Astronomy Final Exam Concept Quizzes

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According to Kepler's third law (p2 = a3), how does a planet's mass affect its orbit around the Sun? A. A more massive planet must have a larger semimajor axis. B. A planet's mass has no effect on its orbit around the Sun. C. More massive planets must have more circular orbits. D. More massive planets orbit the Sun at higher average speed.

According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following best explains why the solar nebula ended up with a disk shape as it collapsed? A. It was fairly flat to begin with, and retained this flat shape as it collapsed. B. It flattened as a natural consequence of collisions between particles in the nebula. C. The law of conservation of energy. D. The force of gravity pulled the material downward into a flat disk.

According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size? A. The law of universal gravitation B. The law of conservation of angular momentum C. The law of conservation of energy D. Einstein's law E=mc2

All the following statements about Mars are true. Which one might have led to a significant loss of atmospheric gas to space? A. Mars probably once had a much higher density of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere than it does today. B. Mars lost any global magnetic field that it may once have had. C. Outgassed water molecules are split apart, and the oxygen then reacts chemically with surface rock on Mars. D. The axis tilt of Mars is thought to change significantly with time.

All the following statements about Venus are true. Which one offers evidence of a global repaving about a billion years ago? A. Venus's largest features are three elevated regions that look somewhat like continents. B. Venus has relatively few impact craters and these craters are distributed fairly evenly over the entire planet. C. Venus has many circular features, called coronae, which appear to be tectonic in origin. D. Venus appears to lack any water that could lubricate the flow of rock in its crust and mantle.

All the following statements are true. Which one explains the reason that there is not a solar eclipse at every new moon? A. The Moon is only about 1/4 as large as Earth in diameter. B. The orbital plane of the Moon is tilted slightly (by about 5 degrees) to the ecliptic plane. C. The Moon goes through a complete cycle of phases about every 29 1/2 days. D. The nodes of the moon's orbit precess with an 18-year period.

Assuming that our ideas about how "hot Jupiters" ended up on their current orbits are correct, why didn't our own solar system end up with any hot Jupiters? A. Our jovian planets must have migrated outward from inside the orbit of Mercury. B. Our solar nebula must have been blown into space shortly after the formation of the jovian planets. C. Our solar nebula must have stuck around for an unusually long time after the formation of jovian planets. D. The existence of Earth and the other terrestrial planets prevented the jovian planets from migrating inward.

Astronomers infer that the universe is expanding because distant galaxies all appear to _________. A. be made mostly of dark matter B. be moving away from us, with more distant ones moving faster C. rotate rapidly D. be growing in size

Based on everything you have learned about the formation of our solar system, which of the following statements is probably not true? A. Within a star's planetary system, all its planets will tend to orbit in the same direction and approximately the same plane. B. Only a tiny percentage of stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation. C. Other planetary systems will have far more numerous asteroids and comets than actual planets. D. Planets are common, and many or most stars have them.

Consider an atom of oxygen in which the nucleus contains 8 protons and 8 neutrons. If it is doubly ionized, what is the charge of the oxygen ion and how many electrons remain in the ion? A. Charge = -2; number of remaining electrons = 10. B. Charge = +2; number of remaining electrons = 6. C. Charge = +2; number of remaining electrons = 8. D. Charge = +2; number of remaining electrons = 2.

Earth has been gradually warming over the past few decades. Based on a great deal of evidence, scientists believe that this warming is caused by _____. A. the increase in forest fires during recent years B. human activities that are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere C. the human release of chemicals called CFCs into the stratosphere D. the fact that our politicians spout a lot of hot air

Galileo observed all of the following. Which observation offered direct proof of a planet orbiting the Sun? A. The Milky Way is composed of many individual stars. B. Phases of Venus C. Four moons of Jupiter. D. Patterns of shadow and sunlight near the dividing line between the light and dark portions of the Moon's face

How do scientists determine the age of the solar system? A. Radiometric dating of Moon rocks. B. Radiometric dating of meteorites C. Radiometric dating of the oldest Earth rocks. D. Theoretical calculations tell us how long it has taken the planets to evolve to their present forms

How does a 12-month lunar calendar differ from our 12-month solar calendar? A. Its new year always occurs in February instead of on January 1. B. It has about 11 fewer days. C. It uses a 23-hour rather than a 24-hour day. D. It does not have seasons.

If we could put all the asteroids together, their total mass would be ______. A. greater than the mass of Earth but less than the mass of Jupiter B. much less than the mass of any terrestrial planet C. about the mass of Earth D. about the mass of Mercury

In science fiction movies, spaceships are often shown dodging through large numbers of closely spaced, boulder-size objects. Which of the following real things in our solar system would look most like such science fiction dangers? A. the Oort cloud B. the rings of Saturn C. the atmosphere of Jupiter D. the asteroid belt

In what way is Pluto more like a comet than a planet? A. It has a long tail. B. It is made mostly of rock and ice. C. It sometimes enters the inner solar system. D. It has moons.

Many meteorites appear to have formed very early in the solar system's history. How do these meteorites support our theory about how the terrestrial planets formed? A. The meteorites sizes are just what we'd expect if metal and rock condensed and accreted as our theory suggests. B. The meteorites appearance and composition is just what we'd expect if metal and rock condensed and accreted as our theory suggests. C. Their appearance and composition matches what we observe in comets today, suggesting that they were once pieces of icy planetesimals. D. Their overall composition is just what we believe the composition of the solar nebula to have been: mostly hydrogen and helium.

Many scientists suspect that Venus has a stronger and thicker lithosphere than Earth. If this is true, which of the following could explain it? A. The slow rotation of Venus. B. The high surface temperature that has "baked out" all the liquid water from Venus's crust and mantle. C. The apparent lack of plate tectonics on Venus. D. The smaller size of Venus, which has allowed it to lose much more internal heat than Earth.

Most of the Moon's surface is densely covered with craters, but we find relatively few craters within the lunar maria. What can we conclude? A. The maria formed within the past 1 billion years. B. The maria formed after the heavy bombardment ended. C. The regions of the maria were hit by fewer impacts than the densely cratered regions. D. Erosion affects the maria more than it affects other regions of the Moon.

Newton showed that Kepler's laws are _________. A. actually only three of seven distinct laws of planetary motion B. natural consequences of the law of universal gravitation C. seriously in error D. the key to proving that Earth orbits our Sun

Observations indicate that the Moon has water ice in craters near the poles. Where do scientists suspect this water came from? A. Ice supplied to the Moon by impacts that occurred within the past century or so. B. Ice brought by comet impacts long ago. C. The Moon has significant amounts of water bonded in its crust, so some of this water fills the polar craters. D. The ice formed from the condensation of water released by outgassing on the Moon.

