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Study Questions Part 1              Study Questions Part 2                  Study Questions Part 3  

STUDY QUESTIONS PART 1

Study Questions Week 1

Chapter 1

1. Define and describe the systems of celestial coordinates and reference points (e.g. celestial equator, right ascension, etc.) Know all the terms on the handout of Celestial Coordinates from the first day of class.
2. What is an "astronomical unit"? What does it measure?
3. Explain the difference between a solar day and a sidereal day.
4. How does the angular size of an object depend on distance?
5. What is precession?
6. What is retrograde motion? Why does it happen?

Chapter 6

1. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the Terrestrial planets?
2. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the Jovian planets?
3. List the components of the solar system.
4. Describe the positions of the planets on a plot of radius vs. density.
5. What are typical densities of rocks? What are typical densities of the terrestrial planets? What are typical densities of the Jovian planets?
6. Be able to recognize a full disk image of each of the planets (except Pluto) and the Moon.
7. What does density measure?
8. Which planet, planets, or moons were visiting by the following spacecraft:

• Mariner 10
• Magellan
• Viking
• Voyager 1
• Voyager 2
• Galileo

Review and Discussion Chapter 6: 1,  8, 9

Study Questions Week 2

Chapter 2

1. What are Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion? What does each one mean?
2. Define aphelion and perihelion.
3. Explain the terms semi-major axis and eccentricity.
4. How do you draw an ellipse? Know how to determine the semi-major axis, the eccentricity, perihelion and aphelion from a drawing of an ellipse representing a planetary orbit.
5. How did Newton modify Kepler’s third law?
6. According to Newton, how does the gravitational force between two objects depend on the masses and on the distance between them?
7. How do we determine the mass of objects in the solar system?
8. What quantity does your weight represent?
9. What is escape speed?
10. Know the units used for Kepler’s third law in both forms.

Review and Discussion Chapter 2: 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20

Study Questions Week 3

Chapter 7: Earth

1. What is differentiation of a planet?
2. Describe/sketch the interior structure of the Earth.
3. Describe the overall evolution of the Earth's atmosphere. Is our current atmosphere the same as our original one?
4. Describe the overall shape of the Earth's magnetic field.
5. What causes the Earth's magnetic field?
6. Describe how the major surface features (e.g. mountain ranges, mid-ocean ridges, deep ocean trenches) of Earth are related to plate tectonics.
7. What is the driving force of plate tectonics?
8. What role does radioactivity play in determining a planets structure?
9. Describe what the magnetization of the ocean floor tells us about the history of Earth's magnetic field, and also about the motion of plates.

Review and Discussion Ch. 7: 1, 7, 8a, 10, 11

Study Questions Week 4

Surface Processes:

1. What are the major processes that modify planetary surfaces? Which is most important on Mercury? On Venus? On Earth?

Impact Craters

1. Describe the formation of an impact crater.
2. Describe the morphology and features of an impact crater. (See Figure 9.7 of handout)
3. Define the terms: primary crater, secondary crater, ejecta blanket, rays, simple crater, central peak, complex crater, multiring basin.
4. How are secondary craters formed?
5. Explain the differences between simple craters, complex craters, and multiring basins.
6. What factors govern a crater’s size and morphology?

Crater Counting and  Dating Planetary Surfaces

1. What is meant by "crater saturation equilibrium"?
2. Explain in a general way how crater counts are used to date surfaces.
3. Explain how radioactive dating is used to determine ages.
4. What is superposition and why is it important?