Gravity and Mass
What is gravity?
Force that pulls one object towards another object.
What is the smallest planet?
Mercury
How many inner planets are there? Name/describe them.
4; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. Rocky/terrestrial planets!
A planet makes one complete spin on it's axis. This will equal one day.
Describe revolution
How long it takes a planet to orbit/complete a trip around the sun.
What did Einstein refer to as the "fabric sheet" in space?
The gravitational force.
What is the largest planet?
Jupiter
How many outer planets are there? Name/describe them.
4; Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Gas planets!
Which planet has the shortest rotational period? Longest?
shortest= Jupiter, 9.9 hours
Longest= venus; 243 earth days, or 5832 hours
Describe the revolutional period of inner vs outer planets.
Inner planets= shorter revolution time, as they are closer to the sun. Outer planets = longer revolution time, since they have more mass and are farther from the sun.
Objects with higher mass have a ____ gravitational pull, while objects with lower mass have a ___ gravitational pull.
stronger; weaker
In what units do we measure how far away a planet is from the sun?
AU (astronomical units)
How many Dwarf planets are there? Name one.
5; Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, Makemake
How will the rotational period of inner planets compare to those of outer planets?
Inner planets will have a longer period of rotation (longer hours/days), while outer planets will have shorter rotational periods (shorter days/less hours).
Which planet has the shortest revolutional period? Longest?
Shortest= Mercury, 88 days or 0.24 years
Longest= Neptune, 165 years
How are planes in space perfect spheres?
They have enough mass so that gravity pushes equally from all angles, creating a perfect sphere.
Which planet is closest to the sun, and how does that affect it?
Mercury, it has a shorter revolution period.
Name a characteristic/ describe something from both inner and outer planets.
Inner; less mass, closer to sun, shorter revolution period, longer rotational period
Outer; larger mass, farther from sun, longer revolution period, shorter rotation period (shorter days).
How long is Earth's rotation period?
24 hours, or 1 day
How does distance play a role in revolutional period?
Planets with more mass are farther away from sun (AU). This means they will take longer to go all the way around.
How does distance affect gravity?
The farther a planet is away from the sun, the larger the mass. The larger the mass, the stronger gravitational pull it has.
Which planet has the largest AU? How does this affect it?
Neptune; 165-year revolution period.
How many Earths can fit inside of Jupiter (the largest planet)?
about 1,000
Is Earth's axis a perfectly straight line through the center?
No, it is tilted at about 23.4 degrees.
Do planets revolve around the sun in a perfect circle? What is the shape?
no, Ellipse