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79 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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This planet lost its designation as a planet |
Pluto |
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In light of modern solar system theory, why do the orbits of the planets all lie in nearly the same plane? |
The early solar nebula flattened into a disk |
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The gas tail of a comet always ____. |
Points away from the sun |
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The light given off by a comet ____. |
Is reflected sunlight |
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What factor caused different planets to form out of different types of material? |
The variation in temperature throughout the solar nebula |
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What causes a meteor shower? |
Earth crosses the orbit of a comet |
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This planet's density is so small it could float in a bathtub if you had one big enough |
Saturn |
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All planets orbit the sun |
In the same direction |
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Asteroids seldom have spherical shapes because ______. |
Their gravity isn't strong enough |
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Comets usually have two tails because ______. |
One is gas, the other is dust |
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Comets are frequently referred to as |
Dirty snowballs |
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How big does a meteor has to be before it can strike the ground |
Fist sized |
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What is the most famous recurring meteor shower? |
Perseid |
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You can tell if a meteor is part of a shower because ____. |
It comes from the same direction as the others |
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The light that comets give off _____. |
Is reflected sunlight |
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Meteor showers get their name from ______. |
The constellation they appear to come from |
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At the center of the Meteor Crater, ______. |
Is a plywood astronaut |
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All the planets rotate in the same direction except ______. |
Venus |
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Most extrasolar planets have been found by _____. |
Transits |
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So far, most of the discovered extrasolar planets ______. |
Are hot Jupiters |
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How do we know the Earth has a liquid core? |
Only compression waves make it through |
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The Cobb family wants to go to the beach during the highest of tides. When should they go? |
During new Moon or full phase |
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How often does a location on the Earth experience a "High" tide? |
Twice per day |
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How often does a location on the Moon experience a tide? |
Never |
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Which body causes the greatest tidal forces on the Earth? |
Moon |
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Because of tidal forces, the length of a day on the Earth has____. |
Increased over time |
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The main cause for Earth's weather patterns is _____. |
Uneven heating |
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The most abundant element in Earth's atmosphere is ____. |
Nitrogen |
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By how much does Earth's greenhouse effect raise the temperature of the Earth? |
40 degrees |
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The main reason the earth is able to retain an atmosphere is ______. |
Its gravity is strong enough to hold an atmosphere |
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Approximately how fast is continental drift moving the continents about with respect to each other? |
Cm per year |
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The rate of cratering on the lunar highlands helps to show that _____. |
They are older than the maria |
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What produces aurora? |
Collisions of high energy particles with atmospheric gas |
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How do we know the Earth has a liquid core? |
Only compression waves make it through |
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Suppose a planet is orbited by a number of satellites. Which of the satellites will feel the strongest tidal forces due to the planet? |
A large satellite in a close orbit |
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How often does a location on the earth experience a high tide? |
Twice per day |
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How often does a location on the earth's moon experience a high tide |
Never |
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The gas that is most responsible for the greenhouse effect on earth is |
Carbon dioxide co2 |
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The greenhouse effect occurs because |
Carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation |
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Which causes the greatest tidal forces on the earth |
The moon |
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How do we usually measure the rotation rates of the terrestrial planets? |
Using the Doppler Effect |
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What is odd about Mercury's rotation and revolution rates? |
Its day is longer than its year |
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The clouds of Venus are made mostly of ____. |
Sulfuric acid |
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What is the main constituent of the atmosphere of Venus? |
Carbon dioxide |
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Which of the solar system objects listed below is most similar to Earth in terms of mass and density? |
Venus |
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Which planet has an inclination and length of day very similar to Earth's? |
Mars |
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There has never been a detection of any kind of atmosphere for this planet |
Mercury |
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This planet has the greatest day/night temperature differences |
Mercury |
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This planet has a very Moon-like surface |
Mercury |
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Venus is a planet showing an extreme version of _____. |
Greenhouse effect |
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The pancake like structures seen in radar images on Venus are probably caused by ____. |
Lava flows |
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Why is mars red? |
The planet's surface undergoes a process by which rust forms |
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Which of the following is not a characteristic of terrestrial planets? A. Small diameters B. Craters in old surfaces C. Orbits inside the asteroids D. Low average density |
D. Low average density |
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The flow patterns found on the surface of Mars suggest _____. |
That the climate on Mars was different in the past. |
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What accounts for the seasonal changes in the coloration of certain regions on Mars? |
The covering and uncovering of the regions by dust |
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This planet has the largest volcano in the solar system |
Mars |
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The reason why the Northern hemisphere of Mars consists mainly of rolling plains while the southern is rugged highlands is _____. |
Unknown |
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Mercury, Mars and the Moon have many impact craters while Venus and the Earth have few. The main reason is because _____. |
Venus and the Earth have younger surfaces |
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Venus probably still has a molten core but has no magnetic field because ______. |
It rotates too slow |
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Mars has no magnetic field because ______. |
Its core has solidified |
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Which of Jupiter's satellites has volcanoes of sulfur? |
Io |
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The heat that keeps the interior of Io molten is due to |
Tides |
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How do the escape velocities of the Jovian planets compare to the terrestrial planets? |
The Jovian planets have much higher escape velocities |
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Which planet almost had the name George? |
Uranus |
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This planet has the strongest magnetic field in the solar system |
Jupiter |
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Which planet has the "Great Red Spot"? |
Jupiter |
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Which planet has a "Great Dark Spot"? |
Neptune |
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This planet radiates about three times as much energy as it gets from the Sun |
Saturn |
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How was Uranus discovered? |
By accident |
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This is the only planet that was mathematically predicted to exist. |
Neptune |
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The Roche limit is |
Distance from a planet where moons cannot exist |
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Suppose a planet is orbited by a number of satellites. Which of the satellites will feel the strongest tidal forces due to the planet? |
A large satellite in a close orbit |
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Which moon do we think represents the best chance for finding life? |
Europa |
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The many ringlets which compose planetary ring systems are caused by |
Gravitational resonances |
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Cassini's division is |
A gap in Saturn's rings |
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Europa has few craters because |
It has erased craters nearly as fast as they have formed |
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The rings of Uranus were discovered |
During an occultation of a star |
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This planet lost its designation as a planet |
Pluto |
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Shepherd moons are |
Moons which shepherd particles into rings |
