WQ #14

A type of planet that our surveys of exoplanets are revealing around other stars, but we don't have any examples of around the Sun are: a. terrestrial planets b. jovian (giant) planets c. Super-Earth's d. dwarf planets e. you can't fool me, we have examples in the solar system of all the types of planets our exoplanet surveys are revealing

c. Super-Earth's

The telescope in space that allowed astronomers to find thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates by making very careful measurements during a planet transit was called: a. Kepler b. Voyager c. Transitor d. New Horizons e. InSight

a. Kepler

Which planet in the solar system rotates the most slowly (has the longest "day")? a. Venus b. Uranus c. Earth d. Jupiter e. Pluto

a. Venus

Chunks of solid material that survive passing through the Earth's atmosphere and are found on the Earth's surface are called a. meteorites b. asteroids c. meteors d. meteor showers e. comets

a. meteorites

The Murchison meteorite that was found in Australia in 1969 is important to scientists because it contained a. organic materials, such as amino acids b. more metal than any other meteorite c. large flecks of gold d. radioactive elements which we do not have on the Earth e. the decomposed bodies of small yellow aliens who were clearly intelligent

a. organic materials, such as amino acids

Some years some meteor showers, such as the Leonids, feature many more meteors than at other times. What is the cause of these "meteor storms"? a. the dust freed from some comets is clumpy and not evenly distributed along its orbit b. how many meteors we see in a given year depends one which side of the Sun we are on c. we get meteor storms at the same time and for the same reason we have more hurricanes on Earth d. meteor storms happen when Halley's Comet is near the Earth in its 76-year orbit e. no one has any idea about why meteor storms happen; they are a mystery

a. the dust freed from some comets is clumpy and not evenly distributed along its orbit

Of the following planets which has NO satellites (moons)? a. Earth b. Venus b. Jupiter c. Pluto d. Neptune

b. Venus

One of the best proofs that our theory of how the solar system formed is correct is that astronomers now observe a. Pluto's orbit, which is not in the plane (or disk) that the other planets orbit in b. disks around other stars which show evidence of gaps where planets may be forming c. planets that are called "hot Jupiters" d. no water in the inner solar system e. UFO's with alien astronomy textbooks inside, discussing the same theories

b. disks around other stars which show evidence of gaps where planets may be forming

When a periodic comet leaves its dusty debris behind in its orbit, the Earth can intercept this debris and a. show new impact craters b. have a meteor shower as the dust burns up c. lose ozone from its atmosphere d. speed up the orbit of the Moon e. have an increase in garbage bills from Alaska to New Zealand

b. have a meteor shower as the dust burns up

Astronomers estimate that about 25 million meteors strike the Earth's atmosphere each day. How come we haven't run out of meteors in the long history of the Earth? a. meteors come from dust from the Earth's surface that winds have blown high into the atmosphere; the Earth is so big it has lots of dust b. meteors are pieces of dirt left over from the formation of our solar system and from old comets; there is a huge supply of small dirt particles from both sources c. meteors are caused by electrical sparking in the Earth's atmosphere and there is a lot of static electricity up there d. meteors have only been hitting the Earth's atmosphere recently; they are the result of human pollution of space e. this is an unsolved problem in astronomy that has a lot of astronomers mystified

b. meteors are pieces of dirt left over from the formation of our solar system and from old comets; there is a huge supply of small dirt particles from both sources

How can astronomers measure the age of a meteorite that fell from the skies? a. Just like for planets, we measure the age by counting the number of craters on the meteorite b. Meteorites all contain metals and the metal conducts electricity better and better as it ages c. They measure the amount still left of radioactive materials in the meteorite, and how much has turned into decay products d. The age of a meteorite can be found from the angle at which it enters the Earth's atmosphere; so scientists can only get the ages of meteorites they observe falling e. There is no way to measure the age of any meteorites

c. They measure the amount still left of radioactive materials in the meteorite, and how much has turned into decay products

When a chunk of cosmic material the size of a golf ball or a baseball hits the Earth's atmosphere it makes a a. meteor shower b. radiant c. fireball d. meteorite which breaks into pieces when hitting the ground e. trail so faint, there is no chance of our seeing it on the ground

c. fireball

Some of the early planetesimals that formed the solar system still survive today. Where would you find such planetesimals? a. on the tallest mountains on Earth b. in orbit around Mercury c. in the asteroid and Kuiper belts d. under the permafrost of Mars e. you can't fool me, such planetesimals were swept up by the Sun long ago; none remain

c. in the asteroid and Kuiper belts

How do astronomers know that the age of the solar system is about 4.5 billion years old? a. radioactive dating of all the rocks on Earth shows that age b. they estimate that age from the number of comets that are still located in the Kuiper Belt c. radioactive dating of the primitive meteorites indicates they have that age (since they are left-over building blocks of the solar system) d. they estimate the date from the number of impact craters on the Earth e. they have the warranty book for each planet, and it tells you when the unit was manufactured

c. radioactive dating of the primitive meteorites indicates they have that age (since they are left-over building blocks of the solar system)

