Astronomy Exam 2

Front 1

Elements of motion

Back 1

Speed

Velocity

Acceleration

Front 2

Speed

Back 2

rate of change of position

measured in distance/time

Front 3

velocity

Back 3

rate of change of position in a certain direction

measured in distance/time, direction

Front 4

acceleration

Back 4

rate of change of speed or velocity

measured in distance/time^2

Front 5

momentum

Back 5

characteristic of a moving object defined by

mass x velocity

Front 6

mass

Back 6

measure of how much matter is in an object

Front 7

force

Back 7

any influence that changes the momentum of the object

Front 8

weight

Back 8

the force of gravity on an object at the surface of an astronomical body

Front 9

Newton's Laws of Motion

Back 9

1. An object at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line will remain that way forever unless acted upon by a net, external force

2. the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net, external force applied to it and inversely proportional to the objects mass.

force = mass x acceleration

acceleration = force / mass

3. for every force, there is an equal but opposite force

Front 10

Law of conservation of momentum

Back 10

in the absence of net, external force, the total momentum of a system remains constant.

momentum cannot be created or destroyed

Front 11

Law of conservation of energy

Back 11

in the absence of net, external force, the total energy of a system remains constant.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed

Front 12

3 basic forms of energy

Back 12

1. kinetic

2. Radiant

3. potential

Front 13

Temperature

Back 13

is NOT a measure of the thermal energy, but the measure of the average KE of molecules within the object

Front 14

escape velocity

Back 14

speed at which a launched object wouldn't return to earth

Front 15

Universal Law of gravitation

Back 15

the force of gravity between any two objects is directly proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the objects.

(proportional to size, inversely to the square of distance)

Front 16

Tidal bulges

Back 16

The moon's gravity pulls on Earth and it's H2O. It creates 2 bulges at all times. 1 is on the closest side to the moon, the other is at the weakest pull of gravity

Front 17

Light energy

Back 17

form of radiant energy.

measured in joules

Front 18

Light power

Back 18

energy output.

measured in watts

Front 19

4 ways light interacts with matter

Back 19

1. emission

2. absorption

3. transmission

4.reflection

Front 20

Emission

Back 20

light comes out of matter

Front 21

absorption

Back 21

light goes into matter

Front 22

transmission

Back 22

light goes through matter

Front 23

reflection

Back 23

light is returned from a surface

Front 24

Formula for Velocity

Back 24

V = ƛ * f

Velocity = wavelength x frequency

Front 25

Formula for Wavelength

Back 25

ƛ = V / f

Wavelength = velocity / frequency

Front 26

Formula for Frequency

Back 26

f = V / ƛ

Frequency = velocity / wavelength

Front 27

Photons

Back 27

particle of light but acts like a wave

Front 28

Electromagnetic spectrum

Back 28

High frequency to low frequency

Gamma

xray

ultraviolet

visible light

infrared

microwaves

radio waves

Front 29

Electron transitions

Back 29

To make a transition from a lower energy level to a higher one, an electron must absorb a photon.

To make a transition from a higher energy level to a lower one, an electron must emit a photon.

Front 30

3 types of visible spectra

Back 30

1. continuous spectrum

2. emission line spectrum

3. absorption line spectrum

Front 31

continuous spectrum

Back 31

rainbow with no color interruption

Front 32

emission line spectrum

Back 32

black background with sporadic color lines

Front 33

absorption line spectrum

Back 33

rainbow background with sporadic black lines

Front 34

doppler effect

Back 34

blue shift is from an object moving towards you, red shift is from an object moving away from you.

Front 35

Functions of a telescope

Back 35

Gather and focus light

Front 36

2 main types of telescopes

Back 36

refraction and reflecting

Front 37

What happens to light inside a telescope with a Newtonian focus?

Back 37

Light goes straight towards a curved mirror, then focuses on a secondary mirror which focuses it even further to the side (outside of the tube)

Front 38

What is adaptive optics?

Back 38

the process of changing the shape of the image to compensate for outside problems

Front 39

What is interferometry?

Back 39

Using telescopes from different angles to combine into 1 image.

Front 40

What is light pollution?

Back 40

Human-made light that obscures our view of the night sky.

Front 41

2 Telescope requirements

Back 41

1. size of aperture (bigger is better)

2. angular resolution (smaller is better)

Front 42

What is a planetary (solar) system?

Back 42

A star and all the material that orbits it, including planets and moons

Front 43

What is comparative planetology?

Back 43

The comparison of worlds to one another, seeking to understand their similarities and differences.

Front 44

What are the planets in our solar system?

Back 44

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Front 45

Basic characteristics of Mercury

Back 45

inner most planet

smallest

no volcanoes, wind, rain, or life

Front 46

Basic characteristics of Venus

Back 46

Nearly identical in size to Earth

rotates very slowly and opposite of Earth

extreme greenhouse effect bakes the surface

Front 47

Basic characteristics of Earth

Back 47

only planet (in solar system) with oxygen to breathe

first planet from the Sun to have a moon

Front 48

Basic characteristics of Mars

Back 48

Last of the four inner planets

Two tiny moons

low air pressure, oxygen, temperature, and atmospheric ozone

Front 49

Basic characteristics of Jupiter

Back 49

Biggest planet

Mass is more than 300 times Earth's, volume 1000 times

Long-lived storm called the Great Red Spot

Made up of primarily hydrogen and helium, so no solid surface

four moons, often called Galilean moons

Front 50

Basic characteristics of Saturn

Back 50

second biggest

Made up of primarily hydrogen and helium, so no solid surface.

rings made of countless small particles, each of which orbit like tiny moons

at least 62 moons

Front 51

Basic characteristics of Uranus

Back 51

Lacks a solid surface

at least 27 moons

the most extreme seasonal variations of any planet in the system

tilted much more so that the other planets.

Front 52

Basic characteristics of Neptune

Back 52

at least 13 moons

looks nearly a twin to Uranus, but blue

One of it's moons (Triton) orbits backwards

Front 53

Dwarf planets

Back 53

Pluto and Eris (and more)

too small to qualify as official planets, but large enough to be round in shape

Front 54

Kupier belt

Back 54

a collection of thousands of icy objects that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune.

Much like an asteroid belt, except it is further from the Sun and composed of comet-like objects rather than rocky asteroids

Front 55

Asteroids

Back 55

rocky bodies that orbit the Sun much like planets but are much smaller

Front 56

comets

Back 56

small objects that orbit the Sun but are made largely of ices mixed with rock

Front 57

4 basic types of spacecraft missions?

Back 57

1. flybys

2. orbiters

3. landers or probes

4. sample return mission