Suppose that a lone asteroid happens to be passing Jupiter on an unbound orbit (well above Jupiter's atmosphere and far from all of Jupiter's moons.) Which of the following statements would be true? A. Jupiter's gravity would suck in the asteroid, causing it to crash into Jupiter. B. The asteroid's orbit around Jupiter would not change, and it would go out on the same unbound orbit that it came in on. C. There is no way to predict what would happen. D. Jupiter's gravity would capture the asteroid, making it a new moon of Jupiter.

Suppose the Moon's orbit were unchanged, but it rotated faster (meaning it did not have synchronous rotation). Which of the following would be true? A. Tides would be stronger; that is, higher high tides and lower low tides. B. We would no longer always see nearly the same face of the Moon. C. The Moon would go through its cycle of phases (from one new moon to the next) in less time than it does now. D. High tides would occur more frequently than they do now. E. All of the above are true.

Suppose the Sun were suddenly to shrink in size but that its mass remained the same. According to the law of conservation of angular momentum, what would happen? A. The Sun's rate of rotation would slow. B. The Sun would rotate faster than it does now. C. This could never happen, because it is impossible for an object to shrink in size without an outside torque. D. The Sun's angular size in our sky would stay the same.

Suppose there were no solar wind. How would the appearance of a comet in our inner solar system be different? A. It would not have a nucleus. B. It would have only one tail instead of two. C. It would not have a coma. D. It would be much brighter in appearance.

Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that case _________. A. we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at a later time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 B. we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2 C. Galaxy 2 must be twice as old as Galaxy 1 D. Galaxy 1 must be twice as big as Galaxy 2

Suppose you are in an elevator that is traveling upward at constant speed. How does your weight compare to your normal weight on the ground? A. It is less. B. It is the same. C. It is greater. D. You are weightless.

Suppose you heat an oven to 200°C (about 400°F) and boil a pot of water. Which of the following explains why you would be burned by sticking your hand briefly in the pot but not by sticking your hand briefly in the oven? A. The water has a higher temperature than the oven. B. The water can transfer heat to your arm more quickly than the air. C. The oven has a higher temperature than the water. D. The molecules in the water are moving faster than the molecules in the oven.

Suppose you see a photo showing Jupiter half in sunlight and half in shadow (that is, a first quarter Jupiter). This photo might have been taken by _________. A. the Keck telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii B. the Galileo spacecraft that orbited Jupiter in the 1990s C. the Hubble Space Telescope (which orbits Earth) D. the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico

Suppose you use the Southern Cross to determine that the south celestial pole appears 40 degrees above your horizon. Then you must be located at _________. A. latitude 50 degrees south B. latitude 40 degrees south C. latitude 40 degrees north D. longitude 40 degrees

The Sun's path, as viewed from the equator, is highest in the sky on _________. A. the winter solstice B. the spring and fall equinoxes C. the day when Earth is closest to the Sun D. the summer solstice

The planets never travel in a straight line as they orbit the Sun. According to Newton's second law of motion, this must mean that _________. A. The planets are always accelerating. B. a force is acting on the planets C. The planets have angular momentum. D. The planets will eventually fall into the Sun.

The total number of stars in the observable universe is about _________. A. the same as the number of atoms that make up the Earth B. the same as the number of grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth C. 100 billion D. the same as the number of grains of sand in a school sandbox

Very few of the known extrasolar planets have sizes as small as Earth. The most likely reason for this fact is that ________. A. small planets are usually made of materials that cannot be detected B. small planets are more difficult to detect than larger planets C. small planets are extremely rare D. small planets probably orbit too far from their stars to have been detected yet

What is the primary reason that astronomers suspect that some jovian moons were captured into their current orbits? A. Astronomers have observed moons being captured. B. Some moons have orbits that are "backwards" (compared to their planet's rotation) or highly inclined to their planet's equator. C. Some moons have a composition that differs from the composition of the planets D. Some moons are surprisingly large in size.

What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass? A. Its density would stay about the same and its volume would double. B. Its density would increase but its diameter would barely change. C. It would become a star, with nuclear fusion in its core. D. Its density would decrease and its diameter would double.

What's the fundamental reason that Mars, unlike the Earth, has become virtually geologically dead? A. its large size compared to the Earth B. its small size compared to Earth C. its farther distance than Earth to the Sun D. its rapid rotation compared to the Earth E. its closer distance than Earth to the Sun F. its slow rotation compared to the Earth

When Copernicus first created his Sun-centered model of the universe, it did not lead to substantially better predictions of planetary positions than the Ptolemaic model. Why not? A. Copernicus placed the planets in the wrong order going outward from the Sun. B. Copernicus used perfect circles for the orbits of the planets. C. Copernicus placed the Sun at the center, but did not realize that the Moon orbits the Earth. D. Copernicus misjudged the distances between the planets.

Which of the following best explains why many jovian moons have been more geologically active than the Moon or Mercury? A. Because of their greater distances from the Sun, the jovian moons receive much less heat from the Sun. B. Jovian moons are made mostly of ice that can melt or deform at lower temperatures than can the rock and metal that make C. The jovian moons are considerably larger than the Moon and Mercury and therefore have retained much more internal heat. D. The jovian moons probably have far more internal heat generated by radioactive decay than do the Moon or Mercury.

Which of the following conditions lead you to see an absorption line spectrum from a cloud of gas in interstellar space? A. The cloud is cool and very dense, so that you cannot see any objects that lie behind it. B. The cloud is cool and lies between you and a hot star. C. The cloud is visible primarily because it reflects light from nearby stars. D. The cloud is extremely hot.

Which of the following gases is not a significant ingredient of the jovian planet atmospheres? A. helium B. carbon dioxide C. hydrogen D. water

Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system? A. Terrestrial planets orbit much closer to the Sun than jovian planets. B. Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not. C. Terrestrial planets are higher in average density than jovian planets. D. Jovian planets have rings and terrestrial planets do not.

Which of the following is not a real difference between asteroids and comets? A. Most asteroids are located much nearer to the Sun than most comets. B. Asteroids orbit the Sun while comets just float randomly around in the Oort cloud. C. It is thought that comets are far more numerous than asteroids. D. Asteroids are made mostly of rock and comets are made mostly of ice.

Which of the following is not part of a good scientific theory? A. A scientific theory must explain a wide variety of phenomena observed in the natural world. B. A scientific theory cannot be accepted until it has been proven true beyond all doubt. C. A scientific theory should be based on natural processes and should not invoke the supernatural or divine. D. A scientific theory must make testable predictions that, if found to be incorrect, could lead to its own modification or demise.

Which of the following represents a case in which you are not accelerating? A. Slamming on the brakes to come to a stop at a stop sign B. Driving in a straight line at 60 miles per hour C. Driving 60 miles per hour around a curve D. Going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 10 seconds

Which of the following statements about X rays and radio waves is not true? A. X rays and radio waves are both forms of light, or electromagnetic radiation. B. X rays travel through space faster than radio waves. C. X rays have higher frequency than radio waves. D. X rays have shorter wavelengths than radio waves.

