Astronomy Test 2

What unique surface features occur on the surface of Mercury? A) Craters B) Oceans C) Huge mountain chains D) Scarps

D) Scraps

If we were to construct an accurate scale model of the solar system on a football field with the Sun at one end and Pluto at the other, the planet closest to the center of the field would be A) Jupiter B) Earth C) Venus D) Uranus E) Saturn

D) Uranus

The Hubble Space Telescope has an angular resolution of 0.05 arc-seconds. What is the size of the smallest feature visible on Jupiter at 4.2 AU? [Hint: convert your angle units to degrees, and your distance to km; the answer will be in km] 1 AU = 1.5 x 108 km 1 arc-sec = 0.00028 degrees Angular size=57.3osize/ distance Question options: WRONG A) 150 km B) 5,500 km C) 62,000 km D) 1 million km

A) 150 km or B) 5,500 km

Use Kepler's 3rd law and determine the orbit period of Halley's comet. Halley's comet has a semimajor axis a = 18 AU. A) 76 years B) 26,000 years C) 200 years D) 2.6 years E) 18 years

A) 76 years

What is unusual about the rotation of Uranus? Question options: A) Its spin axis is tilted about 90° from its orbit plane. B) Uranus has a nearly circular orbit. C) Uranus has a small ring system. D) Uranus orbits far from the Sun. E) Uranus spins very, very slowly, much slower than Earth.

A) Its spin axis is tilted about 90° from its orbit plane

Which planet has the Great Dark Spot, discovered by Voyager 2 in 1989? Question options: A) Neptune B) Uranus C) Jupiter D) Saturn

A) Neptune

Which of the following planets does not belong with the Jovian group? Question options: A) Pluto B) Uranus C) Saturn D) Jupiter E) Neptune

A) Pluto

A few Soviet spacecraft have landed on the surface of Venus. A) True B) False

A) True

A meteor has the potential to become a meteorite. A) True B) False

A) True

Around northern midsummer on Uranus, an observer near the north pole would observe the Sun high and almost stationary in the sky. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

Because of tidal forces, the Moon is in a synchronous orbit around Earth. A) True B) False

A) True

Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the Sun. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

Mars contains the largest known volcanoes in the solar system. A) True B) False

A) True

Neptune's moon Triton has an unusual orbit because it is retrograde. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

Scientists speculate that Europa may have liquid water below its frozen surface. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

Storms in the atmospheres of the Jovian planets are generally much longer lived than storms on Earth. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

The composition of Saturn's ring particles is predominantly water ice. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

The density of Saturn is so low that it would float in a bucket of water if it were large enough. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

Two small shepherd satellites are responsible for the unusually complex form of Saturn's F ring. Question options: A) True B) False

A) True

The main constituent of Jupiter's atmosphere is Question options: A) hydrogen. B) helium. C) carbon dioxide. D) ammonia.

A) hydrogen

The main constituent of Neptune's atmosphere is [Be careful] Question options: A) hydrogen. B) water. C) helium. D) methane. E) carbon dioxide.

A) hydrogen.

Compared with Uranus, the planet Neptune is Question options: A) roughly the same size. B) much smaller. C) much larger. D) closer to the Sun.

A) roughly the same size.

Use Kepler's 3rd law of motion and calculate the orbit period of an Oort cloud comet if the semimajor axis a = 50,000 AU. A) 20 years B) 11.2 million years C) 1.25 × 1014 years D) 220 years E) 50,000 years

B) 11.2 million years

Most comets have short periods and orbit close to the ecliptic plane. A) True B) False

B) False

The solar system is of largely uniform composition. A) True B) False

B) False

The solid surface of Jupiter lies just below the cloud layers that are visible from Earth. Question options: A) True B) False

B) False

What is unusual about Jupiter's moon Io? Question options: A) It has liquid water on the surface. B) It is volcanic. C) It is orbiting backwards. D) It is an escaped moon of Venus. E) It is the largest moon in the solar system.

B) It is volcanic.

The Jovian planets are characterized by Question options: A) Large sizes, high densities, slow rotation B) Large sizes, low densities, fast rotation C) Small sizes, high densities, slow rotation D) Small sizes, low densities, fast rotation

B) Large sizes, low densities, fast rotation

The solar system object most similar to Pluto is Question options: A) Mercury. B) Neptune's moon Triton. C) the Moon. D) Saturn's moon Titan.

B) Neptune's moon Triton.

What causes a meteor shower? A) human-made spacecraft burning up in Earth's atmosphere B) orbit dust debris from ancient comets C) stars coming too close to the Sun D) rocky chunks of broken asteroids E) lunar dust brought back from the astronauts

B) orbit dust debris from ancient comets

Compared with Earth, Venus has a level of plate tectonic activity that is A) much more rapid. B) virtually nonexistent. C) somewhat less rapid. D) about the same.

B) virtually nonexistent.

The Hubble Space Telescope has an angular resolution of 0.05 arc-seconds. What is the size of the smallest feature visible on the Moon at 384,000 km? [Hint: convert your angle units to degrees, and convert your distance to m; the answer will be in m] 1 arc-sec = 0.00028 degrees Question options: A) 1.5 meters B) 2,500 meters C) 90 meters D) 370 meters

C) 90 meters

What are the largest volcanic structures on the surface of Venus called? A) Craters B) Lava Lakes C) Coronae D) Alpha Regio

C) Coronae

What property of Saturn's largest moon Titan makes it of particular interest to astronomers? Question options: A) It is continuously volcanic. B) It contains life. C) It has a dense hydrocarbon atmosphere. D) It has active surface tectonics. E) It has liquid water on the surface.

C) It has a dense hydrocarbon atmosphere.

