Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10 Ch. 16 Vocabulary – Our Solar System (p. 509, 15 terms + 9)

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

Ch. 16 Vocabulary – Our Solar System

(p. 509, 15 terms + 9)

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

1. Nebula

A large cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space; a region in space where stars are born.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

2. Solar Nebula

A rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

3. Astronomical Unit

The average distance between the Earth and the sun; approximately 150 million kilometers (symbol, AU).

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

4. Terrestrial Planet

One of the highly dense planets nearest to the sun; Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Earth.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

5. Prograde Rotation

The counterclockwise spin of a planet or moon as seen from above the planet’s North Pole; rotation in the same direction as the sun’s rotation.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

6. Retrograde Rotation

The clockwise spin of a planet or moon as seen from above the planet’s North Pole.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

7. Gas Giant

A planet that has a deep, massive atmosphere, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

8. Satellite

A natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

9. Phase

The change in the sunlit area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

10. Eclipse

An event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

11. Comet

A small body of ice, rock, and cosmic dust that follows an elliptical orbit around the sun and that gives off gas and dust in the form of a tail as it passes close to the sun.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

12. Asteroid

A small, rocky, object that orbits the sun; most asteroids are located in a band between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

13. Meteoroid

A relatively small, rocky body that travels through space.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

14. Meteor

A bright streak of light that results when a meteoroid burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

15. Meteorite

A meteoroid that reaches Earth’s surface without burning up completely.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

16. Nuclear Fusion

When hydrogen combines to form helium and energy is released.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

17. Proton

A subatomic particle that has a positive charge and that is located in the nucleus of an atom; the number of protons in the nucleus is the atomic number, which determines the identity of an element.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

18. Inner Solar System

Contains the four planets that are located closest to the sun.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

19. Outer Solar System

Contains the five planets that are located farthest from the sun.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

20. Period of Rotation

The amount of time that an object takes to rotate once.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

21. Revolution

The motion of a body orbiting another body in space.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

22. Period of Revolution

The time that an object takes to revolve around the sun once.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

23. Solar Eclipse

When the moon comes between Earth and the sun and the shadow of the moon falls on part of Earth.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

24. Lunar Eclipse

When Earth comes between the sun and the moon and the shadow of Earth falls on the moon.

Unit 7 (Ch. 16) – Earth in the Solar System Bach 04/08/10

Grading Scale(1 point per term)

A = 24 - 20

B = 19 - 18

C = 17 - 16

D = 15 - 14

F = 13 or less

*2 E.C. pt.s possible