Study Guide for Exam 2

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Chapter 12 - The Origin of the Solar System

Be able to define:

conservation of angular momentum
Helmholtz contraction
Solar Nebula Hypothesis
solar nebula
condensation sequence
planetesimals
accretion
Names, placement, and sizes of the 8 major planets

Be able to:

- outline the process by which planets form as natural by-products of
star formation.
- explain the importance of cratering as a planetary process
- list the major facts that any theory of solar system formation must
explain and indicate how the leading theory accounts for them
- describe the scale and structure of the solar system and list the
basic differences between the terrestrial and the Jovian planets .

Chapter 12 - Asteroids, Comets, & Meteorites

Be able to define:


asteroids
Trojan asteroids
NEAR
Hayabusa Spacecraft
Gaspra
Ida
Lagrangian points
Earth-crossing asteroids
Apollo asteroids
meteor showers

comets
Tunguska Event
sublime
asteroid belt
Halley's Comet
comet head
comet ion tail
comet dust tail
comet nucleus
solar wind
Stardust Spacecraft
aerogel
Deep Impact Spacecraft
long-period comets
short-period comets
Oort cloud
Kuiper belt
dirty snowball model
Giotto
ESA
Kuiper Belt


meteors
meteoroids
meteorite
bolides
fireballs
Stony meteorites
Stony-Iron meteorites
Iron meteorites
Carbonaceous meteorites
Gene Shoemaker
Alvarez Team
NEOs
Geoff Marcy
Extarsolar Planets
Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
mass extinctions

Be able to:

- explain what cometary orbits tell us about the probable origin of
comets.
- describe the composition and structure of a typical comet
- explain how a cometary tail forms.
- summarize the orbital and physical properties of meteoroids and
explain how these bodies are related to asteroids and comets.
- summarize the orbital and physical properties of the major groups of
asteroids.

Chapter 13 - Earth as a Planet

Be able to define:
age of the Earth
seismic waves
mantle
crust
differentiation
plate tectonics
volcanism
magnetic field
conduction
convection
radiation
meteorite impact craters
mass extinctions
ozone
greenhouse effect
greenhouse gases
inner and outer cores
plate tectonics
spreading centers
subduction zones
continental collisions
hot spots
transform faults
Earth's atmosphere - composition

Be able to:
- discuss how Earth's atmosphere helps heat us as well as protect us.
- outline our current model of Earth's interior structure and describe
some experimental techniques used to establish this model
- summarize the evidence for continental drift and discuss the
physical processes that drive it
- describe the nature and origin of Earth's magnetosphere.
- the role of seismology
- the role of differentiation of the Earth
- summarize and compare the basic properties of the Earth

Be able to list:
-the major parts of the Earth from the crust inward

These sections will NOT be included:
Measuring Rock Ages by Radioactivity
Coriolis Drift

Chapter 13 - The Moon

Be able to define:
natural satellite
synchronous rotation
terminator
limb
impact craters
mare
rays
impact hypothesis

Be able to:
- describe the consequences of gravitational interactions between
Earth and the Moon
- explain how dynamic events early in the Moon's history formed its major surface features
- discuss the formation and evolution of the Moon.
- summarize and compare the basic properties of the Moon

Be able to list:
- the differences between the maria and the highlands on the Moon

These sections will NOT be included:
Moon’s Phases
Flight’s to the Moon - except for Apollo 11

Chapter 13 - Mercury

Be able to define:
comparative planetology
wrinkle ridges
Mariner 10
Messenger spacecraft

Chapter 13 - Venus

Be able to define:
retrograde rotation
Venera
Pioneer Venus
greenhouse effect
Magellan mission
Mariner 10 spacecraft
Venus Express spacecraft

Be able to:
- explain the relationships between surface features & planet size
- explain why some planets lack an atmosphere
- identify unique features on Venus

Chapter 13 - Mars & Comparative Planetology

Be able to define:
Viking spacecrafts
Pathfinder spacecraft
Rovers
Mars Science Lab
Phoenix
canals
Schiaparelli
Lowell
Valles Marineris
Olympus Mons
Martian dust
Martian impact craters
Martian volcanoes
ancient Martian climate
life on Mars
Phobos
Deimos

Be able to:
- describe how the atmospheres of Venus and Mars differ from one
another and from Earth's
- compare the surface of Mercury with that of the Moon and the
surfaces of Venus and Mars with that of Earth
- discuss the similarities and differences in the geological histories of
the four terrestrial planets
- describe how we know that Mars once had running water and a thick
atmosphere.

Chapter 14 - Jupiter, Saturn, & Their Moons

Be able to define:

Jovian planets
belts
zones
Great Red Spot
atmospheric composition of Jupiter and Saturn
thermal infrared radiatiion
internal structures of Jupiter and Saturn
liquid metallic hydrogen
ring systems
DSN
Voyager 1 spacecraft
Voyager 2 spacecraft
Cassini spacecraft
Galileo spacecraft
Cassini’s division
Roche’s limit
shepherd satellites
resonance
tidal heating
carbonaceous material
Io
Europa
Ganymede
Callisto
Galilean satellites
Mimas
Titan
Rings A,B,C,F, and E

Be able to:

- explain why three of the four Jovian worlds radiate more energy into
space than they receive from the Sun.
- describe how the Galilean moons form a miniature solar system
around Jupiter and exhibit a wide range of properties.
- discuss the composition and origin of the atmosphere on Titan,
Saturn's largest moon.
- describe the nature and detailed structure of Saturn's rings.
Be able to list:
- the similarities and the differences among the four Jovian worlds.
- the space probes have, are currently, or will be investigating the Jovian planets?

Chapter 14 - The Outermost Planets & Their Moons

Be able to define:

atmospheric properties of Uranus and Neptune
Great Dark Spot
internal structures of Uranus and Neptune
arc-rings
Miranda
Triton
Charon
KBO's
Pluto
Eris

Be able to:

- explain how both chance and calculation played major roles in the
discovery of Uranus and Neptune.
- discuss some of the processes responsible for the properties of the
Jovian atmospheres.
- explain why astronomers think Neptune's moon, Triton, was
captured by that planet.
- explain how the Pluto & Charon system is fundamentally different from
all other planet & moon systems.