Why does Mercury undergo extremes in temperature? There are two reasons. A) Small size; large metal core B) Close to the Sun; small size C) No atmosphere; slow rotation rate D) No atmosphere; large metal core E) Close to the Sun; mostly a rocky surface

C) No atmosphere; slow rotation rate

What types of features on the Martian surface show evidence of past water? A) Old Martian dams B) Huge glacier movements C) Runoff channels D) Agricultural irrigation channels

C) Runoff channels

The plutoids and many dwarf planets are located in this region of space. Question options: A) the life zone B) The Oort cloud C) The Kuiper belt D) The asteroid belt E) the comet zone

C) The Kuiper belt

Why does Venus appear so bright to the naked eye? A) Venus rotates slowly. B) Venus is the same size as the Earth. C) Venus is covered with thick clouds that reflect the sunlight. D) Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth. E) Venus has a surface covered with bright, white rocks.

C) Venus is covered with thick clouds that reflect the sunlight.

Io's surface appears very smooth because it Question options: A) is liquid. B) has been shieled by meteorite impacts. C) is continually resurfaced by volcanic activity. D) is covered with ice.

C) is continually resurfaced by volcanic activity.

What two (2) reasons explain why the Moon undergoes extremes in temperature. A) small size; slow rotation period B) lunar soil content; lunar atmosphere C) no atmosphere; slow rotation period D) changing distance from the Sun; lunar craters E) slow rotation period; changing distance from the Sun

C) no atmosphere; slow rotation period

The Moon has an acceleration of gravity g =0.17. How much would an 80 kg astronaut weigh on the Moon? A) 470 kg B) 140 kg C) 80 kg D) 14 kg E) 0.005 kg

D) 14 kg

What are the two dominate atmospheric gases of all of the giant planets? Question options: A) Hydrogen and methane B) Oxygen and carbon dioxide C) Hydrogen and oxygen D) Hydrogen and helium

D) Hydrogen and helium

The dark ring material that makes up the faint rings of Jupiter is probably Question options: A) comet gas and dust. B) water ice particles. C) a solid sheet or carbon. D) dust and rock fragments from collisions. E) hydrogen and helium gas.

D) dust and rock fragments from collisions.

The most likely theory of the formation of the Moon is that it A) was formed by the gravitational capture of a large asteroid B) was created from an asteroid collision scooping out the Pacific Ocean C) form simultaneously with Earth's formation D) formed from a collision of Earth with a large-sized object (about the size of Mars)

D) formed from a collision of Earth with a large-sized object (about the size of Mars)

Mercury's large overall density suggests that the planet A) has a weaker magnetic field than the Moon. B) has an interior structure similar to that of Earth's Moon. C) is younger than the Moon. D) has a dense metal core.

D) has a dense metal core

If the Earth had no Moon, then the tides would A) not occur B) still occur, but not really be measurable C) occur more often, with greater intensity D) occur with the same frequency, but would not be as strong

D) occur with same frequency, but would not be as strong

. What process is responsible for the surface mountains, oceanic trenches, and other large-scale features on Earth's surface? A) Earth's 23.5o axial tilt B) Earth's solid inner core C) Earth's weather D) plate tectonics E) tidal forces from the Moon

D) plate tectonics

. Pluto is most like which type of solar system object? Question options: WRONG A) jovian planet B) terrestrial planet C) jovian icy moon D) rocky asteroid

IDK

Why has Jupiter retained most of its original atmosphere? Question options: WRONG A) Jupiter has a large red spot B) Jupiter is far from the Sun C) Jupiter has a large magnetic field D) Jupiter's orbit is nearly circular E) Jupiter's gravity is large enough to hold the lighter H and He gasses.

IDK

Mars has the largest volcanoes in the solar system. True False

True

Match the correct physical property with the correct category of type of planet (either Terrestrial or Jovian) ____ Fast rotation periods ____ No ring systems ____ Generally warm or hot temperatures ____ Mostly composed of gases and ices. ____ High average densities 1. Terrestrial Planets 2. Jovian Planets

__2__ Fast rotation periods __1__ No ring systems __1__ Generally warm or hot temperatures __2__ Mostly composed of gases and ices __1__ High average densities

Match the correct physical property with the correct jovian planet (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). ____ Does NOT have an internal heat source. ____ Had a great dark spot in its atmosphere. ____ The planet with the lowest average density ____ Has the strongest magnetic field ____ The farthest jovian planet from the Sun. ____ This planet has about a 90° axial tilt. ____ Has the great red spot in its atmosphere. ____ Has the largest rings in the solar system 1. Jupiter 2. Saturn 3. Uranus 4. Neptune

__3__ Does NOT have an internal heat source. __4__ Had a great dark spot in its atmosphere. __2__ The planet with the lowest average density __1__ Has the strongest magnetic field __4__ The farthest jovian planet from the Sun. __3__ This planet has about a 90° axial tilt. __1__ Has the great red spot in its atmosphere. __2__ Has the largest rings in the solar system

Match the correct physical property with the correct terrestrial planet (Venus, Earth, or Mars). ____ Has frozen CO2 ice on its surface. ____ Of the three, has the weakest magnetic field. ____ Very low atmospheric pressure. ____ Primary atmospheric gas is N2. ____ Currently has active volcanoes. 1. Venus 2. Earth 3. Mars

__3__ Has frozen CO2 ice on its surface. __1__ Of the three, has the weakest magnetic field. __3__ Very low atmospheric pressure. __2__ Primary atmospheric gas is N2. __2__ Currently has active volcanoes

List the terrestrial planets in correct order by increasing distance from the Sun. ____ Mars ____ Mercury ____ Earth ____ Venus

__4__ Mars __1__ Mercury __3__ Earth __2__ Venus