Which planet listed below has the most extreme seasons? A. Mars B. Uranus C. Earth D. Jupiter

Why do the patterns of the stars in our sky look the same from year to year? A. Because the stars in the constellations all move at the same speeds and in the same directions, so they don't change their relative positions. B. Because the stars in the constellations are so far away. C. Because the stars in the constellations are not moving. D. Because the stars in the constellations move so slowly --- typically about the speed of a snail --- that their motions are not noticeable.

Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars (such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits? A. It allowed the spacecraft to collect samples of the atmospheric gas for return to Earth. B. It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines. C. Each spacecraft also carried a lander, and the lander could only be dropped to the Martian surface when the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere. D. It allowed the orbiters to get higher resolution pictures of the surface as it came close when skimming through the atmosphere.

Why is thermal escape of atmospheric gas much easier from the Moon than from Earth? A. Because the Moon's average surface temperature is lower than Earth's. B. Because the Moon's gravity is so much weaker than Earth's. C. Outgassing on the Moon releases gases with lower masses than does outgassing on Earth. D. Because the Moon lacks a global magnetic field, while Earth has one.

You observe a full Moon rising at sunset. What will you see at midnight? A. A first quarter moon B. A full moon high in the sky C. A third quarter moon D. A waning gibbous moon

n any particular place on Earth, certain constellations are visible in the evening only at certain times of the year because _________. A. on any particular night, we can only see stars that are directly opposite (180 degrees away from) the Sun in the sky B. our evening view of space depends on where Earth is located in its orbit around the Sun C. during some times of year, some constellations drop below the southern horizon D. some constellations are circumpolar

About 2% of our solar nebula consisted of elements besides hydrogen and helium. However, the very first generation of star systems in the universe probably consisted only of hydrogen and helium. Which of the following statements is most likely to have been true about these first-generation star systems? A. There were no comets or asteroids in these first-generation star systems. B. These first-generation star systems typically had several terrestrial planets in addition to jovian planets. C. Like the jovian planets in our solar system, the jovian planets in these first-generation systems were orbited by rings. D. Jovian planets in these first-generation star systems had clouds made of water and other hydrogen compounds.

According to current science, why didn't oxygen begin to accumulate in the atmosphere for more than a billion years after life appeared on the Earth? A. Oxygen released by life was removed from the atmosphere by chemical reactions with surface rocks until the surface rock could absorb no more. B. Early life did not release oxygen, and oxygen releasing organisms didn't evolve for a billion years after the earliest life. C. Oxygen released by life was removed from the atmosphere by dissolving in the ocean until the oceans could dissolve no more. D. Early forms of animal life consumed the oxygen released by plants during the first billion years of life on Earth.

According to our modern science, which of the following best explains why the vast majority of the mass of our solar system consists of hydrogen and helium gas? A. Hydrogen and helium are the most common elements throughout the universe, because they were the only elements present when the universe was young. B. Hydrogen and helium are produced in stars by nuclear fusion. C. All the other elements were swept out of the solar system by the solar wind. D. All the other elements escaped from the solar nebula before the Sun and planets formed.

According to our present theory of solar system formation, how did Earth end up with enough water to make oceans? A. The water was brought to the forming Earth by planetesimals that accreted beyond the orbit of Mars. B. The water was mixed in the other materials in the planetesimals that accreted at our distance from the Sun. C. The water was formed by chemical reactions among the minerals in the Earth's core. D. Earth formed in the relatively narrow region of the solar nebular in which liquid water was plentiful.

According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the central regions of the solar nebula got hotter as the nebula shrank in size? A. The law of conservation of energy B. Newton's third law C. The two laws of thermal radiation D. The law of conservation of angular momentum

According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn? A. Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula. B. The size differences are thought to be a random coincidence. C. The colder gas in the outer regions of the solar nebula had less gravity and therefore could not gather up into such large balls as it could closer in. D. Ices were able to condense at the distance of Jupiter and Saturn, but only rock and metal could condense at the distances of Uranus and Neptune.

An angle of 1 arcsecond is _________. A. less than the thickness of a human hair held at arm's length B. slightly more than the width of a basketball held at arm's length C. about the width of your fist held at arm's length D. about the width of a finger held at arm's length

At which lunar phase(s) are tides most pronounced (for example, the highest high tides)? A. Both new and full moons B. Both first and third quarters C. New moon only D. Third quarter moon only E. Full moon only

Current evidence suggests that some massive jovian planets orbit at very close orbital distances to their stars. How do we think these planets ended up on these close orbits? A. These planets migrated inward after being born on orbits much farther from their stars. B. Despite their large masses, these planets are made of rock and metal and therefore could form in their inner solar systems. C. These planets were captured from other solar systems. D. These planets were able to form close to their stars because their solar nebulas were very cold in temperature.

Galileo challenged the idea that objects in the heavens were perfect by _________. A. observing sunspots on the Sun and mountains on the Moon B. proving Kepler's laws were correct C. inventing the telescope D. showing that heavy objects fall at the same rate as lighter objects

Gamma rays have a very small ______. A. wavelength B. energy C. frequency D. mass

How are galaxies important to our existence? A. Galaxies recycle material from one generation of stars to the next, and without this recycling we could not exist. B. Deep in their centers, galaxies created the elements from which we are made. C. Without galaxies, the universe could not be expanding. D. Without galaxies, there could not have been a Big Bang.

How can we determine the reflectivity of an asteroid? A. By comparing its brightness in visible light to its brightness in infrared light. B. By measuring its mass and radius. C. By taking a photograph of it. D. By where it is located in the asteroid belt.

How do the speeds at which we are moving with Earth's rotation and orbit compare to the speeds of more familiar objects? A. Earth's rotation carries most people around the axis faster than a commercial jet travels, and Earth's orbit carries us around the Sun faster than the Space Shuttle orbits Earth. B. Earth's rotation carries most people around the axis at about the speed at which the Space Shuttle orbits Earth, and Earth's orbit carries us around the Sun at nearly the speed of light. C. Earth's rotation carries most people around the axis at about the speed of a car on the freeway, and Earth's orbit carries us around the Sun at about the speed of a commercial jet. D. Earth's rotation carries most people around the axis at about the speed of a commercial jet, and Earth's orbit carries us around the Sun at about the speed of a military jet.

How does Earth's varying distance from the Sun affect our seasons? A. It doesn't --- Earth's orbital distance plays no significant role in the seasons. B. It is responsible for the fact that the seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. C. It makes summer warmer in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere. D. It causes the seasons to be more extreme than they would be if the Earth's distance from the Sun were always the same.

Imagine another solar system, with a star more massive than the Sun. Suppose a planet with the same mass as Earth orbits at a distance of 1 AU from the star. How would the planet's year (orbital period) compare to Earth's year? A. The planet's year would be shorter than Earth's. B. The planet's year would be the same as Earth's. C. An orbit at a distance of 1 AU would not be possible around a star more massive than the Sun. D. The planet's year would be longer than Earth's.

