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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
Gaspra
Ida
Lagrangian points
Earth-crossing asteroids
meteor showers
comets
Tunguska Event
sublime
asteroid belt
Halley's Comet
comet head
comet ion tail
comet dust tail
comet nucleus
solar wind
aerogel
long-period comets
short-period comets
Oort cloud
Kuiper belt
dirty snowball model
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.
- describe the major methods of finding exoplanets
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
Greenhouse Effect
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
Chapter 13 - Venus
Be able to define:
retrograde rotation
greenhouse effect
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:
Rovers
Mars Science Lab
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
Cassini spacecraft
Cassini’s division
Roche’s limit
shepherd satellites
Co-orbiting Satellites
tidal heating
carbonaceous material
Io
Europa
Ganymede
Callisto
Galilean satellites
Mimas
Titan
Rings A,B,C,F, and
E
Be able to:
- 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.
Chapter 5A - Sun
Be able to define:
sun’s composition
nuclear reactions
plasma
fusion
neutrino
solar core
radiation
convection
photosphere
chromosphere
corona
sunspot
solar cycle
solar wind
aurora
Maunder minimum
Be able to:
- summarize the overall properties of the Sun.
- explain how energy travels from the solar core, through the interior, and out into space.
- discuss the nature of the Sun's magnetic field and its relationship to the various types of solar activity.
- summarize the sequence of events leading to the formation of a star like our Sun.
- name the Sun's outer layers and describe what those layers tell us about the Sun's surface composition and temperature.