Astronomy Test 3

Our Moon is about the same size as moons of the other terrestrial planets. True or False?

False

Saturn is the only planet in the solar system with rings. True or False?

False

The most abundant ingredient of the Sun and Jupiter is:

Hydrogen

The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is __________.

Venus

__________ is the planet with the highest average surface temperature.

Venus

Are there any exceptions to the rule that planets rotate with small axis tilts and in the same direction that they orbit the Sun?

Venus and Uranus are exceptions

Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?

Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere

Which terrestrial planets have had volcanic activity at some point in their histories?

all of them

All comets orbit the Sun in the same direction as the planets. True or False?

False

All the planets in the solar system have at least one moon. True or False?

False

Moons cannot have atmospheres, active volcanoes, or liquid water. True or False?

False

Based on the frequency with which we see comets from Earth, astronomers estimate the total number of comets in the solar system to be.

1 trillion

Rank the Sun, Mercury, Earth, Mars Jupiter, and Pluto by size from largest to smallest.

1. Sun 2. Jupiter 3. Earth 4. Mars 5. Mercury 6. Pluto

Rank the Sun, Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto based on their mass, from highest to lowest.

1. Sun 2. jupiter 3. earth 4. mars 5. mercury 6. pluto

Rank jupiter, mars, earth, and mercury based on the number of moons that orbit them, from highest to lowest.

1. jupiter 2. mars 3. earth 4. mercury

Rank mercury, earth, mars, jupiter, and neptune based on their average surface (or cloud-top) temperature, from highest to lowest.

1. mercury 2. earth 3. mars 4. jupiter 5. neptune

Rank mercury, earth, mars, jupiter, and neptune based on the amount of time it takes them to orbit the Sun, from longest to shortest.

1. neptune 2. jupiter 3. mars 4. earth 5. mercury

Rank mercury, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, and pluto from first to last based on their average distance from the Sun, from farthest to closest.

1. pluto 2. saturn 3. jupiter 4. mars 5. earth 6. mercury

Which jovian planet does NOT have rings?

All the jovian planets have rings.

Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's North Pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?

All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.

Which of the following three kinds of objects resides closer to the sun on average?

Asteroids

How do asteroids differ from comets?

Asteroids are rocky bodies and are denser than the comets, which are made of icy material.

Most of the surface of __________ is covered with liquid water.

Earth

The largest terrestrial planet and jovian planet are, respectively:

Earth and Jupiter

Which of the following statements about Pluto is true?

It has more in common with comets in the Kuiper belt than it does with terrestrial planets like Earth.

In what direction does Uranus orbit the Sun?

It orbits the Sun in the same direction as the other planets.

What is the Oort cloud?

It's not really a cloud at all, but rather refers to the trillion or so comets thought to orbit the Sun at great distances.

What's unusual about our Moon?

It's surprisingly large relative to the planet it orbits

__________ is the jovian planet that orbits closest to the Sun.

Jupiter

The only rocky planet to have more than one moon is __________.

Mars

Which planet, other than Earth, has visible water ice on it?

Mars

The planet that orbits closest to the Sun is __________.

Mercury

Which of the following statements is NOT an observed pattern of motion in our solar system? -Almost all moons orbit their planet in the same direction as the planet's rotation. -Most planetary orbits lie nearly in the same direction. -All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction. -Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit. -Most planets orbit at the same speed.

Most planets orbit at the same speed.

__________ is about 30 times as far from the Sun as our own planet.

Neptune

Which planet has a ring system?

Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus

What is the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto?

New Horizons

Which of the following is NOT a pattern of motion in our solar system? -Planets all rotate in the same direction -Planets all orbit in the same direction -Large planets all have many moons orbiting them -Planets all orbit the same direction as the Sun's spin

Planets all rotate in the same direction

The planet with the lowest average density is __________.

Saturn

What are characteristics for terrestrial and jovian planets?

Terrestrial: small size, solid rocky surface, located within the inner solar system Jovian: low average density, extensive ring systems, numerous orbiting moons, primarily composed of hydrogen, helium, and hydrogen compounds

Which of the following statements about our Sun is NOT true? -The Sun is a star. -The Sun's diameter is about five times that of Earth -The Sun is made mostly of hydrogen and helium -The Sun contains more than 99 percent of all the mass in our solar system.

The Sun's diameter is about five times that of Earth.

Why is the primary reason why a pluto flyby mission would be cheaper than a pluto orbiter?

The fuel needed for an orbiter to slow down when it reaches Pluto adds a lot of weight to the spacecraft.

The planet closest in size to Earth is

Venus

Which of the following is NOT an exception to the general patterns in the solar system? -the retrograde rotation of Triton around Neptune -the clockwise rotation of Venus -the large size of Earth's Moon -the extreme axis tilt of Uranus -the rings of Saturn

The rings of Saturn

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the inner planets? -Their orbits are relatively closely spaced. -They all have substantial atmospheres. -They have very few, if any, satellites. -They are relatively smaller than the outer planets. -They all have solid, rocky surfaces.

They all have substantial atmospheres.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the outer planets? -Their orbits are separated by relatively large distances. -They all have rings -They are primarily made of hydrogen and helium -They have very few, if any, satellites.

They have very few, if any, satellites.

All four of the giant outer planets -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune -- have rings. True or False?

True

All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction (counterclockwise as viewed from above Earth's North Pole). True or False?

True

Oceans cover more of Earth's surface than land. True or False?

True

On average, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system - even hotter than Mercury. True or False?

True

The jovian planets have no solid surface. True or False?

True

The mass of the Sun compared to the mass of all the planets combined is like the mass of an elephant compared to the mass of a cat. True or False?

True

The more massive planets in the solar system tend to be less dense than the lower mass planets. True or False?

True

The weather conditions on Mars today are much different than they were in the distant past. True or False?

True

__________ has a rotational axis that is tilted so much it lies nearly in the plane of its orbit.

Uranus

What is the Kuiper belt?

a region of the solar system beginning just beyond the orbit of Neptune that contains many icy comets.

Where are most of the known asteroids found?

between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

What are the main constituents of the jovian planets?

hydrogen and helium

Which have more moons on average?

jovian planets

Large moons orbit their planets in the same direction the planet rotates:

most of the time

Which of the following best describes Pluto in terms of the general characteristics of terrestrial and jovian planets?

size and solid surface similar to terrestrial planets; distance similar to jovian planets