Imagine that an alien spaceship crashed onto Earth. Which statement would most likely be true? A. It would crash in the ocean. B. The crash would create a noticeable crater. C. All the evidence of the crash would be quickly whisked off by the U.S. military to Area 51 in Nevada. D. The aliens' home world is another planet in our own solar system.

In general, which type of planet would you expect to cause the largest Doppler shift in the spectrum of its star? A. a massive planet that is close to its star B. a massive planet that is far from its star C. a low-mass planet that is far from its star D. a low-mass planet that is close to its star

In very general terms, how do the temperature structures of the atmospheres of Venus and Mars differ from that of Earth? A. They lack ultraviolet-absorbing stratospheres. B. Temperatures in their tropospheres increase with altitude, rather than decreasing with altitude. C. They lack X-ray absorbing thermospheres. D. Their atmospheres are similar in structure to Earth's, but with much higher temperatures.

It's 6 am and the Moon is at its highest point in your sky (crossing the meridian). What is the Moon's phase? A. third quarter B. new C. first quarter D. full

Jupiter and the other jovian planets are sometimes called "gas giants." In what sense is this term misleading? A. They actually contain relatively little material in a gaseous state. B. They are not in any sense "giants." C. The materials they are made of are not the kinds of thing we usually think of as gases. D. Actually, it's a great description, because these worlds are big and gaseous throughout.

Laboratory measurements show hydrogen produces a spectral line at a wavelength of 486.1 nanometers (nm). A particular star's spectrum shows the same hydrogen line at a wavelength of 486.0 nm. What can we conclude? A. The star is moving toward us. B. The star is getting colder. C. The star is moving away from us. D. The star is getting hotter.

No object produces a perfect thermal radiation spectrum, but many objects produce close approximations. Which of the following would not produce a close approximation to a thermal radiation spectrum? A. a hot, thin (low-density, nearly transparent) gas B. a filament in a standard (incandescent) light bulb C. you D. a star

Only one of the statements below uses the term theory in its correct, scientific sense. Which one? A. Einstein's theory of relativity has been tested and verified thousands of times. B. I have a new theory about the cause of earthquakes, and I plan to start testing it soon. C. Evolution is only a theory, so there's no reason to think it really happened. D. I wrote a theory that is 152 pages long.

Recent evidence suggests that Mars once had a global magnetic field. Assuming this is true, which of the following could explain why Mars today lacks a global magnetic field like that of Earth? A. Mars's interior has cooled so much that its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection. B. The Martian core is made of rock, while Earth's core is made of metal. C. Mars rotates much slower than the Earth. D. Mars is too far from the Sun to have a global magnetic field.

Studying a spectrum from a star can tell us a lot. All of the following statements are true except one. Which statement is not true? A. The total amount of light in the spectrum tells us the star's radius. B. The peak of the star's thermal emission tells us its temperature: hotter stars peak at shorter (bluer) wavelengths. C. Shifts in the wavelengths of spectral lines compared to the wavelengths of those same lines measured in a laboratory on Earth can tell us the star's speed toward or away from us. D. We can identify chemical elements present in the star by recognizing patterns of spectral lines that correspond to particular chemicals.

Suppose a photon has a frequency of 300 million hertz (300 megahertz). What is its wavelength? A. 1 meter B. 1/300,000 meter. C. A photon's wavelength cannot be determined from its frequency D. 300 million meters

Suppose a planet is discovered by the Doppler technique and is then discovered to have transits. In that case, we can determine all the following about the planet except ______________. A. its rotation period B. its physical size (radius) C. its precise mass D. its orbital period E. its density

Suppose the planet Uranus were much brighter in the sky, so that it was as easily visible to the naked eye as Jupiter or Saturn. Which one of the following statements would most likely be true in that case? A. A week would have eight days instead of seven. B. Its gravity would cause the tides to be much higher than they actually are. C. The discovery that the Earth is a planet going around the Sun would have come hundreds of years earlier. D. Its brightness would make it possible to read by starlight at night. E. Its slow motion through the sky would have led it to be named after the Goddess of Procrastination.

Suppose we discover a new comet on an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than Mercury every 125 years. What can we conclude? A. It has been on its current orbit for only a very short time compared to the age of our solar system. B. It came from the Oort cloud. C. It came from the Kuiper belt. D. It has a coma and tail during most of each orbit.

Suppose we make a scale model of our solar system, with the Sun the size of a grapefruit. Which of the following best describes what the planets would look like? A. The planets are all much smaller than the Sun. Four planets are within about 20 meters of the Sun, while the rest planets are spread much farther apart. B. The planets are all much smaller than the Sun and are spread out evenly over a distance about the length of a large classroom. C. The planets are all much smaller than the Sun. Four planets are located within a few centimeters of the Sun, and four planets are located at distances ranging up to about a meter. D. The planets range in size from about the size of a marble to the size of a baseball. They are spread out over a region about the size of a football field.

Suppose you are using the Doppler technique to look for planets around another star. What must you do? A. Compare many spectra of the star taken over a period of many months or years. B. Carefully examine a single spectrum of the star. C. Carefully examine a single spectrum of an orbiting planet. D. Compare the brightness of the star over a period of many months or years. E. Compare many spectra of an orbiting planet taken over a period of many months or years.

Suppose you find a meteorite made almost entirely of metal. According to current science, which of the following statements must be true? A. Your meteorite is a fragment from the core of a large asteroid that shattered in a collision. B. Your meteorite was blasted off the surface of Mars by an impact. C. Your meteorite is a fragment of an object from the Kuiper belt. D. Radiometric dating will show the age of your meteorite to date to the formation of our solar system.

Suppose you find a rock that contains 10 micrograms of radioactive potassium-40, which has a half-life of 1.25 billion years. By measuring the amount of its decay product (argon-40) present in the rock, you conclude that there must have been 80 micrograms of potassium-40 when the rock solidified. How old is the rock? A. 3.75 billion years B. 2.5 billion years C. 5.0 billion years D. 1.25 billion years

Suppose you have a 100-watt light bulb that you leave turned on for one minute. How much energy does it use? A. 6,000 joules B. 6,000 watts C. 100 watts D. 100 joules

The Andromeda Galaxy is faintly visible to the naked eye in the constellation Andromeda. Suppose instead it were located in the same direction in space as the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (but still at its current distance). How would it appear to the eye in that case? A. We could not see it at all. B. It would look about the same, but it would be harder to pick out because its cloud-like appearance would make it blend in with the cloud-like appearance of the Milky Way in our sky. C. It would be much brighter, because it would be illuminated by the many stars in the center of our galaxy. D. It would look about the same, but would be in the constellation Sagittarius instead of Andromeda.

The discovery of Eris __________. A. was not surprising, because other Kuiper belt objects approaching the size of Pluto had already been discovered B. was surprising, due to its "backwards" orbit around the Sun C. was not surprising, because the existence of a massive "Planet X" had been predicted nearly a century ago D. was surprising, since we thought we knew about all large objects in the solar system

The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system? A. The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth. B. Venus does not have a moon. C. Saturn has no solid surface. D. Jupiter has a very small axis tilt.

