Astronomy Questions for Review
1 . Why didn't the planets keep growing larger and larger? What stopped the accretion?
2. Describe, in detail, how we know the specific, accurate depth of each layer of our planet's interior.
3. Why don't particles in Saturn's rings drift in and out of its Roche Limit?
Sketch and explain why Saturn's rings don't collapse on Saturn.
Why are Jovian planets so much larger than the terrestrial planets?
How is the Doppler Effect used to find planets?
Sketch and explain how earthquakes led to our discovery that the outer core of the Earth is liquid.
Specify the two optical illusions that fooled Schiaparelli. What was he seeing and what was actually happening?
Describe how oceans were formed on the surface of Earth.
How were earthquakes useful in the study of Earth's interior?
1.) Pick your favorite incorrect theory about Mercury's iron core and explain why it is wrong. Be sure to show off
what you know about the true reason Mercury has a proportionally large iron core.
2.) Explain the extreme natures of Mars' and Venus' atmospheres.
3.) Why haven't the particles that make up Saturn's rings accreted into a planet? Be sure to mention how they are
held together.
Sketch and explain why Saturn's rings don't collapse on Saturn.
Why are Jovian planets so much larger than the terrestrial planets?
How is the Doppler Effect used to find planets?
Sketch and explain how earthquakes led to our discovery that the outer core of the Earth is liquid.
What principle led to the search for the ‘planet’ Ceres?
Give two reasons that Ceres and Pluto were discounted as planets.
Why is the Earth capable of developing and sustaining life while Mars and Venus, as far as we know, are not?
1) How can one predict the amount of craters on the surface of a planet?
2) What is the difference between plate tectonics and flake tectonics?
3) Why is Venus not the "tropical paradise" many thought it might be?
1. (short answer) Give two reasons why the temperature across the surface of Mercury changes more drastically
between night and day than across the surface of the Earth.
2. (quick answer) What was the first celestial object to have its planetary status revoked?
3. (short answer) The Earth has just the right balance of C02 in the air to maintain a relatively constant temperature
and sustain liquid water. What would happen if we drastically increased the C02 in our air, or drastically decreased
it?
What explains why the inner core of the earth can be solid and the outer liquid, and how was studying earthquakes used
to show this?
2. Explain how the three abundant gases in our atmosphere; oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, are each kept in
balance. What factors emit the gases, and which ones remove them?
3. What is the significance of the T-Tauri wind in the formation of a solar system?
) What theory, or 'rule,' led to the "Hunt for the Missing Planet," and what 'planet' was discovered in this search?
Explain the theory and who was involved in the hunt.
2) Draw a diagram and explain the reason why Mercury is majority iron.
3) Write and explain how one of these planets was discovered: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, or ceres. Be sure to include
diagrams if it aids in your descriptions.
1) How do Earthquakes help us understand the Earth's inner structure and layers?
2) For what reasons were Pluto and Ceres revoked of their "planetary" titles?
3) If the Earth's Roche Limit remained constant but the Earth suddenly increased in mass (not size), what would
happen to the Moon and its orbit?
1. Sketch and explain: Draw earth’s interior paying special attention to the different chemical states throughout and
explain how you know the interior is the way it is.
2. How is life on earth critical to the balance and sustainability of our atmosphere?
3. Schiaperelli proposed the potential for life on mars. What did Schiaperelli point to when defending his claim and why
was he wrong in his assertions?
1) How and why are Venus’ and Mars’ atmospheres different
2) Describe how the Earth’s atmosphere formed
3) Why do earthquakes help us figure out what the Earth’s core is?
1) What stopped the gravitational collapse of the proto sun?
a. The T-Tauri Wind
b. The gravitational pull from the outer planets
c. Kelvin-Helmholtz Contraction
d. Nuclear Fusion
2) Compare and contrast the formation of Jupiter’s moons and the formation of the planets in our solar system
3) Due to a science experiment gone wrong, thunderstorms have become commonplace on the Earth, what effect will this
have on the Earth’s atmosphere?
1. Draw and explain the formation of the solar system.
2. Why does Jupiter have moons that are like terrestrial planets so far out away from the Sun?
3. Why is earth’s inner core solid?
Big Important Rules
Earth’s inner structure and earthquakes (section 9-2)
Plate tectonics and the cycle of supercontinents on Earth (p217, p221)
The history of the Earth’s atmosphere, kinds of gases and how they are put in/taken out of the Earth’s atmosphere
(section 9-5)
Moon’s Maria and Terrae (p238-241)
Venus’ Atmosphere and history of atmosphere (runaway greenhouse effect section 11-7)
surface of Venus flake tectonics (11-5)
Mar’s Atmosphere and history of atmosphere (runaway icehouse effect section 11-7)
Shepherd moons , Roche limit
Tidal heating
Discovery of Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Ceres
Formation of the Solar System
-solar nebula and its composition, protosun, conservation of angular momentum, Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction,
protoplanetary disk, condensation temperature, accretion, protoplanets, chemical differentiation, core accretion
model vs disk instability model,
Search for extra solar planetsWobble methods- differences in technique, usefulness