Term
| The shorter the wavelength... |
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Definition
| The higher the frequency and energy |
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Term
| In order of decreasing wavelength, the forms of light are... |
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Definition
| radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x rays, and gamma rays |
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Term
| The components of an atom are... |
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Definition
| protons, neutrons, and electrons |
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Term
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Definition
| A chemical element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. |
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Term
| What are the different ways in which light and matter can interact? |
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Definition
| Matter can emit, absorb, transmit, or reflect light. |
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Term
| What are the three different types of spectra? |
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Definition
| Continuous spectrum, absorption line spectrum, emission line spectrum. |
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Term
| What does a continuous spectrum look like? |
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Definition
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Term
| What does an absorption line spectrum look like? |
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Definition
| Specific colors are missing from the rainbow. |
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Term
| What does an emission line spectrum look like? |
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Definition
| We see lines of specific colors against a black background. |
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Term
| What does the Doppler Effect allow us to do? |
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Definition
| It lets us know how fast an object is moving towards or away from us. Spectral lines will either be shifted towards shorter wavelengths if they're going towards us or longer if they're moving away. This is known as blueshift for shorter and redshift for longer. |
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Term
| Light-collecting area describes what? |
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Definition
| How much light a telescope can collect. |
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Term
| Angular resolution determines what? |
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Definition
| The amount of detail in telescopic images. |
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Term
| Why do we put telescopes in space? |
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Definition
| To prevent light pollution, prevent atmospheric distortion, and to get beyond the atmosphere in general which blocks many forms of light entirely. |
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Term
| What do adaptive optics do? |
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Definition
| They overcome the distorting effects of the Earth's atmosphere. |
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Term
| What does interferometry do? |
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Definition
| It's where individual telescopes are linked in a way that allows them to obtain the angular resolution of a much larger telescope. |
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Term
| What are the two categories of planets? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| This theory holds that the solar system is formed from the gravitational collapse of a great cloud of gas and dust. |
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Term
| What was the initial composition of our universe? |
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Definition
| 98% Hydrogen and Helium, 2% all other elements |
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Term
| What is the most likely cause of our moon's existence? |
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Definition
| A giant impact between our young Earth and a Mars-sized object caused a portion of the young Earth to break off. |
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Term
| When did the planets begin to accrete in the solar system? |
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Definition
| Approximately 4.55 billion years ago, a fact we have determined through radiometric dating of the oldest meteorites. |
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Term
| How do we detect planets not in our solar system? |
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Definition
| We observe the effects of the planet on the star it's orbiting via the Doppler technique in which Doppler shifts reveal the gravitational tug of a planet on a star. |
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