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57 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Elements of motion |
Speed Velocity Acceleration
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Speed |
rate of change of position measured in distance/time |
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velocity |
rate of change of position in a certain direction measured in distance/time, direction
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acceleration |
rate of change of speed or velocity measured in distance/time^2
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momentum |
characteristic of a moving object defined by mass x velocity |
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mass |
measure of how much matter is in an object
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force |
any influence that changes the momentum of the object |
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weight |
the force of gravity on an object at the surface of an astronomical body |
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Newton's Laws of Motion |
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
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Law of conservation of momentum |
in the absence of net, external force, the total momentum of a system remains constant. momentum cannot be created or destroyed
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Law of conservation of energy |
in the absence of net, external force, the total energy of a system remains constant. Energy cannot be created or destroyed
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3 basic forms of energy |
1. kinetic 2. Radiant 3. potential |
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Temperature |
is NOT a measure of the thermal energy, but the measure of the average KE of molecules within the object |
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escape velocity |
speed at which a launched object wouldn't return to earth |
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Universal Law of gravitation |
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) |
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Tidal bulges |
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
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Light energy |
form of radiant energy. measured in joules
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Light power |
energy output. measured in watts
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4 ways light interacts with matter |
1. emission 2. absorption 3. transmission 4.reflection
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Emission |
light comes out of matter |
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absorption |
light goes into matter |
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transmission |
light goes through matter |
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reflection |
light is returned from a surface |
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Formula for Velocity |
V = ƛ * f Velocity = wavelength x frequency |
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Formula for Wavelength |
ƛ = V / f Wavelength = velocity / frequency
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Formula for Frequency |
f = V / ƛ Frequency = velocity / wavelength
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Photons |
particle of light but acts like a wave |
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Electromagnetic spectrum |
High frequency to low frequency Gamma xray ultraviolet visible light infrared microwaves radio waves
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Electron transitions |
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.
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3 types of visible spectra |
1. continuous spectrum 2. emission line spectrum 3. absorption line spectrum
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continuous spectrum |
rainbow with no color interruption
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emission line spectrum |
black background with sporadic color lines |
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absorption line spectrum |
rainbow background with sporadic black lines |
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doppler effect |
blue shift is from an object moving towards you, red shift is from an object moving away from you.
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Functions of a telescope |
Gather and focus light |
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2 main types of telescopes |
refraction and reflecting |
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What happens to light inside a telescope with a Newtonian focus? |
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) |
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What is adaptive optics? |
the process of changing the shape of the image to compensate for outside problems |
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What is interferometry? |
Using telescopes from different angles to combine into 1 image.
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What is light pollution? |
Human-made light that obscures our view of the night sky. |
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2 Telescope requirements |
1. size of aperture (bigger is better) 2. angular resolution (smaller is better)
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What is a planetary (solar) system? |
A star and all the material that orbits it, including planets and moons |
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What is comparative planetology? |
The comparison of worlds to one another, seeking to understand their similarities and differences.
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What are the planets in our solar system? |
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
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Basic characteristics of Mercury |
inner most planet smallest no volcanoes, wind, rain, or life |
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Basic characteristics of Venus |
Nearly identical in size to Earth rotates very slowly and opposite of Earth extreme greenhouse effect bakes the surface
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Basic characteristics of Earth |
only planet (in solar system) with oxygen to breathe first planet from the Sun to have a moon
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Basic characteristics of Mars |
Last of the four inner planets Two tiny moons low air pressure, oxygen, temperature, and atmospheric ozone
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Basic characteristics of Jupiter |
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
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Basic characteristics of Saturn |
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 |
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Basic characteristics of Uranus |
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.
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Basic characteristics of Neptune |
at least 13 moons looks nearly a twin to Uranus, but blue One of it's moons (Triton) orbits backwards |
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Dwarf planets |
Pluto and Eris (and more) too small to qualify as official planets, but large enough to be round in shape
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Kupier belt |
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
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Asteroids |
rocky bodies that orbit the Sun much like planets but are much smaller |
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comets |
small objects that orbit the Sun but are made largely of ices mixed with rock |
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4 basic types of spacecraft missions? |
1. flybys 2. orbiters 3. landers or probes 4. sample return mission |