considered a regular planet.
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Pluto
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What forms a barrier between the terrestrial planets and the jovian planets?
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the asteroid belt
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Which planet is named after the Roman god of war?
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Mars
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How many hours does it take for Earth to rotate on its axis one time?
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24 hours
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What is the Great Red Spot on Jupiter?
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a giant storm or hurricane
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What are the two main gases in Earth's atmosphere?
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nitrogen and oxygen
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What is the only planet that we know of that has life on it?
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Earth
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This is the definition of a planet.
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1. must orbit around a star (like our Sun)
2. must have enough gravity to pull itself into a sphere (ball) shape 3. its orbit must be clear of all other planets' orbit paths |
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Why is Pluto not considered a regular planet anymore?
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Its orbit path crosses Neptune's.
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a baby star
or the very beginnings of a star |
stellar nebula
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These are the steps in the life cycle of an AVERAGE STAR.
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1. stellar nebula
2. average star 3. red giant 4. planetary nebula 5. white dwarf |
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These are the steps in the life cycle of a MASSIVE STAR.
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1. stellar nebula
2. massive star 3. red supergiant 4. supernova 5. neutron star OR black hole |
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Name the force that pulls dust and gas together to form new stars.
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gravity
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Stars are mostly made of these two gases.
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hydrogen and helium
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When the forces of gravity trying to collapse the star are balanced by energy released from the fusion reactions trying to blow the star apart.
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hydrostatic equilibrium
(or hydrostatic balance) |
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What is the life span of an average star (like our Sun)?
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about 10 billion years
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How old is our Sun?
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about 5 billion years old
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How many years before our Sun turns into a red giant?
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about 5 billion years
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These are the two kinds of stars that are experiencing hydrostatic equilibrium.
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average stars
and massive stars |
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What is solar wind?
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the flow of charged particles from our Sun out through the solar system
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What determines whether a star will have a long life or not?
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SIZE (or mass): massive stars live shorter lives, less massive stars live longer lives
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What can escape from a black hole?
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nothing
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This country sent the first human being into space.
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Russia (at the time it was called the Soviet Union)
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A ____________ is a natural satellite orbiting any planet.
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moon
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This is the belief that the Earth is the center of the solar system (that everything revolves around the Earth).
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geocentric
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This is the belief that the Sun is the center of the solar system (that the planets revolve around the Sun).
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heliocentric
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Why did the Catholic church punish Copernicus and Galileo?
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Copernicus and Galileo believed that the Sun was the center of the solar system (heliocentric), and the Catholic church did not believe this.
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What is a tsunami?
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A large wave or many large waves caused by earthquakes under the ocean.
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What ocean is surrounded by the Ring of Fire?
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the Pacific Ocean
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What is orbital debris?
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satellites and other stuff orbiting the Earth that HUMANS have put into space (broken satellites, trash from the international space station, and so on...)
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Earthquakes occur along __________ lines.
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fault
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What country put the first human being on our moon?
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United States
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What state in the United States experiences the most earthquakes?
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Alaska
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What is an earthquake?
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Strong and sometimes violent vibrations on the Earth's surface caused by plates on the Earth's surface slipping and bumping into each other.
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This is the calmest part of a hurricane.
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the eye (center)
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This is the name of the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that experienced an explosion on April 20, 2010, sank two days later, and ended up causing the biggest oil spill in United States history.
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Deepwater Horizon
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Three ways the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is damaging coastal wetlands.
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1. chokes and kills plants
2. makes photosynthesis in plants impossible 3. makes wetlands unable to filter water |
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This is a column of fast spinning air in contact with the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud.
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a tornado
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These are four forms of PRECIPITATION.
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rain, snow, sleet, hail
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This is the most severe type of tornado (winds up to 318 mph).
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F5
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This is the most severe type of hurricane (winds of more than 155 mph).
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Category 5
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Hurricanes need this type of water beneath them to keep them going strong.
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warm water
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What layer of the Sun can we see?
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the photosphere
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What is the hottest part of the Sun? (Hint: it is at the very center)
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the core
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What is a solar flare?
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a large, violent burst on the Sun's surface (a regular one is equal to 1 million hydrogen bombs)
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The Sun rises in the _________.
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east
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The Sun sets in the __________.
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west
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Darker, smooth, circular spots on the Moon's surface.
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maria
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Moonlight is actually __________ __________.
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reflected sunlight
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This person was the first human being to walk on the Moon's surface.
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astronaut Neil Armstrong
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This planet was named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love.
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Venus
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This is the planet that is farthest away from our Sun.
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Neptune
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This planet takes 365 days to revolve once around the Sun.
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Earth
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This planet is known for its rings.
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Saturn
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Patterns of stars that look like shapes and objects in the night sky.
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constellations
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Number of planets (besides Earth) that human beings have walked on.
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0 (zero)
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This happens when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow.
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a lunar eclipse
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This happens when the Moon blocks our view of the Sun.
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a solar eclipse
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The phase of the Moon when it looks like a fingernail (or toenail) clipping in the sky.
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crescent
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This is another name for the Jovian planets.
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the gas giants
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This is the theory that states the universe began with a huge explosion.
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the Big Bang theory
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Estimated number of stars in the universe.
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between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion
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The name of the galaxy that our solar system is in.
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the Milky Way galaxy
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When stars become red giants or red supergiants, their temperature goes ___________.
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down
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1 light year
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about 5,878,630,000,000 miles
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The boundary around a black hole that marks the point of no return.
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the event horizon
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A visible mass of water droplets (or ice crystals) suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth.
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a cloud
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The study of weather.
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meteorology
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This is a scientist who studies weather.
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a meteorologist
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Oil that is still inside the Earth is under ____________.
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pressure
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Three tools people are using to try to clean up the Gulf oil spill.
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booms, pom poms, dispersants
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The gigantic explosion that happens after the red supergiant phase of a massive star.
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supernova
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The 5 states most affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
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Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
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The distance between the Earth and the Sun.
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about 93 million miles
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Temporary low temperature spots on Sun's photosphere caused
by intense magnetic activity. |
sun spots
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This is the "blanket" of gases that surrounds the Earth (and some other planets). It is where all of our weather takes place.
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the atmosphere
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