Astronomy Exam 2
The planets fall into two groups based on: 1. ________ 2. _______ 3. _______
1. Density 2. Size 3. Location
The planets fall into two groups based on: 1_________ 2________ 3________
1. Density 2. Size 3. Location
Venus orbits the sun in nearly perfect circle once every _______ Earth-days
225
Jupiter and Saturn are composed primarily of: a. nitrogen and oxygen b. oxygen and hydrogen c. hydrogen and helium d. nitrogen and carbon dioxide e. carbon dioxide and helium
C
Pluto is now classifies as a _________ in our solar system a. terrestrial planet b. Jovian planet c. dwarf planet d. comet
C
(T/F) Convergent plates move apart (ex. Oceanic ridges)
False
(T/F) Coronal holes are part of the Sun's corona and are constantly changing and reshaping because the corona is uniform
False
(T/F) In Jupiter near the top of its atmosphere lie white wispy clouds of carbon ice
False
(T/F) Mantle plumes produced large volcanoes of lava, but plate tectonics allowed it to accumulate to make enormous volcanoes
False
(T/F) One hypothesis for the Moon's origin suggests that a Mars-sized object collided with Earth to produce the Moon. About 4.5 million years ago.
False
(T/F) Saturn's winds move slower than those of the other planets
False
(T/F) Slow motions within the mantle of the Earth move large sections of the mantle around caused the plate tectonic
False
(T/F) A polar ice cap or polar cap is a high- latitude region of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite that is covered in ice
True
(T/F) A positive velocity on the Giant Planets means that the winds are blowing in the same direction as, but faster than, the planet's internal rotation
True
(T/F) A solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface and in close proximity to a sunspot group
True
(T/F) Everything in Venus is orange because the thick atmosphere of Venus absorbs the bluer colors of light
True
(T/F) Jupiter's appearance is mainly attributable to the colors of light reflected from its three main cloud layers
True
(T/F) Streaks appear seasonally on Mars steep, warm Martian slopes, thought to form from briny (salt) water
True
The Nebular theory, states that the Sun and planets formed from a rotating cloud of interllar gasses __________ and __________ called the solar nebula.
hydrogen, helium
One of the most pronounced differences between Uranus and Neptune is: a. the time they take to complete one revolution around the Sun b. the time they take to complete one rotation around the sun c. the differences in their structure and composition d. Uranus, thin atmospheres of carbon dioxide or nitrogen e. Neptune, thick atmospheres of carbon dioxide or nitrogen
A
Solar wind particles can be captured by the Earth's magnetosphere. When these particles spiral down along the magnetic field into the atmosphere, they are responsible for: a. aurorae (northern and southern lights) b. tropical storms (regions of rapidly rotating air) c. the greenhouse effect d. the reddish color we see during sunsets e. the poor quality of television programming in the world's northern hemisphere
A
The Van Allen belt is: a. a region of trapped charged particles in the Earth's magnetosphere b. a region where the ultraviolet light from the Sun is blocked from getting further down c. a region where industrial pollution has made a smoggy layer in the atmosphere d. a zone of small orbiting meteorites high above the Earth, which fall down from time to time e. a piece of clothing worn by astronomers after they get their PhD's
A
The material that would eventually make all the major bodies in our solar system first gathered together as smaller pieces wich astronomers call: a. planetesimals b. neguloids c. satellites d. differentiated objects c. jovians
A
What planet can come closest to the Earth in its orbit and look brightest in our skies a. Venus b. Mars c. Mercury d. Jupiter e. none of the above
A
You are the captain of an interplanetary tour ship and a wealthy tourist from Texas asks you to take him to see only the "largest darn planets" in the solar system. Which of the following would you not include in your tour? a. Mercury b. Jupiter c. Saturn d. Neptune e. Uranus
A
If no one has ever visited the core of the Earth, how do we know that it is made of metals? a. core material seeps up through volcanoes in the crust b. circulating liquid metals in the core set up a large (measurable) magnetic field c. spectroscopy allows us to tell what the core is made of by analyzing the light we receive d. the amount of radioactivity shows metals must be present; only metals are radioactive e. you can't fool me; there is NO evidence that the Earth's core has metals
B
Our best evidence and theoretical calculations indicate that the solar system began with a giant spinning system of gas and dust called: a. the Titius-Bode cloud b. the solar nebula c. a planetesimal d. the asteroid belt c. the beltway
B
The Sun's photosphere is a. the central region where the energy of the Sun originates b. the part of the Sun from which the light comes that we see when we look at the Sun with our eyes c. the hottest region of the Sun d. the outermost layers of the Sun's atmosphere e. the first region you would come to when leaving the core
B
The largest volcano on Mars is called: a. the Red Spot b. Olympus Mons (Mt. Olympus) c. Mariner Valley d. Hellas e. Mount Maxwell
B
What is one way that we humans are currently making the atmosphere of the Earth more like that of Venus? a. we are adding more oxygen to the atmosphere by growing more plants and trees b. we are adding carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, which is leading to global warming c. we are setting up a lot of equipment at the north and south poles to cool our planet down d. we have more than doubled the mass of the Earth's atmosphere by making additional air in our factories e. the Earth's atmosphere already resemble the atmosphere of Venus in all ways that are significant
B
Any rock in the Earth's crust that has cooled from an originally molten state is called: a. metamorphic b. sedimentary c. igneous d. silicate e. subducted
