Chapter 17 Tour: Formation of the Solar System

SHORT ANSWERS

1.  A HUGE INTERSTELLAR CLOUD MADE OF DUST AND GAS

2.  GRAVITY, PRESSURE

3.  1) YOUNG SOLAR NEBULA COLLAPSES DUE TO GRAVITY

2) SOLAR NEBULA ROTATES, FLATTENS, AND GETS WARMER NEAR THE CENTER

3) PLANETESIMALS BEGIN TO FORM WITHIN SWIRLING DISK

4) LARGEST PLANETESIMALS BEGIN TO SWEEP UP MORE AND MORE DUST & GAS

5) SMALLER PLANETESIMALS COLLIDE WITH LARGER ONES, PLANETS GROW

6) REMAINING DUST & GAS LEAVES, LEFT WITH A NEW SOLAR SYSTEM

4.  THE OUTER GAS GIANTS ARE MADE OF GAS BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCATED FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN AND COULD COLLECT LOTS OF GAS & DUST. THE INNER PLANETS THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE SUN ARE MADE OF JUST ROCK BECAUSE THE GAS BURNED OFF.

5. 

6.  MASS, DISTANCE

7.  A) CORONA: OUTER ATMOSPHERE, GASES SO THIN CAN ONLY SEE DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE

B)  CHROMOSPHERE: THIN REGION BELOW CORONA, CAN ONLY SEE DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE

C)  PHOTOSPHERE: THE LAYER WE CAN SEE = SURFACE OF SUN

D)  CONVECTIVE ZONE: REGION WHERE HOT AND COOL GASES CIRCULATE AND CONVECT – HOT GASES RISE, COOL GASES SINK

E)  RADIATIVE ZONE: VERY DENSE HOT REGION WHERE LIGHT TAKES MILLIONS OF YEARS TO TRAVEL THROUGH

F)  CORE: CENTER OF THE SUN WHERE ENERGY IS PRODUCED

8.  COOLER DARKER REGIONS ON THE SUN’S SURFACE, RELATED TO CHANGES IN THE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

10.  Crust: OUTERMOST LAYER, FORMS SKIN RANGING IN THICKNESS

Mantle: CONTAINS DENSER LAYER THAN CRUST

Core: CENTER, HEAVIEST MATERIALS (NICKEL, IRON),

11.  WE THINK EARTH’S EARLY ATMOSPHERE WAS MADE MOSTLY OF AMMONIA, METHAND, AND WATER. IT WAS PROBABLY A STEAMY ATMOSPHERE OF WATER VAPOR AND CARBON DIOXIDE. THE SECOND ATMOSPHERE WAS MUCH COOLER, THOUGH STILL WARMER THAN IT IS TODAY. OUR CURRENT ATMOSPHERE HAS THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE, AND IS JUST THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE!

12.  THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER ON EARTH FOR A LONG TIME. AS THE EARTH COOLED AND SETTLED, THE LIGHTER MATERIALS ROSE TO THE EARTH’S SURFACE AND BEGAN TO PILE UP. EVENTUALLY, THE PILES GOT BIGGER AND ROSE ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL, FORMING CONTINENTS

Chapter 17 Tour: Formation of the Solar System

Section 1: A Solar System is Born

1.  What is a nebula? A HUGE INTERSTELLAR CLOUD MADE OF DUST AND GAS

  1. Look at figure 2 on page 425. What 2 forces balance each other to keep a nebula of dust and gas from collapsing or flying apart? GRAVITY and PRESSURE
  2. Look at figure 3 on pages 426-427. Copy the steps below (summarize as much as possible):

1)  YOUNG SOLAR NEBULA COLLAPSES DUE TO GRAVITY

2)  SOLAR NEBULA ROTATES, FLATTENS, AND GETS WARMER NEAR THE CENTER

3)  PLANETESIMALS BEGIN TO FORM WITHIN SWIRLING DISK

4)  LARGEST PLANETESIMALS BEGIN TO SWEEP UP MORE AND MORE DUST & GAS

5)  SMALLER PLANETESIMALS COLLIDE WITH LARGER ONES, PLANETS GROW

6)  REMAINING DUST & GAS LEAVES, LEFT WITH A NEW SOLAR SYSTEM

  1. Why does the composition of giant gas planets differ from that of the rocky inner planets? THE OUTER GAS GIANTS ARE MADE OF GAS BECAUSE THEY WERE LOCATED FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN AND COULD COLLECT LOTS OF GAS & DUST. THE INNER PLANETS THAT ARE CLOSER TO THE SUN ARE MADE OF JUST ROCK BECAUSE THE GAS BURNED OFF.
  2. Copy figure 5 on page 429 in the box below. Be sure to label rotation, revolution, and orbit.
  1. Look at figure 7 on page 431. Read the paragraph next to it. On what properties does the force of gravity between two objects depend? MASS and DISTANCE

Section 2: The Sun: Our Very Own Star

  1. Look at figure 9 on page 433. Label the sun’s layers from the outside. Write 1 fact about each layer.

a)  CORONA: OUTER ATMOSPHERE, GASES SO THIN CAN ONLY SEE DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE

b)  CHROMOSPHERE: THIN REGION BELOW CORONA, CAN ONLY SEE DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE

c)  PHOTOSPHERE: THE LAYER WE CAN SEE = SURFACE OF SUN

d)  CONVECTIVE ZONE: REGION WHERE HOT AND COOL GASES CIRCULATE AND CONVECT – HOT GASES RISE, COOL GASES SINK

e)  RADIATIVE ZONE: VERY DENSE HOT REGION WHERE LIGHT TAKES MILLIONS OF YEARS TO TRAVEL THROUGH

f)  CORE: CENTER OF THE SUN WHERE ENERGY IS PRODUCED

8.  Read the section titled Activity on the Sun’s Surface. What are sunspots? COOLER DARKER REGIONS ON THE SUN’S SURFACE, RELATED TO CHANGES IN THE MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF THE SUN

Section 3: The Earth Takes Shape

  1. According to the section titled The Earth and Its Layers, the Earth separated into distinct layers because melting inside the Earth allowed heavy materials to sink to the center and lighter materials to rise to the surface. Copy figure 16 in the box below (summarize the captions).
  1. Look at figure 17 on page 439. Define each of the 3 layers of the earth.

1)  Crust: OUTERMOST LAYER, FORMS SKIN RANGING IN THICKNESS

2)  Mantle: CONTAINS DENSER LAYER THAN CRUST

3)  Core: CENTER, HEAVIEST MATERIALS (NICKEL, IRON),

11.  Skim pages 440-442. How did the Earth’s composition change over time? WE THINK EARTH’S EARLY ATMOSPHERE WAS MADE MOSTLY OF AMMONIA, METHAND, AND WATER. IT WAS PROBABLY A STEAMY ATMOSPHERE OF WATER VAPOR AND CARBON DIOXIDE. THE SECOND ATMOSPHERE WAS MUCH COOLER, THOUGH STILL WARMER THAN IT IS TODAY. OUR CURRENT ATMOSPHERE HAS THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE, AND IS JUST THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE!

  1. According to the section titled Oceans and Continents on page 443, the oceans probably formed early on Earth, by about 4 billion years ago. How and when did the continents begin to appear?

THERE WAS A LOT OF WATER ON EARTH FOR A LONG TIME. AS THE EARTH COOLED AND SETTLED, THE LIGHTER MATERIALS ROSE TO THE EARTH’S SURFACE AND BEGAN TO PILE UP. EVENTUALLY, THE PILES GOT BIGGER AND ROSE ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL, FORMING CONTINENTS.