Solar System Vocabulary By EmilyRose Holt Mrs Hale
Solar System Vocabulary By: Emily-Rose Holt Mrs. Hale 6 th period
1. Geocentric
Definition �A model of the universe in which Earth is at the center of the revolving planets and stars. �Pg. 555 Sentence �I thought the solar system rotated around the sun but why do scientists have a geocentric model?
2. Heliocentric
Definition �A model of the solar system in which Earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. �Pg. 556 Sentence �A heliocentric model is like a geocentric model but the planets revolve around the sun instead of Earth.
3. Ellipse
Definition �An oval shape, which may be elongated or nearly circular. �Pg. 557 Sentence �The orbit of Mars is a slightly flattened circle or also known as an ellipse.
4. Inertia
Definition �The tendency of an object to resist a change in motion. �Pg. 522 Sentence �You sometimes experience inertia when you’re in the car and it suddenly stops and keep moving forward.
5. Gravity
Definition �A force that moves rocks and other materials downhill; the force that pulls objects closer toward each other. �Pg. 205, 520 Sentence �Without gravity we would be weightless and we would just float around.
6. Terrestrial Planets
Definition �The name often given to the four inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. �Pg. 556 Sentence �There are four terrestrial planets and we live on the one called Earth.
7. Retro Grade Rotation
Definition �Rotation in an opposite direction from the typical rotation within a system. �It was not in the book. Sentence Venus, Pluto, and Uranus have retrograde rotation in our solar system.
8. Greenhouse Effect
Definition �The process by which heat is trapped in the atmosphere by water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gasses that form a “blanket” around the Earth; the trapping of heat by planet’s atmosphere. �Pg. 411, 569 Sentence �The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps Earth’s atmosphere at a temperature that is comfortable for most living things.
9. Gas Giant
Definition �The name given to the four outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. �Pg. 575 Sentence �One gas giant is Saturn and that is the planet I am researching in Mrs. Hale’s class.
10. Comet
Definition �A loose collection of ice, dust and small rocky particles, typically with a long narrow orbit around the sun. �Pg. 585 Sentence �The only comet I have ever heard of is Hailey's comet.
11. Asteroid
Definition Rocky objects that are revolving around the sun that are too small and numerous to be considered planets. Pg. 586 Sentence �Is an asteroid given a name when discovered like comets do?
12. Asteroid Belt
Definition The region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found. Pg. 586 Sentence Is the asteroid belt between the planets Jupiter and Mars the only one?
13. Meteoroid
Definition �A chunk of rock or dust in space. �Pg. 535, 587 Sentence �Can you see a meteoroid from earth with out a telescope?
14. Meteor
Definition �A streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid In Earth’s atmosphere. �Pg. 587 Sentence �Can meteor land on earth and destroy or damage people’s things?
15. Meteorite
Definition �A meteoroid that passes through the Earth’s surface. �Pg. 587 Sentence �Can a meteorite make or contain light like a meteor ?
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