Nebular Theory

The planets in our solar system are thought to have come from

• Clumps of rocky material that existed between the stars

• The same cloud of gas and dust that formed the sun

• A fast spinning young sun that flung them out over time

• the sun capturing them as they wandered into the sun's gravitational path.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-6

The most probable time sequence for the formation of the solar system was that

• The planets formed first out of a cold nebula of gas and dust, followed by the Sun, which formed when the gas had become much hotter.

• The sun formed first, and the planets and major moons were captured much later as they drifted by the sun

• The sun first, then the planets and moons formed shortly afterwards by accretion and condensation

• The sun formed first, the planets were spun off from the Sun, and the moons in turn were spun off from the planets.

Why are the inner planets smaller?

• they are more dense than the outer planets

• they are the same size as the outer planets

• There was less less material to make them -- (the nebula had lots of gases)

• rock is more compact than gases

The terrestrial planets are made almost entirely of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. Where did most of these elements come from?

• They were made by chemical reactions in the interstellar gas.

• They have been present in the universe since its birth.

• They were produced by gravity in the solar nebula as it collapsed.

• They were produced by stars that lived and died before our solar system was born.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-3

What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?

• The growth of planets from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together

• The formation of moons around planets.

• The condensation of gases beyond the frost line.

• The growth of the Sun as the density of gas increased in the center of the solar nebula.

What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in our solar system?

• It marks the special distance distance from the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.

• It is the altitude in a planet’s atmosphere at which snow and ice can form.

• It is another way of stating the temperature at which water freezes into ice.

• It marks the special distance from the Sun at which hydrogen compounds become more abundant

Which of the following are relatively unchanged fragments from the early period of planet building in the solar system?

• Meteorites

• Asteroids

• Kuiper belt comets

• All of the these

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-6

Based on our current theory of the earth’s formation, the water we drink comes from

• Ice that condensed within the solar nebula in the same are where the earth formed

• Chemical reactions that occurred in the earth’s crust after the earth formed

• Comets and asteroids that impacted the earth during the heavy bombardment phase of planet building

• Material left behind during the giant impact that formed the Moon.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-6

Give at least one proponent of the Nebular Theory

The major steps in the formation of the Solar System based on the Nebular Theory are: Cloud collapse, formation of the protoplanetary disk, and ______________________

• growth of planets

• birth of star

• galaxy formation