| NOTE: this list contains questions similar to those that
will be on the quiz, but they may not be identical. Mnay of these study questions have more than one unique answer. Please be sure to
read the quiz questions carefully. If the answers to these questions were not explicitly covered in lecture, you'll need to research them using our textbook and the web. |
| What are the eight planets in order of distance from the Sun, starting with the planet closest to the Sun? How does the size of the planets changes as you move outward from the Sun? |
| How do you tell the difference between images of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars? |
| What are the two most common geological processes in our solar system? On which planets do you observe these, and why? |
| Which planets in our solar system have moons? Which one has the most? |
| Which planets in our solar system have rings? |
| Compare the sizes of Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Why isn't our Moon considered a planet? |
| What preconceived notion did Kepler have about planetary orbits that prevented him from discovering his Three Laws a lot sooner? |
| What are Kepler's Three Laws, and why were they important? |
| Which planet has the highest eccentricity? The lowest? Which has the most nearly circular orbit? |
| What is the difference between a heolicentric and geocentric universe? |
| What was Copernicus' contribution to the science of astronomy? |
| Draw an ellipse and label the major, minor, semi-major, and semi-minor axes, along with the two foci. |
| What was Tycho Brahe's role in helping Kepler discover his three laws? |
| What is an epicycle, and why was it used in early descriptions of the universe? Whose work finally put the idea of epicycles to rest? |
| How can Newton's Law of Gravity be used to predict the mass of a planet orbiting another star? |
| What is the difference between the period of a planet and the length of its semi-major axis? |
| What is the difference between the semi-minor axis and the semi-major axis of a planet's orbit? If these numbers are nearly the same, what does that imply about eccentricity? What is the numbers are very different? |
| If a planet has an eccentricity that is very low, then would you expect that seasons (i.e., temperature changes) on its surface would be caused by variations in the distance from the Sun? |
| If the length of the semi-major axis of a planet is 6 AU, what is its period? |
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