Top Hat Questions Chapter 5-8
The first space probes to land on another planet were from the a. Russian Venera series. b. The US Pioneer series. c. The European Venus Express series. d. The Viking series. e. The Voyager series.
a. Russian Venera series.
The absence of a magnetic field of Venus is a. as expected because the planet rotates so slowly b. surprising because the planet rotates so slowly c. as expected becuase the planet rotates so quickly d. suprising because the planet rotates so quickly e. evidnece against the current theory of how such fields are generated
a. as expected because the planet rotates so slowly
Space probes often use gravitational slingshot maneuvers. The main purpose of these maneuvers is to a. change the direction and speed of the probe without using rockets. b. launch probes from Earth orbit without using rockets. c. see more planets in a single trip. d. arrive at the destination at the right time.
a. change the direction and speed of the probe without using rockets.
Which of the following types of object could resonably br described as "drity snowballs" or, for the larger ones, "flying icebergs?" a. comets b. asteroids c. stars d. meteors e. terrestrial planets
a. comets
The magnetic field of Venus is a. essentially zero. b. about 1% of the Earth's magnetic field. c. Similar in intensity to the Earth's magnetic field. d. about 10 times the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. e. about 100 times the intensity of the Earth;s magnetic field.
a. essentially zero.
Comets are usually made of a. ice and possibly frozen gas. b. rock and possibly iron. c. Styrofoam and possibly poster paint. d. concrete and possibly marble. e. gold and possibly silver.
a. ice and possibly frozen gas.
Kuiper Belt objects are usually made of a. ice and possibly frozen gas. b. rock and possibly iron. c. Styrofoam and possibly poster paint. d. concrete and possibly marble. e. gold and possibly silver.
a. ice and possibly frozen gas.
An artificial satellite such as the International Space Station stays up because a. it falls below a straight-line path in exactly the same way that the curved surface of the Earth does. b. Earth's gravity does not extend beyond the atmosphere, so the Space Station is weightless. c. its speed weakens the pull of gravity. d. it is fixed in the fabric of space. e. the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the Earth is a great circle.
a. it falls below a straight-line path in exactly the same way that the curved surface of the Earth does.
The observed magnetic field of Mercury is surprising because it was expected to have a. no magnetic field at all because it rotates so slowly. b. no magnetic field at all because its density indicates only a small iron core. c. a much larger magnetic field because of its huge iron core. d. a magnetic field similar to Earth's because it is a terrestrial planet.
a. no magnetic field at all because it rotates so slowly.
Aristotle said that a moving earthly or 'mundane' object with nothing pushing or pulling on it will always a. slow down and stop. b. speed up. c. keep moving at the same speed. d. follow a circular path.
a. slow down and stop.
Aristotle said that the amount of force on a moving earthly object determines its a. speed b. acceleration c. time in motion d. distance
a. speed
If you are told that an object that weighs 20 Newtons is raised a distance of 10 meters, you know that. a. the force of gravity on the object is 20 Newtons. b.the mass of the object is 20 Newtons. c. the force of gravity on the object is 10 meters. d. the mass of the object is 10 meters. e. the acceleration of the object is 200 kilogram-meters.
a. the force of gravity on the object is 20 Newtons.
According to our current model of how magnetic fields arise, the magnetic field of Earth's Moon is a. understandable since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core. b. difficult to understand since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core.. c. understandable since the Moon rotates slowly but probably has a large iron core. d. difficult to understand since the Moon rotates rapidly.
a. understandable since the Moon rotates slowly and probably has no iron core.
A solar sail is a large sheet of light-reflecting plastic spread on an extremely low-mass framework and attached to a spacecraft. Sunlight exerts a force on the sail and moves the spacecraft. Suppose the spacecraft has a total mass of 100kg (including the sail) and sunlight exerts a total force of 2N on the sail. What will be the acceleration of the spacecraft? a. 50m/s². b. 0.02m/s². c. 100m/s². d. 2m/s². e. 0.2m/s².
b. 0.02m/s².