The planet Neptune is blue in color. How would you expect the spectrum of visible light from Neptune to be different from the visible-light spectrum of the Sun? A. The two spectra would have similar shapes, except Neptune's spectrum would be missing a big chunk of the red light that is present in the Sun's spectrum. B. The two spectra would have similar shapes, except Neptune's spectrum would be missing a big chunk of the blue light that is present in the Sun's spectrum. C. Neptune's spectrum would peak at a much longer wavelength than the Sun's spectrum. D. There is no way to predict the answer to this question, since planets and stars are made of such different things.

The region of our solar system between Mercury and Mars has very few asteroids, while the region between Mars and Jupiter has many asteroids. Based on what you have learned, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars? A. There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed. B. All the asteroids that formed between Mercury and Mars later migrated to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. C. Gravity was too weak to allow asteroids to form in this part of the solar system. D. It was too hot for asteroids to form in this part of the solar system.

Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains why? A. Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense. B. The rapid rotation of Jupiter and Saturn prevents methane clouds from forming. C. The stronger gravity on Jupiter and Saturn pulls methane downward so that it can't form clouds. D. Jupiter and Saturn do not contain any methane gas.

What is the primary basis upon which we divide the ingredients of the solar nebula into four categories (hydrogen/helium; hydrogen compound; rock; metal)? A. The temperatures at which various materials will condense from gaseous form to solid form. B. The atomic mass numbers of various materials. C. The amounts of energy required to ionize various materials. D. The locations of various materials in the solar nebula.

When did humans learn that the Earth is not the center of the universe? A. Within the past 500 years B. About 2,500 years ago C. We haven't; there is still considerable scientific debate about whether Earth is the center of the universe. D. About 1,000 years ago.

When is the soonest we are likely to have moderate-resolution images and spectra of Earthlike planets around other stars? A. In a decade or two, through space observatories now in the early planning stages. B. Any day now, thanks to our largest ground-based telescopes. C. In just a few years, through analysis of observations by the James Webb Space Telescope. D. In just a few years, through analysis of observations by the GAIA mission.

When you see the bright flash of a meteor, what are you actually seeing? A. the glow from a pea-size particle and the surrounding air as the particle burns up in our atmosphere B. a star that has suddenly shot across the sky C. the flash that occurs when a speeding rock from space hits the ground D. emission of visible light from a particle that has not yet entered Earth's atmosphere

Which of the following best describes why we say that light is an electromagnetic wave? A. The passage of a light wave can cause electrically charged particles to move up and down. B. Light can be produced only by electric or magnetic appliances. C. Light is produced only when massive fields of electric and magnetic energy collide with one another. D. The term electromagnetic wave arose for historical reasons, but we now know that light has nothing to do with either electricity or magnetism.

Which of the following best explains why the Moon's orbital period and rotation period are the same? A. The Moon once rotated faster, but tidal friction slowed the rotation period until it matched the orbital period. B. The equality of the Moon's orbital and rotation periods is an extraordinary astronomical coincidence. C. The Moon was once closer to Earth, but the force of gravity got weaker as the Moon moved farther away. D. The law of conservation of angular momentum ensured that the Moon must have the same amount of rotational angular momentum as it has of orbital angular momentum.

Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn? A. The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker clouds. B. There are three different color stripes corresponding to the three different types of clouds found on these planets. C. Dark stripes are those in which there is a stratosphere and light stripes are those with no stratosphere. D. The dark and light stripes correspond to alternating bands of different chemical composition.

Which of the following is most unlikely to be found on Titan? A. lakes of liquid water in the warmer equatorial regions B. rain or snow consisting of methane or ethane droplets or ice crystals C. volcanic outgassing of methane and other gases D. lakes of liquid methane ethane or

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Pluto is a large comet of the Kuiper belt? A. Pluto grows a coma and a long tail when it is at the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. B. Pluto is not the largest object orbiting in the region of the Kuiper belt. C. Pluto's composition appears to match that of other known Kuiper belt comets. D. Triton, which must once have orbited the Sun before being captured by Neptune, is significantly larger than Pluto. E. Pluto's orbit is very similar to the orbits of other known Kuiper belt comets.

Which of the following statements about Earth's troposphere is not generally true? A. It is the layer of the atmosphere in which ozone absorbs dangerous ultraviolet light from the Sun. B. It is the layer of the atmosphere in which convection plays the most important role. C. It is the lowest layer of the atmosphere. D. It is a layer of the atmosphere in which temperature declines with increasing altitude.

Which of the following statements about electrons is not true? A. Electrons orbit the nucleus rather like planets orbiting the Sun. B. Electrons can jump between energy levels in an atom only if they receive or give up an amount of energy equal to the difference in energy between the energy levels. C. Within an atom, an electron can have only particular energies. D. An electron has a negative electrical charge. E. Electrons have very little mass compared to protons or neutrons.

Which of the following statements best describes the size of the largest asteroid, Ceres? A. It is a little less than half the diameter of our Moon. B. It is no larger than a typical mountain on one of the terrestrial planets. C. It is about the size of a terrestrial planet. D. It is smaller than the jovian planets but larger than the terrestrial planets.

Which of the following will allow you to learn something about a transiting planet's atmospheric composition? A. Compare spectra obtained before and during an eclipse. B. Use the Doppler method to study the planet throughout a cycle from one transit to the next. C. Calculate the planet's size, and then use size to infer what its atmospheric composition must be. D. Look for slight variations in the time between transits.

Which two factors are most important to the existence of plate tectonics on Earth? A. mantle convection and a thin lithosphere B. Earth's liquid outer core and solid inner core C. the existence of life and oxygen in the atmosphere D. oxygen in the atmosphere and mantle convection

Why are astronauts weightless in the Space Station? A. Because the Space Station is constantly in free-fall around the Earth B. Because the Space Station is traveling so fast C. Because the Space Station is moving at constant velocity D. Because there is no gravity in space

Why are there fewer large impact craters on the Earth's seafloor than on the continents? A. Seafloor crust is younger than continental crust, so it has had less time in which to suffer impacts. B. Most impacts occur on the land. C. Erosion erases impact craters must faster on the ocean bottom than on land. D. The oceans slow large impactors and prevent them from making craters.

Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds? A. The three layers represent clouds made of gases that condense at different temperatures. B. Jupiter has three different types of wind that each make a different type of cloud. C. Clouds form randomly, so on average there are always three layers. D. The three layers reflect regions of Jupiter's atmosphere with different overall chemical compositions.

Why is it so difficult to take pictures of extrasolar planets? A. Their light is overwhelmed by the light from their star. B. No telescope is powerful enough to detect the faint light from a distant planet. C. Telescopes are too busy with other projects. D.Extrasolar planets give off light at different wavelengths than planets in our solar system.

