The Solar System and the Nebular Theory

How did the bits of dust and gas that eventually formed the solar system behave while falling into orbit around each other?

• They collided and went spiraling in opposite directions.

• They expanded as they were pulled farther apart and eventually cooled.

• They created new gases that caused them to cool after interacting with each other.

• They ran into each other and stuck together due to gravitational and other forces.

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What theory do scientists have about why most planets rotate in a counterclockwise direction?

• Planets always rotate in the same direction that their sun rotates.

• Gravity naturally causes objects to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

• An unknown factor causes them to rotate in a counterclockwise direction.

• It is the direction in which planetesimals rotated as they revolved around the center of the nebula.

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What do scientists theorize is the reason for the planets' shared orbital plane?

• The planets' positions in the solar system happened by chance.

• The planets formed in the same plane as the flattened nebular disk

• Large celestial objects can only fit on the same orbital plane as the sun.

• The gravitational forces between the planets cause them to share an orbital plane.

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Why do scientists believe the inner solar system has terrestrial planets?

• Planetesimals containing metal compounds formed toward the nebula’s warmer center

• Gravitational forces attracted planetesimals made out of ice toward the center of the nebula.

• Lighter planets form toward the center of a solar system similar to how a planet’s core forms.

• The sun’s gravitational force attracts planets with less mass toward the solar system’s center.

Which of these is NOT true of the patterns of the planets’ orbits?

• Their orbits do not cross.

• The sun is near the center of each orbit.

• They are ellipses that are nearly circular in shape.

• The distance between any two orbits changes based on how fast the planets rotate.

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A nebula is a

• collection of comets.

• large cloud of gas and dust.

• collection of dwarf planets.

• large constellation of stars.

What role do scientists believe a supernova played in the Nebular Theory?

• The supernova merged with the nebula and created several solar systems.

• . The supernova pushed matter together, causing matter in the nebula to expand.

• The supernova pulled matter apart, causing matter in the nebula to break apart and flatten

• The supernova pushed matter together in a nebula, causing the matter to rotate and flatten.

How were the particles of planetesimals able to stick together?

• Gravitational and other forces held them together.

• High temperatures caused the particles to melt and clump together

• Cold temperatures caused the particles to freeze together

• The speed of the particles rotation was enough to keep them together

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What hypothesis do scientists have about the direction of Venus and Uranus's rotation?

• Both planets may have been hit by objects that caused their rotation to change.

• Their positions in the solar system caused a shift in their gravitational forces.

• Both planets may have made contact early in the formation of the solar system.

• The planets cores may have caused their weight to shift toward a clockwise direction.

What kinds of substances froze to form the gas planets’ icy cores?

• Iron and nickel

• Helium and hydrogen

• Oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen

• Water, ammonia, and methane