Suppose that you lift an object by exerting an upward force of 22 Newtons on it. If gravity exerts a force of 10 Newtons downward on the object, what is the total force on the object? a. 22 Newtons b. 12 Newtons c. 10 Newtons d. 2 Newtons e. 120 Newtons
b. 12 Newtons
The first human landing on the Moon was Apollo 11 in a. 1966. b. 1969 c. 1972 d. 1976
b. 1969
The first human landing on the Moon was a. Apollo 10 in 1969. b. Apollo 11 in 1969. c. Apollo 10 in 1974. d. Apollo 11 in 1974. e. Surveyor 1 in 1969.
b. Apollo 11 in 1969.
The first successful soft landing on the Moon was a. Surveyor 1 in 1969. b. Surveyor 1 in 1966. c. Luna 21 in 1973. d. Luna 21 in 1976. e. Apollo 10 in 1969.
b. Surveyor 1 in 1966
Why don't we just shoot all of our really nasty waste products into the Sun where they could not possibly bother anyone? a. One person's trash is another person's treasure. Maybe someone will buy it from us. b. The Sun is actually the hardest part of the Solar System to get to from here. c. If we drop our trash out of orbit, it might end up anywhere. d. It might bounce back at us. e. The Space Shuttle is not flying anymore and the Russians do not want to cart our trash.
b. The Sun is actually the hardest part of the Solar System to get to from here.
You are standing in an elevator that is accelerating upward at 1m/s². Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair that has to be exactly equal and opposite to each other? a. The force of gravity on you and the force that the floor of the elevator exerts on you. b. The force that the floor of the elevator exerts on you and the force that you exert on the floor of the elevator. c. The force of gravity on you and the force that you exert on the floor of the elevator. d. None of these pairs because acceleration requires an unbalanced force.
b. The force that the floor of the elevator exerts on you and the force that you exert on the floor of the elevator.
Which of the following planets or moons has an atmosphere with about 90 times the surface pressure of Earth's. a. Mercury b. Venus c. Mars d. Titan
b. Venus
The surface magnetic field of Mercury is a. essentially zero. b. about 1% of the Earth's magnetic field. c. Similar in intensity to the Earth's magnetic field. d. about 10 times the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. e. about 100 times the intensity of the Earth;s magnetic field.
b. about 1% of the Earth's magnetic field.
Which of the following objects would be most likely to have a long elliptical orbit that takes it from far outside the orbit of Mars to a close approach to the Sun? a. asteriod b. comet c. planet
b. comet
Relative to the distant stars, Mercury a. completes just one full rotation each time it orbits the Sun. b. completes 1.5 rotations each time it orbits the Sun. c. completes 2 rotations each time it orbits the Sun. d. does not rotate at all.
b. completes 1.5 rotations each time it orbits the Sun.
The discovery that there is water ice on the Moon has motivated many nations to launch Moon missions because it a. indicates that life might have originated on the Moon. b. could make a Moon base possible. c. complicates the already difficult problem of explaining how the Moon formed. d. could be mined and sent back to the Earth.
b. could make a Moon base possible.
Most Kuiper Belt objects can best be described as a. flying rocks or possibly flying mountains. b. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs. c. small stars or possibly large moons. d. flying lakes or possibly flying oceans.
b. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs.
Most comets can best be described as a. flying rocks or possibly flying mountains. b. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs. c. small stars or possibly large moons. d. flying lakes or possibly flying oceans.
b. dirty snowballs or possibly flying icebergs.
Earth's orbit is currently elliptical enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 6 percent. The shortest Earth-Sun distance (and highest intensity sunlight) currently occurs a. at different times each year. b. every January. c. every July. d. every Winter Solstice. e. every Summer Solstice.
b. every January.
According to Newton's Law of Gravity, the gravitational attraction of the Earth for other objects, such as the Moon, apples on trees and space shuttles in low earth orbit, a. is the same no matter where those objects are. b. is smaller for objects farther from the Earth but never vanishes entirely. c. extends only as far as the Earth's atmosphere and vanishes for objects like an orbiting space shuttle. d. is larger for objects farther from the Earth.
b. is smaller for objects farther from the Earth but never vanishes entirely.