Why is the radiation so intense in the region that traces Io's orbit around Jupiter (the Io torus)? A. The region is full of gases that become ionized after they are released from volcanoes on Io. B. An orbital resonance between Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes the radiation intense. C. Jupiter's strong magnetic field makes the radiation intense everywhere, and the region around Io is no different than any other region. D. Io's gravity allows this region to capture huge numbers of charged particles from the solar wind.

Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters? A. Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet. B. It was easier for data to be radioed back to Earth with flybys than orbiters. C. Spacecraft making flybys can return to Earth more quickly than orbiters. D. Flyby spacecraft can get closer to a planet than an orbiting spacecraft.

Why won't Pluto collide with Neptune? A. Pluto orbits the Sun exactly 2 times for every 3 Neptune orbits, which ensures they never come close together. B. Actually, a collision of the two is inevitable within the next billion years. C. Pluto's orbit never comes anywhere close to Neptune's orbit. D. Pluto is always much farther from the Sun than Neptune.

A net force acting on an object will always cause a change in the object's _________. A. speed B. mass C. momentum D. direction

According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following statements about the growth of terrestrial and jovian planets is not true? A. Swirling disks of gas, like the solar nebula in miniature, formed around the growing jovian planets but not around the growing terrestrial planets. B. Both types of planet begun with planetesimals growing through the process of accretion, but only the jovian planets were able to capture hydrogen and helium gas from the solar nebula. C. The jovian planets began from planetesimals made only of ice, while the terrestrial planets began from planetesimals made only of rock and metal. D. The terrestrial planets formed inside the frost line of the solar nebula and the jovian planets formed beyond it.

All of the following statements about the Sun's corona are true. Which one explains why it is a source of X rays? A. The corona's gas consists mostly of hydrogen and helium. B. The corona lies above the visible surface of the Sun. C. The temperature of the corona's gas is some 1 to 2 million Kelvin. D. The corona's structure is largely shaped by magnetic fields.

All the following statements are true. Which one explains why convection can occur in the troposphere but not in the stratosphere? A. Atmospheric pressure is much greater in the troposphere than in the stratosphere. B. The stratosphere contains significant amounts of ozone but the troposphere does not. C. Temperature declines with altitude in the troposphere but increases with altitude in the stratosphere. D. Clouds tend to form in the troposphere but not the stratosphere.

All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io? A. Io exhibits synchronous rotation, meaning that its rotation period and orbital period are the same. B. Io is the closest to Jupiter of Jupiter's large moons. C. Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical orbit, due to orbital resonances with other satellites. D. Io orbits Jupiter in the Io torus, and therefore has a surface that is bombarded by many charged particles.

All the statements below are true. Which one gives the primary reason why the surface of Venus today is some 450°C hotter than the surface of Earth? A. Venus is only about 73% as far from the Sun as Earth. B. Venus has a higher atmospheric pressure than Earth. C. Venus has a much stronger greenhouse effect than Earth. D. Venus has a much higher reflectivity than Earth.

Based on all we know about the terrestrial worlds, what single factor appears to play the most important role in a terrestrial planet's geological destiny? A. whether or not it has liquid water B. its distance from the Sun C. its size D. its composition

Betelgeuse is the bright red star representing the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. All the following statements about Betelgeuse are true. Which one can you infer from its red color? A. It is moving away from us. B. It is much brighter than the Sun. C. Its surface is cooler than the surface of the Sun. D. It is much more massive than the Sun.

Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is ______. A. much smaller B. just slightly less C. much larger D. about the same

Consider the following statement: "Rocky asteroids are found primarily in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt while icy comets are found primarily in the Oort cloud." What's wrong with this statement? A. Comets are not really icy. B. Asteroids are not really made of rock. C. The Kuiper belt contains icy comets, not rocky asteroids. D. The Oort cloud has nothing to do with comets. E. The statement is accurate as written.

Does Venus have auroras around its poles, like Earth? Why or why not? A. Yes, because it is bombarded by charged particles from the Sun. B. No, because its atmosphere is too thick. C. No, because it lacks a global magnetic field. D. Yes, because strong winds generate light near its poles.

Each of the following describes an "Atom 1" and an "Atom 2." In which case are the two atoms different isotopes of the same element? A. Atom 1: nucleus with 6 protons and 8 neutrons, surrounded by 6 electrons; Atom 2: nucleus with 7 protons and 8 neutrons, surrounded by 7 electrons B. Atom 1: nucleus with 4 protons and 5 neutrons, surrounded by 4 electrons; Atom 2: nucleus with 5 protons and 5 neutrons, surrounded by 4 electrons C. Atom 1: nucleus with 7 protons and 8 neutrons, surrounded by 7 electrons; Atom 2: nucleus with 7 protons and 7 neutrons, surrounded by 7 electrons D. Atom 1: nucleus with 8 protons and 8 neutrons, surrounded by 8 electrons; Atom 2: nucleus with 8 protons and 8 neutrons, surrounded by 7 electrons

Each of the following lists two facts. Which pair of facts can be used with Newton's version of Kepler's third law to determine the mass of the Sun? A. Mercury is 0.387 AU from the Sun and Earth is 1 AU from the Sun. B. Earth rotates in one day and orbits the Sun in one year. C. Earth is 150 million km from the Sun and orbits the Sun in one year. D.The mass of Earth is 6 x 1024 kg and Earth orbits the Sun in one year.

Earth is farthest from the Sun in July and closest to the Sun in January. During which Northern Hemisphere season is Earth moving fastest in its orbit? A. Summer B. Spring C. Winter D. Fall

From the viewpoint of an alien astronomer, how does Jupiter affect observations of our Sun? A. It makes the Sun periodically appear to get dimmer and brighter. B. It makes the Sun appear dimmer when viewed with infrared light. C. It causes the Sun to move in a small ellipse with an orbital period of about 12 years. D. It causes the Sun to move in a small ellipse in the sky, with the same ellipse repeated every night.

How did the Ptolemaic model explain the apparent retrograde motion of the planets? A. The planets resided on giant spheres that sometimes turned clockwise and sometimes turned counterclockwise. B. The planets sometimes stopped moving and then reversed to move backward along their circular orbits. C. The planets moved along small circles that moved on larger circles around the Earth. D. The model showed that apparent retrograde motion occurs as Earth passes by another planet in its orbit of the Sun.

If we imagine the history of the universe compressed into one year, dinosaurs became extinct _________. A. about 3 weeks ago B. about an hour ago C. yesterday morning D. about 6 months ago

If we observe one edge of a planet to be redshifted and the opposite edge to be blueshifted, what can we conclude about the planet? A. We must actually be observing moons orbiting the planet in opposite directions, not the planet itself. B. The planet is in the process of formation. C. The planet is rotating. D. The planet is in the process of falling apart.