C
In which region of the Earth's atmosphere have you spent most of your life? a. the ionosphere b. the stratosphere c. the troposphere d. the ozone layer e. the mesosphere
C
The granulation pattern that astronomers have observed on the surface of the Sun tells us that: a. the Sun is a lot cooler on the inside than on the outside b. the Sun's surface is made of a thin solid that cracks easily c. hot material must be rising form the Sun's hotter interior d. the solar wind must consist of very small (low-mass) particles e. the Sun accumulates a lot of dirt and dust because of its large gravity
C
The most common element in the Sun is a. helium b. iron c. hydrogen d. water e. nitrogen
C
Today, a significant amount of new gas is joining the atmosphere of the Earth from what source: a. Earth is capturing gas clouds from space as it orbits the Sun b. much more water is evaporating from the oceans than is condensing back into water c. volcanoes release gas that was trapped within the Earth d. large meteorites that land on the Earth release a great deal of gas e. the discussions in state legislatures about creationism and evolution
C
Uranus and Neptune consist in large part of compounds of: a. hydrogen, helium, and oxygen b. carbon, helium, and hydrogen c. carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen d. hydrogen, methane, and nitrogen
C
Which of the following is NOT a terrestrial planet? a. Mars b. Earth c. Jupiter d. Venus e. Mercury
C
As atronomers have learned more about the structure of the Sun, they have foudn that it a. has a small solid core inside is made entirely of liquid, with a tiny bit of hot gas on the outside c. is solid throughout, but with a large very hot atmosphere d. is made entirely of hot gas e. is mad eo f billions of individual pieces of hto rock, all orbiting around each other in a whirling arrangement
D
The Viking spacecraft were designed -- in part -- to search for life on Mars. Which of the following statements about the results of these experiments is true? a. Viking discovered a form of life on Mars that does not require water to thrive b. Viking did not discover larger life forms on Mars, but did find some Mars bacteria c. Viking did not discover life on Mars today, but did find a lot of fossils indicating Mars had life in the past d. Viking found that the surface of Mars in the two places it searched did not have any life or even life's building blocks e. Viking did find a whole Martian civilization, but they are hiding it from the news media
D
The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is: a. Earth b. Mars c. Venus d. Jupiter e. Neptune
D
The most popular theory for the origin of the moon today is _________ a. the moon and earth coalesced from an eddy in the solar nebular, forming a binary planet system b. the earth captured a small planet, which is our moon c. the moon was formed when mars and a comparable size planet collided, and the moon was ejected toward earth and captured d. the early earth and a planet the size of mars collided, and the ejected material coalesced to form the earth's moon
D
The ten million tons of particles that escape the Sun each year in the form of the solar wind get out mainly through regions called a. sunspots b. spicules c. aurorae d coronal holes e. transition regions
D
Which of the following is NOT a way that Venus resembles the Earth? a. its size (diameter) b. its overall density c. the surface gravity (which tells us how much we would weight there) d. the thickness and pressure of its atmosphere e. you can't fool me; Venus resembles Earth in all of the above ways
D
Which of the following is a way we believe that the early atmosphere of the Earth differed from the atmosphere we have today? a. there was little if any free oxygen early on b. there was no ozone layer early on c. there was probably more carbon dioxide early on than there is todya d. all of the above e. none of the above
D
Which of the following statements about the violent events on the Sun called flares is FALSE? a. flares happen more often during solar maximum, and sometimes during those periods, there van be several in one day b. a flare can release energy equivalent to a million hydrogen bombs c. flares originate in the upper part of the corona, in the regions called coronal holes d. astronomers think that flares are connected with sudden changes in the magnetic field of the Sun e. the visible light we see from a flare is only a tiny fraction of the energy it releases
D
Which part of the Earth has the greatest density? a. oceanic crust b. continental crust c. mantle d. core e. Bayonne, New Jersey
D
On which of the planets (other than Earth) could a human being step out of a spacecraft and survive without any protective gear (special suit, oxygen tanks, etc)? a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Neptune e. you can't fool me; there is no other planet on which we could survive unprotected
E
Terrestrial planets: a. Small, dense, and rocky b. Large cores of iron and nickel c. Low escape velocities d. Thin atmospheres of carbon dioxide or nitrogen e. All of the above
E
The Red Spot of Jupiter is: a. variable in size b. a high-pressure storm system in the atmosphere c. made of a reddish colored material (but we don't know what gives it the reddish color) d. long-lived (observed since the 1600's) e. all of the above
E
The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is: a. oxygen b. ozone c. water vapor d. argon e. nitrogen
E
The same gas makes up most of the atmosphere of Mars and Venus. This gas is: a. water vapor b. nitrogen c. ozone d. ammonia gas e. carbon dioxide
E
Which of the following is not part of some active regions on the Sun? a. sunspots b. flares c. plages d. prominences e. granulation
E
A large, bright, gaseous feature extending outward from the Sun's surface, often in a loop shape is called a _________
Prominence
Asteroids are made up of __________ and __________ material.
Rocky materials, metals