The gravitational attraction of the Earth for other objects, a. is the same no matter where those objects are. b. is smaller for objects farther from the Earth but never vanishes entirely. c. extends only as far as the Earth's atmosphere and vanishes for objects like an orbiting space station. d. is larger for objects farther from the Earth.
b. is smaller for objects farther from the Earth but never vanishes entirely.
The Lunar Maria are a. mountains on the Moon. b. large dark markings that make up the face of the Man in the Moon. c. circular markings thought to be impact craters on the Moon. d.areas of jumbled terrain of unknown origin on the Moon.
b. large dark markings that make up the face of the Man in the Moon.
The Surveyor series of spacecraft a. surveyed the Moon from lunar orbit in the 1960s. b. made unmanned landings on the Moon in the 1960s. c. orbited Mars in the 1970s. d. made unmanned landings on Mars in the 1970s.
b. made unmanned landings on the Moon in the 1960s.
The Moon rotates on its axis relative to the distant stars a. not at all. b. once every sidereal month. c. once every sidereal day. d. once a year.
b. once every sidereal month.
Space probes often visit several planets before getting to their final destinations. The main reason they do this is to a. see more planets in a single trip. b. reduce the amount of rocket fuel needed. c. arrive at the destination at the right time. d. take on fuel. e. recharge their batteries.
b. reduce the amount of rocket fuel needed.
Asteroids can be made of a. ice and possibly frozen gas. b. rock and possibly iron. c. Styrofoam and possibly poster paint. d. concrete and possibly marble. e. gold and possibly silver.
b. rock and possibly iron.
Venus a. always keeps the same side toward the Sun so that solar time never changes. b. rotates backwards so that the Sun rises in the West. c. has a solar day that lasts for two complete orbits around the Sun. d. has a solar day that lasts for three complete orbits around the Sun. e. has a solar day that is very close to an Earth day in length.
b. rotates backwards so that the Sun rises in the West.
An astronomical unit is defined to be a. the average distance from the Earth to the Moon. b. the average distance from the Earth to the sun c. the average distance from our Sun to the nearest star. d. the average distance from our Sun to the closest planet, Mercury.
b. the average distance from the Earth to the sun.
If you are told that a 20 kilogram object is raised by 10 meters, you know that a. the force of gravity on the object is 20 kilograms. b. the mass of the object is 20 kilograms. c. the force of gravity on the object is 10 meters. d. the mass of the object is 10 meters. e. the acceleration of the object is 200 kilogram-meters.
b. the mass of the object is 20 kilograms.
One way to change the course of an asteroid is to place a `mass driver' on it. The mass driver is really just a catapult that throws things (like rocks for example) away from the asteroid. The force that acts on the combined object (mass driver plus asteroid) is actually exerted by a. the catapult that throws the rocks. b. the rocks that the catapult throws. c. the inertia of the asteroid. d. gravity. e. the fabric of space-time.
b. the rocks that the catapult throws.
Pathfinder was the first a. Mars orbiter. b. to use airbags to land on Mars. c. Mars lander. d. to use ion drive rockets for planetary exploration.
b. to use airbags to land on Mars.
A planet that is following Kepler's Laws, accelerates a. in the direction of the planets motion. b. toward the Sun. c. away from the Sun. d. between the direction of the planets motion and the direction from the planet to the Sun. e. opposite to the direction of the planets motion.
b. toward the Sun.
When Newton calculated the magnitude and direction of the acceleration for a planet that was following Kepler's Laws, he found that the direction of the acceleration was a. in the direction of the planets motion. b. toward the Sun. c. away from the Sun. d. between the direction of the planets motion and the direction from the planet to the Sun. e. opposite to the direction of the planets motion.
b. toward the Sun.
The Moon rotates on its axis so that it always keeps the same side a. towards the Sun. b. towards the Earth c. toward a particular distant star.
b. towards the Earth
The Law of Inertia says that if an object is not acted on by any outside force, its acceleration a. will always be a constant. b. will always be zero. c. will be zero if the object is at rest and not zero if the object is moving. d. can have any value at all.
b. will always be zero.
