P1 The Earth and The Universe

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How many planets are in the solar system?
8
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What are the inner planets?
The 4 planets closest to the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
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What are the outer planets?
The 4 planets further away from the sun. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
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What is in orbit around the sun?
Planets, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets and dust
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Why can we see stars?
Because of the light they give off
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Why can we see planets?
Because they reflect the sunlight
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How old is the solar system thought to be?
5 thousand million years old
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What was the solar system formed from?
Big clouds of dust and gas
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When does fusion occur?
When there is high temperatures
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What is the product in a fusion reaction?
The product is a heavier nucleus
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What does fusion give out?
Heat and light energy
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What are the oldest rocks on earth and how old are they?
Meteorites and they are about 4500 million years old
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What are comets made from?
They are balls of rock, dust and ice. In very elongated ellipses.
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Where is the Earth situated in the galaxy?
In the milky way, halfway along an arm
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What are galaxies made from?
Thousands of millions of stars
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What is a universe made of?
Thousands of galaxies
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How fast does light travel?
300 000 km/s
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What is 1 light year equivalent to?
9 460 000 000 000 km
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What is a light year a measure of?
Distance
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Why can't we see stars as they are now?
Because if a star is 4 light years away, we see how it was 4 years ago because that is how long it takes for the light to reach us
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How much bigger is the sun's diameter to the earths?
100 times
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How much bigger is the milky way's diameter to the sun's?
About 600 billion times
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How old is the Earth, Sun and Universe?
(In order) 5000, 5000 and 14 000 (Million years)
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What is the relative sizes and distances of the universe? (Smallest to biggest)
Diameter of the Earth, sun, Earth's orbit, Solar system, Sun to the nearest star, milky way and the distance from the milky way to the nearest galaxy
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What unit is distance measured in space?
In light years
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What is the colour of a star useful for?
Finding out its surface temperature
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What tells us about a star?
The electromagnetic radiation it emits
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What method do you use to work out the distance of nearby stars?
Parallax
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What is parallax?
Parallax is when something appears to move when you look at it from different angles. So every 6 months, astronomers would take pictures of the sky and compare them so you could work out how far away it was
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Why is brightness a flawed method of measuring how far away a star is?
Because the star could either be quite close to earth but not bright. Or, a long way away and a very bright star.
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How is radiation in stars useful?
It helps astronomers to work out how far away the star is
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What 2 factors make it hard to find the distance of stars?
The atmosphere and light pollution because it can make it hard to see.
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Why is the Hubble telescope in space?
So that the light pollution and atmosphere doesn't affect looking at the stars
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What is red shift?
When a galaxy moves away from us it emits a wave length. The light becomes redder. The greater the red shift, the faster it's moving away
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How does red shift prove that the galaxy is expanding?
Because it shows that the more distant galaxies are moving faster away from us. We know this because the wave is red.
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What is the big bang?
It is a theory that the universe had started with a big bang. According to this theory, all the matter in the universe must have been compressed.
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How has the age of the universe been determined, in terms of the big bang?
It has been estimated by the current rate of expansion. So it is thought to have happened about 14 thousand million years ago
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What does the universes fate depend on?
How fast it is expanding and the total mass. But these things are hard to measure
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What is the big crunch theory?
If there is enough mass compared to how fast the galaxies are currently moving, the universe will eventually stop expanding - and then begin contracting.
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What do rocks provide us with?
Record of changes in the earth
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Where does erosion occur?
EVERYWHERE
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Where is new rock made?
From volcanoes
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What do fossils provide evidence for?
They provide evidence that rocks are constantly being formed
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How old is the oldest rock on earth?
4 000 000 000 years old
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Where do eroded particles go?
Into the sea and then they settle as sediment, this is how sedimentary rock is formed.
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What happens to sedimentary rocks once they have been compacted?
They either get pushed to the surface or descend into the pressure and heat inside the earth
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What does the rock cycle need?
Very powerful forces to push the rock
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What was Wegner's theory?
Continental drift
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What was the evidence for Wegner's theory?
The matching layers of rock and similar fossils between different continents
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Why wasn't Wegner's theory accepted?
The movement wasn't large enough to detect. Other geologists had proved him wrong. He was a meteorologists.
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What has been found to rise up through the sea floor?
Magma
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What happens to the magma that rises up through the sea floor?
It solidifies under water and this is evidence to show that the sea floor is spreading. It also records the magnetic field, which is further evidence for continental drift
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How 'thin' is the crust?
20km
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What are the 2 types of crust?
Continental and oceanic
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What state is the mantle?
Semi-solid
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What is the core of the earth made from?
Nickel and iron
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What is the earth's surface made of?
Tectonic plates
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What causes the plates to move?
Convection currents caused by the heating core and mantle
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What causes earthquakes?
Sudden movement of the plates and they happen more often at the edge of the plates
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How are volcanoes made?
They are formed at the edge of 2 plate boundaries, and magma pushes the plates up - making volcanoes
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How are mountains formed?
When plates crash into each other
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What equipment records seismic waves?
Seismographs
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What do p-waves travel through?
Solids and liquids
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What do s-waves travel through?
Solids
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What happens to seismic waves when they reach the boundaries?
They get reflected
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Which wave travels faster, s-waves or p-waves?
P-waves
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Are p-waves longitudinal or transverse?
Longitudinal
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Are s-waves longitudinal or transverse?
Transverse
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What happens to p-waves as the density changes?
They refract
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When do the waves change speed?
When the properties of the core and mantle change
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What do p-waves and s-waves tell us?
They tell us what is in the earth. (Core, mantle and crust)
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What do waves have/can tell us?
Amplitude, wavelength, frequency and speed
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What do waves carry?
They carry energy
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What is frequency measured in?
Hertz (Hz)
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What is 1 Hz?
1 wave per second
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What is a transverse wave?
A transverse wave is where the vibrations are at 90 degrees to the direction of travel of the wave. E.g, light and EM waves
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What is a longitudinal wave?
The vibrations along the same direction the wave is travelling
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What is the equation to find out wave speed?
Speed (m/s) = Frequency (Hz) x Wavelength (m)
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What equation can you use to find out the distance of which a wave has travelled?
Distance (m) = Speed (m/s) x time (s)
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What is the source of the sun's energy?
The fusion of the hydrogen nuclei
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What is essentially made in stars?
All atoms were made that are heavier than helium
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What do the motions of the galaxy suggest?
That space itself is expanding
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How would continents be worn down?
Through sea level erosion
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How much distance do the sea floors spread every year?
A few cm every year
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What do the movement of the tectonic plates cause?
Earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building and it contributes to the rock cycle
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What causes tectonic plates to move?
The convection current in the mantle
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What are the inner planets?

Back

The 4 planets closest to the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

Card 3

Front

What are the outer planets?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is in orbit around the sun?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Why can we see stars?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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