The reason that worlds like the Earth are differentiated is that a. the heat of the Sun vaporized much of their solid material early on b. the heaviest chunks that hit early on were able to bore through solid rock to the center c. the continuing impacts on a growing protoplanet eventually melted the entire body d. large amounts of hydrogen and helium collect around such planets a little later in their history e. planetesimals with different types of composition hit at different times, with the heaviest ones hitting first

c. the continuing impacts on a growing protoplanet eventually melted the entire body

For solid rocky worlds, a general rule is a. the larger the world, the closer it is to the Sun b. the smaller the world, the more likely it is to have an atmosphere c. the larger the world, the slower it cools off and the more it will keep its internal heat d. the smaller the world, the more likely it is to have a moon or moons e. the shorter a world's year (time to orbit the Sun), the more likely it is to harbor life

c. the larger the world, the slower it cools off and the more it will keep its internal heat

A key difference between the protoplanets that formed in the outer solar system and those that formed in the inner solar system was that a. those in the inner solar system were much larger than those in the outer solar system b. those in the outer solar system included far more metal and rock, and thus the outer planets could be denser c. those in the outer solar system were in a place where ice, not just rock, condensed and thus could grow larger d. those in the outer solar system did not have enough planetesimals nearby e. you can't fool me, there were no differences between the inner and outer protoplanets; only the planets that finally formed are different.

c. those in the outer solar system were in a place where ice, not just rock, condensed and thus could grow larger

Many worlds in the solar system show extensive impact cratering, dating back billions of years. Which of the following worlds does NOT show such cratering? a. Our Moon b. Callisto c. Mercury d. Saturn e. Mars

d. Saturn

The first technique that allowed astronomers to find exoplanets involved: a. photographing the planets using infrared waves b. looking for the decrease of light from the star during a transit of the planet across its disk c. sending a very small spacecraft to the exoplanet to take close-up images d. measuring changes in the radial velocity (Doppler shift) of the star caused by the pull of orbiting planets e. simply taking a visible light photo of the planet around the nearest star; it wasn't that hard

d. measuring changes in the radial velocity (Doppler shift) of the star caused by the pull of orbiting planets

Among solid worlds, which type of world is most likely to have significant geological activity? a. those that are the smallest (and thus easiest to heat) b. those that have strong magnetic fields c. those that have a moon (satellite) d. those that are the largest (and retain heat the best) e. those that are farthest from the Sun

d. those that are the largest (and retain heat the best)

A student in your class whom you kind-of like asks you come to watch a meteor shower. What exactly are you being invited to? a. something your mom would not approve of, involving streams of dirty water b. the closest approach of an active bright comet to the Earth c. a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the end of which you will be completely covered with dust particles from space d. watching the left-over dirt from a comet burn up by friction as the pieces hit the Earth's atmosphere e. something quite dangerous where you are likely to be hit when many larger rocks fall from above

d. watching the left-over dirt from a comet burn up by friction as the pieces hit the Earth's atmosphere

The tallest mountain on a terrestrial world is: a. Mt. Everest on Earth b. Mt. Maxwell on Venus c. the ring of mountains surrounding Copernicus crater on the Moon d. the ice mountains on Titan e. Olympus Mons (Mt. Olympus) on Mars

e. Olympus Mons (Mt. Olympus) on Mars

On which world besides the Earth could a human being step out of his spacecraft without a space suit and air tanks and be confident of surviving? a. Mars b. Venus c. Europa d. Titan e. none of the above

e. none of the above

One region on Earth that has become a rich source of new meteorites in recent decades (including the meteorite from Mars that got famous because some scientists claimed they had found evidence for the building blocks of life on Mars) is: a. the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico b. Bayonne, New Jersey c. the Great Salt Lake d. Australia e. the Antarctic

e. the Antarctic

Which of the following is NOT a way that Jovian planets can be distinguished from terrestrial planets? a. their average density is lower b. they are farther away from the Sun c. they include much more gas and liquid d. they are larger e. they have many more craters from collisions that happened early in solar system history

e. they have many more craters from collisions that happened early in solar system history