If the planets are numbered from 1 to 8, going outward from the Sun, the planet Earth is number a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5
c. 3
The density of water is 1000kg/m³, the density of rock is about 3000kg/m³, and the density of iron is 7800kg/m³. Which of the following densities would indicate an object that might consist of rock surrounding an iron core? a. 500kg/m³ b. 1000kg/m³ c. 4000kg/m³ d. 8000kg/m³ e. 20,000kg/m³
c. 4000kg/m³
The International Space Station (ISS) is in a roughly circular orbit near the surface of the Earth, moving at around 5 miles per second. Suppose that it is desired to raise it to a new circular orbit, farther from the surface by having a rocket give it one or more short boosts. Which of the following schemes will work? a. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second to put it on a rising path. b. Increase its speed to 8 miles per second to put it on a rising path. c. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second to put it on a rising path and give it another speed boost when its distance from the Earth stops increasing. d. Push it directly upward, away from the Earth. e. Decrease its speed to 4.9 miles per second and then give it a speed boost when its distance from the Earth stops decreasing.
c. Increase its speed to 6 miles per second to put it on a rising path and give it another speed boost when its distance from the Earth stops increasing.
Which of these sequences places the outer planets in the correct order from the Sun, from the closest to the farthest. a. Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus (farthest) b. Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune (farthest) c. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest) d. Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus (farthest)
c. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest)
Which of these sequences places the outer planets in the correct order from the Sun, from the closest to the farthest. a. Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus (farthest) b. Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune (farthest) c. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest) d. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest)
c. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (farthest)
Which of these planets has a solar day that is very close to an Earth day in length? a. Mercury b. Venus c. Mars d. Jupiter e. Saturn
c. Mars
Changes in the intensity of sunlight due to shifts in both the Earth's orbit and rotation axis cause a. the seasons. b. the phases of the moon c. Milankovich cycles d. the precession of the equinoxes
c. Milankovich cycles
Which of these Mars rovers operated on the surface of Mars for fourteen years? a. Pathfinder b. Spirit c. Opportunity d. Curiosity e. Surveyor
c. Opportunity
Compare the magnitude of the acceleration of Earth's Moon to the acceleration of falling objects on the surface of the Earth. a. the accelerations are the same. b. The Moon's acceleration is larger. c. The Moon's acceleration is smaller.
c. The Moon's acceleration is smaller.
A horse is pulling a cart along a road. Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair? a. The force of the horse on the cart and the force of the road on the horse. b. The force of the horse on the cart and the force of the horse on the road. c. The force of horse on the road and the force of the road on the horse. d. The force of the cart on the horse and the force of the horse on the road. e. The force of the cart on the horse and the force of the road on the horse.
c. The force of horse on the road and the force of the road on the horse.
The temperature at the poles of Mercury is expected to be a. Very hot all of the time because Mercury is close to the Sun. b. Very hot during the Mercurian summer when the Sun shines to the bottoms of the craters. c. Very hot all of the time on mountain peaks hit by the Sun and very cold all of the time in craters never hit by the Sun.
c. Very hot all of the time on mountain peaks hit by the Sun and very cold all of the time in craters never hit by the Sun.
The first soft landing on Mars was by the a. Surveyor landers. b. Voyager landers. c. Viking landers. d. Venera landers. e. Mariner landers.
c. Viking landers.
According to the currently accepted model of how planets generate magnetic fields, a rotating planet with a substantial magnetic field must contain a. iron. b. liquid iron. c. a liquid electrical conductor. d. magnetite ore. e. water
c. a liquid electrical conductor.
The atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is a. essentially zero. b. 90 times the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere. c. about 1% the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere. d. about the same as the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere.
c. about 1% the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere.
Since 1990, the major spacefaring nations, Europe, China, Russia, Japan, India, and the U.S., have begun to return to the Moon. As of 2009, of these six space programs, a. all except the European Space Agency have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon. b. all except NASA have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon. c. all except Russia have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon. d. all except the Indian Space Research Organisation have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon. e. all except the Japan Space Agency have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon.
c. all except Russia have sent probes or orbiters to the Moon.
