Chapter 26 – Quiz Study Guide
1. Sunspots moving across the surface of the sun proves that it rotates.
2. Which layers of the sun can be viewed during an eclipse? Chromosphere & corona
3. The fusion reaction that produces the sun’s energy occurs in which layer? Core
4. The apparent yellow surface of the sun is the photosphere.
5. The sun is composed of hydrogen and helium.
6. The sunspot cycle reaches a maximum of peak activity every 11 years.
7. The outer most layer of the sun’s atmosphere, the “crown,” is the corona.
8. The sun exists in a state of matter called plasma.
9. The force that keeps the planets in orbit around the sun is gravity.
10. Plasma currents rise and fall (like a boiling pot of water) in the convection layer.
Define the following terms:
11. Sunspots - cool, dark areas on the photosphere of the sun
12. Solar Wind - electrically charged particles coming from the corona
13. Solar Flares - explosions or bursts of energy off of the photosphere, out of sunspots
14. CME’s – often occur with solar flares and emit a large cloud of particles out into space.
15. Solar Prominence - magnetic storms in the shape of huge arching columns of plasma
16. What happens to Earth’s orbit period if the distance from the sun to the Earth decreases? decreases What happens to Earth’s orbital velocity as the distance from the sun to the Earth decreases? increases
17. Label the two ellipses below. One will have a High Eccentricity and one will have a Low Eccentricity.
Low (closer to 0) High (closer to 1)
18. What technology did Galileo Galilei use to prove Copernicus and Kepler were right? Telescope
19. Name the model of the solar system that is shown in the diagram. Who proposed this model? [ Key: E= Earth, P = Planet, S = Sun ] Heliocentric by Copernicus 20. Name the model of the solar system that is shown in the diagram. Who proposed this model? [ Key: E= Earth, P = Planet, S = Sun ] Geocentric by Ptolemy (notice the epicycles)
21. The orbits of the planets are best described as elliptical with the sun at one of the foci.
22. In which type of model are the Sun, other stars, and the Moon in orbit around the Earth? Geocentric
23. For what reason did Copernicus decide to replace the geocentric with the heliocentric model? a. The geocentric model no longer predicted the positions of the constellations. b. The geocentric model did not predict the phases of the Moon c. The heliocentric model provided a simpler explanation of the motions of the planets d. The heliocentric model proved that the Earth rotates.
Define the following terms:
24. Orbital velocity – refers to a planets speed as it around the sun
25. Orbit period – refers to the time is take for a planet to travel around the sun; a planets revolution period or the length of its year.
26. When a planet is closest to the sun the planets orbital velocity is greatest.
27. Which of Kepler’s three laws is shown in the diagram at the right? 2nd
What do the shaded triangles have in common? They have equal areas
28. Copernicus is credited with proposing the heliocentric model of the solar system.
29. What was Ptolemy’s explanation for retrograde motion? epicycles
30. Name the layers and features of the sun labeled on the diagram. 7 1. photosphere 2. chromosphere 3. sunspot 4. core 5. prominence 6. solar wind 7. corona 8. solar flare
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