Exam 19: Origin of the Solar System and Extrasolar Planets

What is the process in planetary formation in which heavy metals settle to the core of the planet while lower density materials floated to the surface to form a crust?

Why do Terrestrial planets not have rings?

All the planets in the Solar System revolve in a clockwise motion.

What combination of forces releases the gas and dust of a comet when it approaches the Sun?

As a radioactive substance gradually decays, the abundance of daughter ____ gradually increases.

The Kepler space telescope is searching for extrasolar planets by the transit method.

Asteroids are believed to be debris left over from the failure of a planet to form at a distance of about 3 AU from the Sun.

Explain the steps involved in clearing a nebular of its interstellar material that stopped planetary formation.

Who was the first to propose solar system formation with gravity as a key component of the hypothesis?

Astronomers consider the Solar System's Kuiper belt extending beyond the orbit of Neptune as an example of an old debris disk.

Which is the correct order of planetary object class during their formation?

The inner planets are composed of ____.

The radioactive age of a rock is actually the length of time since the material in that rock was last ____.

Jupiter and Saturn are so massive that they were able to grow by drawing in hot gas by gravitational contraction from the solar nebula.

Which statement best describes an extrasolar planet?

What was the key physical property in determining the two categories of planets during solar system formation?

Jupiter and Saturn are so massive they were able to grow by drawing in cool gas by _______________ from the solar nebula.

A large _______________ makes it easier for a planet to hold onto orbiting ring particles.

The outer planets are composed of ____.

The _______________ supposes that planets form in the rotating disks of gas and dust around young stars.