Mars has a. almost no atmosphere. b. an atmosphere of carbon dioxide with about 90 times the surface pressure of Earth's. c. an atmosphere of carbon dioxide with about 1% the surface pressure of Earth's. d. an atmosphere whose temperature and pressure permit all three forms of water. e. an atmosphere whose temperature and pressure permit all three forms of methane.
c. an atmosphere of carbon dioxide with about 1% the surface pressure of Earth's.
Current theory says that the Moon formed when a. an asteroid collided with the Earth. b. the Earth captured another planet. c. another planet collided with the Earth. d. a comet collided with the Earth. e. the earth rotated fast enough to break up.
c. another planet collided with the Earth.
Hydrated minerals on the Moon a. are present in the same proportions as on Earth. b. are more abundant than on Earth. c. are almost completely absent.
c. are almost completely absent.
On the present surface of Mars, water has been confirmed to exist a. as small, long lasting streams of liquid water. b. as oceans. c. as ice at the poles and water vapor in the atmosphere. d. nowhere at all. The planet is completely dry.
c. as ice at the poles and water vapor in the atmosphere.
For a planet to have substantial amounts of liquid water on its surface, it must have a. temperature between 0*C and 100*C b. both temperature and atmospheric pressure at the triple point of water c. atmospheric pressure above the triple point of water d. atmospheric pressure exactly at the triple point of water e. temperature above the triple point of water
c. atmospheric pressure above the triple point of water
Suppose that you drop two objects from the same height at the same time. Both objects are heavy enough to be unaffected by air resistance. If one object is twice as heavy as the other, Galileo predicted that a. the heavier object would hit the ground long before the lighter one. b. the lighter object would hit the ground long before the heavier one. c. both objects would hit the ground at the same time.
c. both objects would hit the ground at the same time.
The density of rock is about 3000kg/m^3. The density of the Earth is a. less than 3000kg/m^3 because so much of the Earth is water b. close to 3000kg/m^3 because most of the Earth is rock c. greater than 3000kg/m^3 because the Earth has an iron core
c. greater than 3000kg/m^3 because the Earth has an iron core
The side of the Moon that faces away from the Earth a. looks exactly like the side that faces the Earth. b. consists almost entirely of lunar maria. c. has only a few small lunar maria.
c. has only a few small lunar maria.
The circular structures on the surface of the Moon are the result of a. volcanos. b. moonquakes. c. impacts. d. gas bubbles. e. fortifications.
c. impacts.
The Moon's orbit around the Earth a. is exactly circular. b. is somewhat elliptical but not enough to affect eclipses. c. is elliptical enough to give us an annular solar eclipse when the Moon is near its apogee. d. is elliptical enough to give us an annular lunar eclipse when the Moon is near its perigee.
c. is elliptical enough to give us an annular solar eclipse when the Moon is near its apogee.
If the acceleration of an object is zero, its speed a. is also zero. b. is increasing. c. is not changing d. is decreasing.
c. is not changing
A planet with a large system of moons would have to be a a. terrestrial planet b. kuiper belt object c. jovian planet
c. jovian planet
Galileo said that a moving object with nothing pushing or pulling on it will always a. slow down and stop. b. speed up. c. keep moving at the same speed. d. follow a circular path.
c. keep moving at the same speed.
The Jovian planets typically have a. no moons b. only moons that they capture by accident c. large systems of moons
c. large systems of moons
The density of rock is about 3000kg/m³. The densities of the Jovian planets are a. close to 3000kg/m³ because they are mostly rock. b. greater than 3000kg/m³ because they have iron cores. c. less than 3000kg/m³ because they are mostly gas.
c. less than 3000kg/m³ because they are mostly gas.
The key argument against the Moon forming from the Earth alone, by breakup of a single object is that the Moon's a. core lacks iron. b. size is very large compared to Earth. c. orbit is tilted relative to Earth's equator. d. orbit is tilted relative to the ecliptic.
c. orbit is tilted relative to Earth's equator.
