Ast. Exam 2
Which planet receives the least amount of energy from the Sun
Neptune
Thermosphere
One of the outer layers of the atmosphere, it occupies the region between 80 and 1000 km. The name means "heat sphere" and temperatures can reach greater than 1000 C (over 1800 F). The NASA Space Shuttle orbited within this region
Stratosphere
Present between 12 and 50 km, this layer of the atmosphere lacks turbulence within its stratified layers of warm and cold air. Due to the calm air, commercial airliners fly within the lower regions of this layer
Saturn's internal heat source is connected to
liquid helium precipitation in its atmosphere
Jupiter's internal heat source is connected to
leftover heat from when the planet was originally formed
A radiowave photon has frequency of 1.5 MHz and an ultraviolent photon has a frequency of 4.5 MHz. The energy of the ultraviolent photon is ____ the energy of the red photon
3 times larger than
The Great Red Spot, Jupiters most prominent storm system, has a diameter that is ____ times Earths diameter
5
In the figure below, which of the dips in the brightness of the star is (are) caused by the transit of the planet with the largest orbital period
C
The fact that Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm per year results in
Jupiter radiating more heat than it receives from the Sun
Which of the giant planets was discovered by accidentby William Herschel
Uranus
According to the giant impact hypothesis, how did the Moon from?
a Mars-sized object smashed into the molten proton-Earth, resuting in a larger Earth and debris that coalesced to form the Moon
What is a protostar
a large ball of gas not yet hot enough at its core to be star
When an electrons moves from a higher energy level in atom to a lower energy level
a photon is emitted
A planet known as a hot Jupiter is best described as
a planet orbiting very close to its star with a mass about the same as Jupiter's
Magnetosphere refers to
a region of magnetic field around Earth
What is the reason Mercury has so little gas in its atmosphere
all of the above
What is the main cause of global warming
an increasesed concentration of carbon dixoide and other greenhouse gases
Why are auroras produced only near the northern and southern magnetic poles of a planet
charged particles are forced to flow along Earths magnetic field lines, which come out Earths poles
In addition to being shaped by the solar wind, Jupiter's magnetosphere is affected by
charged particles from lo's erupting volcanoes
Secondary craters are
craters formed by ejecta from initial impact
Which of the following lists different types of electromagnetic radiation in order from the shortest wavelength to the longest wavelength
gamma rays, ultraviolent, visible, infrared, radio waves
The pressure of a gas results from
gas particles colliding with the container walls
Uranus and Neptune do not have bands as distinct as those on Jupiter and Saturn because Uranus and Neptune
have wind speeds that vary more smoothly from the equator to the poles
In the Southern Hemisphere, low pressure systems draw air
inward and spin clockwise, because of the Coriolis effect, which explains the direction of rotation for hurricanes
The thickness of a terrestrial planet's atmosphere is determined primarily by
its mass, temperature, and amount of geological activity
When you push your palms together and rub them back and forth, you are demonstrating one way of converting ___ energy into ____ energy
kinetic; thermal
Mars, Venus, and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon. This is explained by the fact that
mars, venus, and earth were geologically of time than Mercury and the moon
Why are the predominant colors of Uranus and Neptune different from those of Jupiter and Saturn
methane in the atmosphere of Uranus and Neptune absorbs the longer wavelengths of visible light
What causes the distinct bluish tint of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune
methane in their atmospheres preferentially absorbs the red component of the Suns light and reemits the blue part, giving bluish tint
Which of the giant planets was predicted to exist mathematically before it was ever seen through a telescope
neptune
The greenhouse effect
occurs when carbon dioxide in a planet's atmosphere prevents infrared radiation near the surface of planet from readily escaping
___ in our atmosphere is a direct consequences of the emergence of life
oxygen
Suppose an earthquake occurs on an imaginary planet. Scientists on the other side of the planet detect primary waves but not secondary waves after the quake occurs. This suggests that
part of planets interior is liquid
Of the following methods, the age of the Solar System can be determined most accurately by
radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon
A prism is able to spread white light out into a spectrum of colors based on the property of
refraction
Southern Hemisphere Hurricanes ____ compared to hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere because of the Coriolis effect
rotate in the opposite direction
earthquakes waves
seismic waves follow curved paths because of differences in the density and composition of the material in Earth's interior
Which method can be used to determine the radius of Jupiter
stellar occultation
What is the habitable zone
the distance from a star where liquid water can exist
The temperature of a gas is a measure of
the kinetic energy of the gas particles
Volcanoes on Mars are enormous because
the lack of plate tectonics means that volcanoes stay over a "hot spot" for billions of years
Troposphere
the lowest layer of the atmosphere occupies the region between Earth's surface and 12 km. The name comes from the Greek word for "turns" and contains nearly all of the planet's weather. As the altitude increases, both temperature and pressure decrease
The Milankovitch cycles have an effect on
the occurrence of ice ages
Why did the terrestrial planets lose their primary atmospheres
the planets have too little mass and therefore too little gravitational force to keep in the hot light gase that were present in the protoplanetary disk
If Saturns orbital period is 30 years and the obliquity is 26 degrees, how long is it from the first day of spring to the first day of autumn on Saturn
the tilt of Saurns orbital axis is similar to that of Earths, so it should have seasonal changes similar to Earths as well. This means that the time between the vernal and autumnal equinoxes on Saturn will be about half the orbital period of Saturn (that is, 15 years), just as they are approximately half of Earths orbit (6 months) apart on Earth
Why are winds on the giant planets far faster than those on Earth
their surfaces are rotating far faster, creating a much stronger Coriolis effect
What effect would an increase of a few degrees in axial tilt have on the Earth
there would be more extreme seasons
Temperature variations on Earth driven by the Milankovitch cycle differ from those driven by the antropogenic greenhouse effect in that
they occur over much longer time scales (thousands of years)
In the absence of a greenhouse effect, what would happen to Earths oceans
they would freeze over
Exosphere
this is the outermost layer of the atmosphere and begins at approximately 500 km. The density of hydrogen and helium gas within this layer gradually decreases with altitude as the atmosphere fades into space
What would seasons be like on Uranus at a location close to thr South Pole
this location would experience constant darkness for over one quarter of the year and constant sunlight for over quarter of the year, with shorter periods when the Sun rises and sets between
Mesosphere
this middle layer is present between 50 and 80 km. The temperature decreases with altitude to as low as -100 C. The majority of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere burn up within this layer
The ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere protects the Earth's surface from
ultraviolet radiation
Winds are generated on Earth primarily because of
uneven heating of the surface and rotation of the planet
Venus had a runaway greenhouse effect but Earth does not because
venus lacks water to pull the carbon dioxide out of its atmosphere