The presence of frozen water on Mercury is a. impossible because every part of it is too hot for water ice. b. possible because the planet always keeps the same side turned directly away from the Sun. c. possible because it has almost no axial tilt so that its poles never directly face the Sun. d. impossible because the night side, where it is cold, eventually rotates to directly face the Sun.
c. possible because it has almost no axial tilt so that its poles never directly face the Sun.
The current model for the way that planets acquire magnetic fields requires which of the following combinations of things? a. rotation and an iron core. b. only an iron core. c. rotation and a core that contains a liquid electrical conductor. d. only a core that contains a liquid electrical conductor. e. rotation and a core that contains liquid iron.
c. rotation and a core that contains a liquid electrical conductor.
A full cycle of day and night on Mars is called a `sol.' In terms of 24 hour Earth days, a Martian sol is a. about 27 Earth days. b. slightly shorter than one Earth day. c. slightly longer than one Earth day. d. about 687 Earth days. e. about 11 hours.
c. slightly longer than one Earth day.
A full cycle of day and night on Mars is called a `sol.' In terms of 24 hour Earth days, a Martian sol is a. about 27 Earth days. b. slightly shorter than one Earth day. c. slightly longer than one Earth day. d. about 11 hours.
c. slightly longer than one Earth day.
When Galileo dropped a wooden ball and a heavier iron ball at the same time, he found that a. the iron ball always hit long before the wooden one. b. the wooden ball always hit long before the iron one. c. sometimes the wooden ball hit first, sometimes the iron one hit first. d. both balls always hit at exactly the same time.
c. sometimes the wooden ball hit first, sometimes the iron one hit first.
Since the last Apollo mission to the Moon and the last Soviet LUNA sample-return mission a. there have been no spacecraft sent there at all. b. spacecraft began to be sent there again by 1980. c. spacecraft began to be sent there again by 1994. d. spacecraft began to be sent there again starting in 2003. e. spacecraft began to be sent there again starting in 2007.
c. spacecraft began to be sent there again by 1994.
Our Sun sends out intense streams of charged particle radiation. The radiation is prevented from hitting the Earth's atmosphere by a. the Earth's gravitational field. b. the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis. c. the Earth's magnetic field. d. the Earth's Moon.
c. the Earth's magnetic field.
The recoil or 'kick' of a gun that is firing a bullet is a force exerted on the gun by a. the gun itself. b. the air around the gun. c. the bullet. d. the inertia of the gun. e. the hand of the shooter.
c. the bullet
According to Galileo, a thrown spear keeps moving after it has left the spear thrower's hand because a. the force of the hand keeps acting on the spear. b. the force of the air disturbed by the spear keeps it in motion. c. the force of friction with the air is not enough to stop the spear. d. the force of inertia keeps the spear going.
c. the force of friction with the air is not enough to stop the spear.
Suppose that an object with a mass of one kilogram and an object with a mass of two kilograms are both in free fall near the Earth's surface. As compared to the one kilogram object, the two kilogram object accelerates a. more because gravity pulls on it more strongly. b. less because it has more inertia. c. the same because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has more inertia. d. more because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has less inertia. e. less because gravity pulls on it less strongly and it has more inertia.
c. the same because gravity pulls on it more strongly and it has more inertia.
Moon missions since 2007 have mostly been focused on a. the search for life that may have originated on the Moon. b. the search for clues to the origin of the Moon. c. the search for water needed for a Moon base. d. demonstrating mastery of rocket science.
c. the search for water needed for a Moon base.
Mercury rotates so that its sidereal day lasts for a. one complete orbit around the Sun. b. two complete orbits around the Sun. c. two thirds of a complete orbit around the Sun. d. three complete orbits around the Sun. e. one and a half complete orbits around the Sun.
c. two thirds of a complete orbit around the Sun.
Asteroids are a. always found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. b. always found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. c. usually found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. d. usually found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn.
c. usually found in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
If an object is moving at constant speed in a straight line, its acceleration is a. positive in its direction of motion. b. negative in its direction of motion. c. zero d. changing
c. zero
An ion rocket engine produces 100 Newtons of thrust. What acceleration can it give to a space probe with a mass of 10,000kg? a. 1 m/s². b. 1000 m/s². c. 0.1 m/s². d. 0.01 m/s². e. 0.001 m/s².
d. 0.01 m/s².
If the planets are numbered from 1-8, going outward from the sun, the planet Mars is number a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5
d. 4
What total force will cause an object with a mass of 5kg to gain 10 meters per second every second? a. 10 Newtons b. 9.8 Newtons c. 5 Newtons d. 50 Newtons
d. 50 Newtons
Which of these Mars rovers has been operating on the surface of Mars for six years so far (as of 2018). a. Pathfinder b.Spirit c. Opportunity d. Curiosity e. surveyor
d. Curiosity
The first space probe to place a robotic rover on the surface of Mars was a. Mariner 9. b. Viking 1. c. Surveyor 1. d. Pathfinder. e. Spirit and Opportunity.
d. Pathfinder.
So far (as of 2018), the planet Venus has been visited by a. no successful space probes. b. just one successful space probe. c. two or three successful space probes. d. about 28 successful space probes. e. about 48 successful space probes.
d. about 28 successful space probes.
At present (within the last few hundred years), the distance from Mars to the Sun a. never changes. b. changes a little, but not enough to affect the intensity of sunlight. c. changes enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 6 percent. d. changes enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 40 percent.
d. changes enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 40 percent.
The impacts of large objects on the surface of the Moon have caused a. scarps b. highlands c. jumbled terrain d. craters e. rift valleys
d. craters
The Moon's orbit a. is in the plane of the ecliptic. b. is in the plane of the Earth's equator. c. is perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's equator. d. is somewhat tilted relative to the plane of the Earth's equator
d. is somewhat tilted relative to the plane of the Earth's equator
The Opportunity Mars rover a. never made it to Mars. b. rolled onto the surface of Mars and immediately got stuck. c. operated on Mars for four years. d. operated on Mars for fourteen years. e. operated on Mars for seven years until March 2010.
d. operated on Mars for fourteen years.
Which of these is a distinctive feature of the Earth's atmosphere? a. the presence of nitrogen. b. the presence of water vapor. c. the presence of carbon dioxide d. temperature and pressure permit all three forms of water. e. temperature and pressure permit all three forms of methane.
d. temperature and pressure permit all three forms of water.
The Soviet Union had a secret program to put the first human on the Moon. This program a. never got beyond the planning stage. b. built a Moon rocket, but never test fired it. c. successfully test launched a Moon rocket that worked but was cancelled by the Politburo. d. test launched their Moon Rocket several times, but it blew up each time.
d. test launched their Moon Rocket several times, but it blew up each time.
A planet whose atmospheric pressure is exactly at the triple point of water and whose surface temperature has a range that includes the triple point will have a. all three forms of water on its surface. b. water only as ice. c. water only as vapor. d. water as ice or vapor, depending on the temperature.
d. water as ice or vapor, depending on the temperature.
Why couldn't we just fly a Space Shuttle to the Moon for at least a fly-by? a. The Space Shuttle needed the support of Earth's atmosphere. b. All of the Space Shuttle flights were reserved for other things. c. We had already been to the Moon. d. The Space Shuttle would not have enough fuel to make it back to Earth. e. The Space Shuttle did not have enough fuel to reach escape velocity.
e. The Space Shuttle did not have enough fuel to reach escape velocity.
Relative to the distant stars, Venus a. completes just one full rotation each time it orbits the Sun. b. completes 1.5 rotations each time it orbits the Sun. c. completes 2 rotations each time it orbits the Sun. d. does not rotate at all. e. completes less than one full rotation each time it orbits the Sun.
e. completes less than one full rotation each time it orbits the Sun.
Compared to the rest of the Lunar surface, the Lunar Maria are a. higher and younger. b. lower and younger. c. higher and older. d. lower and older. e. at about the same level and age.
lower and younger.
The magnetic field of Mars is a. exactly zero everywhere on Mars. b. present only locally, near magnetized ore deposits. c. present globally at about 1% of the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. d. about 10 times the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field. e. about 100 times the intensity of the Earth;s magnetic field.
present only locally, near magnetized ore deposits.