Imagine another solar system, with a star of the same mass as the Sun. Suppose a planet with a mass twice that of Earth (2MEarth) orbits at a distance of 1 AU from the star. What is the orbital period of this planet? A. 2 years. B. It cannot be determined from the information given. C. 1 year. D. 6 months.

Imagine for a moment that despite all the evidence, Earth actually is not rotating and orbiting the Sun. Which of these hypothetical observations (none of them are real) would be inconsistent with our Sun-centered view of the solar system? A. We find that we are unable to measure any parallax for a distant galaxy. B. We discover an Earth-sized planet orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Pluto. C. We discover a small planet beyond Saturn that rises in the west and sets in the east each day. D. We discover that the universe is actually contracting, not expanding.

Suppose Earth's axis tilt was significantly greater than its current 23.5 degrees, but Earth's rotation period and orbital period were unchanged. Which statement below would not be true? A. Summers and winters would be more severe (for example, hotter and colder, respectively) than they are now. B. Polaris would not be our North star. C. The length of each season (for example, the number of days from the summer solstice to the fall equinox) would be significantly longer than it is now. D. The region of Earth where the Sun does not rise on the winter solstice would be larger (extending farther south) than it is now.

Suppose a comet orbits the Sun on a highly eccentric orbit with an average (semimajor axis) distance of 1 AU. How long does it take to complete each orbit, and how do we know? A. It depends on the eccentricity of the orbit, as described by Kepler's first law. B. It depends on the eccentricity of the orbit, as described by Kepler's second law. C. 1 year, which we know from Kepler's third law. D. Each orbit should take about 2 years, because the eccentricity is so large.

Suppose it is full Moon. What phase of Earth would someone on the Moon see at this time? A. first quarter Earth B. Earth does not go through phases as seen from the Moon. C. new Earth D. full Earth

Suppose that Star X and Star Y both have redshifts, but Star X has a larger redshift than Star Y. What can you conclude? A. Star Y is moving away from us faster than Star X. B. Star X is hotter than Star Y. C. Star X is moving away from us faster than Star Y. D. Star X is coming toward us faster than Star Y. E. Star X is moving away from us and Star Y is moving toward us.

Suppose that large jovian planets had never formed in our solar system. Which of the following would most likely be true? A. Earth would have suffered far fewer impacts. B. There would be a large empty region in our solar system between the orbit of Mars and the Kuiper belt. C. Neither the asteroid belt nor Oort cloud would exist. D. Earth would orbit much closer to the Sun.

Suppose that two stars are identical in every way - for example, same distance, same mass, same temperature, same chemical composition, and same speed relative to Earth - except that one star rotates faster than the other. Spectroscopically, how could you tell the stars apart? A. The faster rotating star will have an emission line spectrum while the slower rotating star will have an absorption line spectrum. B. The peak of thermal emission will be at a shorter wavelength for the faster rotating star than for the slower rotating star. C. The faster rotating star has wider spectral lines than the slower rotating star. D. There is no way to tell the stars apart spectroscopically, because their spectra will be identical.

Suppose you are facing north and you see the Big Dipper close to your northern horizon, with Polaris (and the Little Dipper) above it. Where will you see the Big Dipper in six hours? A. Still in the same place, below Polaris B. To the left of Polaris; that is, 90 degrees clockwise from its current position C. To the right of Polaris; that is, 90 degrees counterclockwise from its current position D. Directly above Polaris

Suppose you drop a 10-pound weight and a 5-pound weight on the Moon, both from the same height at the same time. What will happen? A. The 10-pound weight will hit the ground before the 5-pound weight. B. Both weights will float freely, since everything is weightless on the Moon. C. Both will hit the ground at the same time. D. The 5-pound weight will hit the ground before the 10-pound weight.

Suppose you had molecular oxygen (O2) chilled enough so that it was in liquid form. Which of the following best describes the phase changes that would occur as you heated the liquid oxygen to high temperature? A. The liquid molecules would quickly dissociate into a liquid of individual oxygen atoms. These atoms would then evaporate into a gas, and then become ionized to make a plasma. B. The cold temperature would first cause the oxygen to solidify. The solid would then sublimate into a gas, which would then become a plasma as the molecules lost their electrons, until finally it consisted of bonded pairs of oxygen nuclei stripped bare of any electrons. C. It would evaporate into a gas, then the molecules would dissociate into individual oxygen atoms, then the atoms would become increasingly ionized as you continued to raise the temperature. D. It would sublimate into a gas, then the molecules would lose electrons until no electrons were left, then the molecules would dissociate into individual oxygen nuclei.

Suppose you live in the United States and you see a crescent moon in your evening sky tonight. What will a friend in South America see tonight? A. Your friend will see a first quarter moon. B. Your friend will see a gibbous moon. C. Your friend will also see a crescent moon. D. Your friend won't see the Moon tonight, because it is up only in the morning.

The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the hottest interior? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.) A. Size: same as Mars. Distance from Sun: same as Earth. Rotation rate: once every 18 hours. B. Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days. C. Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months. D. Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours.

The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the most features of erosion? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.) A. Size: same as Mars. Distance from Sun: same as Earth. Rotation rate: once every 18 hours. B. Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months. C. Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours. D. Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days.

The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one's surface would you expect to be most crowded with impact craters? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.) A. Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours. B. Size: same as Mars. Distance from Sun: same as Earth. Rotation rate: once every 18 hours. C. Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days. D. Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months.

The cores of the terrestrial worlds are made mostly of metal because ______. A. over billions of years, convection gradually brought dense metals downward to the core B. the core contained lots of radioactive elements that decayed into metals C. metals sunk to the centers a long time ago when the interiors were molten throughout D. the terrestrial worlds as a whole are made mostly of metal

The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that ________. A. Earth contains more metal than the Moon B. thunderstorms tend to form on hot summer days C. a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato D. gas bubbles form and rise upward in boiling water

What are the two geological features that appear to set Earth apart from all the other terrestrial worlds? A. shield volcanoes and plate tectonics B. significant volcanism and tectonics C. plate tectonics and widespread erosion D. mantle convection and a thick atmosphere

What is Pluto's moon Charon thought to have in common with our own Moon? A. It has the same average density. B. It has the same approximate mass. C. It probably formed as a result of a giant impact. D. It has the same basic composition.

Where is our solar system located within the Milky Way Galaxy? A. Very near the center of the galaxy B. In the halo of the galaxy C. Roughly halfway between the center and the edge of the visible disk of the galaxy D. At the far edge of the galaxy's visible disk

Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works? A. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared light coming from the Sun, and this absorbed sunlight heats the lower atmosphere and the surface. B. The greenhouse effect is caused primarily by ozone, which absorbs ultraviolet light and thereby makes the atmosphere much hotter than it would be otherwise. C. A planet's surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as infrared light. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower atmosphere. D. Greenhouse gases absorb X-rays and ultraviolet light from the Sun, and this absorbed radiation then heats the atmosphere and the surface.

Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury? A. Impact cratering shaped these worlds early in their histories. Then, during the past few million years, they were reshaped by episodes of volcanism and tectonics. B. Impact cratering is the only major geological process that has affected their surfaces. C. Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experienced some volcanism and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all. D. All four geological processes were important in their early histories, but only impact cratering still reshapes their surfaces today.

Which of the following general statements about Earth's atmosphere is not true? A. Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. B. Even in low-Earth orbit, some atmospheric gas is still present. C. The sea level temperature depends primarily on the total amount of gas in our atmosphere. D. Atmospheric scattering of light explains why our daytime sky is bright and blue.

Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system? A. All of the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction - counterclockwise as viewed from above Earth's north pole. B. Most of the solar system's large moons orbit in their planet's equatorial plane. C. Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in same direction and roughly the same plane. D. The Sun and most of the planets rotate in the same direction in which the planets orbit the Sun.

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Europa may have a subsurface ocean? A. Europa's surface shows very few impact craters. B. Photos of Europa's surface show regions that appear to consist of jumbled icebergs frozen in place. C. Astronomers have detected small lakes of liquid water on Europa's surface. D. Europa has a magnetic field that appears to be induced by Jupiter's magnetic field.

Which of the following is not caused by the Coriolis effect on Earth? A. Earth's global circulation cells are split into three separate cells in each hemisphere. B. Hurricanes swirl in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres. C. Water going down a drain swirls in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres. D. Air or objects moving northward in the northern hemisphere are deflected to the east.

Which of the following is not consistent with the major hallmarks of science? A. Scientific explanations should be based solely on natural causes. B. A scientific model must make testable predictions. C. Science consists of proven theories that are understood to be true explanations of reality. D. Science progresses through the creation and testing of models that explain observation as simply as possible.

Which of the following is the underlying reason why Venus has so little wind erosion? A. its thick atmosphere B. its relatively close distance to the Sun C. its slow rotation D. its small size

Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a global magnetic field like Earth? A. It does not have a metallic core. B. It has too thick of an atmosphere. C. Its rotation is too slow. D. Unlike Earth, Venus does not have a liquid outer core.

Which of the following objects are probably not located in the same region of the solar system in which they originally formed? A. Pluto B. Kuiper belt comets C. Oort cloud comets D. asteroids of the asteroid belt

Which of the following statements about thermal radiation is always true? A. A cold object produces more total infrared and radio emission per unit surface area than a hot object. B. A hot object produces more total infrared emission than a cooler object. C. A hot object emits more radiation per unit surface area than a cool object. D. All the light emitted by hot object has higher energy than the light emitted by a cooler object.

Which planet may have helium rain in its interior, and what does this rain do? A. Uranus, where it makes the ground wet. B. Jupiter, where it may be an energy source for the Great Red Spot. C. Saturn, where it generates heat as it falls downward. D. Neptune, where it is restructuring the planet's interior.

Why are terrestrial planets denser than jovian planets? A. The Sun's gravity gathered dense materials into the inner solar system. B. Actually, the jovian planets are denser than the terrestrial planets. C. The terrestrial planets formed in the inner solar nebula, where only dense materials could condense. D. Gravity compresses terrestrial planets to a higher degree, making them denser.

Why didn't a planet form where the asteroid belt is now located? A. The temperature in this portion of the solar nebula was just right to prevent rock from sticking together. B. There was too much rocky material to form a terrestrial planet, but not enough gaseous material to form a jovian planet. C. Gravitational tugs from Jupiter prevented material from collecting together to form a planet. D. There was not enough material in this part of the solar nebula to form a planet.

Why does Earth have so little carbon dioxide in its atmosphere compared to Venus? A. Earth once had a lot of carbon dioxide, but it was lost to space during the heavy bombardment early in our solar system's history. B. Chemical reactions turned Earth's carbon dioxide into nitrogen. C. Earth has just as much carbon dioxide as Venus, but most of it is locked up in carbonate rocks rather than being free in the atmosphere. D. Earth's volcanoes outgassed far less carbon dioxide than those on Venus.

You discover an impact crater that is 10 kilometers across. Which of the following can you conclude? A. It was created within the past 1 billion years. B. It was created by the impact of an object about 10 kilometers across. C. It was created by the impact of an object about 1 kilometer across. D. It was created within the past 10 million years.

A rock held above the ground has potential energy. As the rock falls, this potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. Finally, the rock hits the ground and stays there. What has happened to the energy? A. It is transformed back into gravitational potential energy. B. The energy goes into the ground, and as a result, the orbit of the Earth about the Sun is slightly changed. C. The rock keeps the energy inside it in the form of mass-energy. D. The energy goes to producing sound and to heating the ground, rock, and surrounding air.

According to present understanding, which of the following statements about the solar wind is not true? A. It helped in the transfer of angular momentum from the young Sun to particles that blew into interstellar space, which explains why the Sun rotates so slowly today. B. It consists of charged particles blown off the surface of the Sun. C. It swept vast amounts of gas from the solar nebula into interstellar space. D. It is even stronger today than it was when the Sun was young.

All of the following have occurred over long periods of time on Earth. Which one is not thought to have played a major role in long-term changes in Earth's climate? A. Changes in the Earth's overall reflectivity. B. Changes in the Earth's axis tilt. C. Changes in the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases. D. A gradual rise in the atmospheric content of oxygen.

All the following statements are true. Which one follows directly from Kepler's third law (p2 = a3)? A. Venus is more massive than Mercury. B. Venus has a thicker atmosphere than Mercury. C. Venus takes longer to rotate than it does to orbit the Sun. D. Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury.

Could we see a galaxy that is 20 billion light-years away? (Assume that we mean a "lookback time" of 20 billion years.) A. Yes, if we had a big enough telescope. B. No, because a galaxy could not possibly be that far away. C. Yes, we have already detected galaxies at that distance. D. No, because it would be beyond the bounds of our observable universe.

Deuterium is much more abundant on Venus than Earth. What do we think this fact tells us about Venus? A. That it once had a much stronger magnetic field than it does today. B. That the greenhouse effect on Venus must have been much weaker in the distant past. C. That volcanoes on Venus did not outgas as much water as volcanoes on Earth. D. That it has lost a tremendous amount of water as a result of molecules being split by ultraviolet light and the hydrogen escaping to space.

During the period each year when we see Mars undergoing apparent retrograde motion in our sky, what is really going on in space? A. Earth and Mars are on opposite sides of the Sun. B. Earth and Mars are getting closer together. C. Mars is moving around the Sun in the opposite direction from which Earth is moving around the Sun. D. Earth is catching up with and passing by Mars in their respective orbits.

For most of history, the lack of observable stellar parallax was interpreted to mean that _________. A. stars must all lie at the same distance from Earth, on the celestial sphere B. stars were too far away for parallax to be measured with available technology C. Galileo's theories of the universe were essentially correct D. Earth is stationary at the center of the universe

Gaps in the asteroid belt (often called Kirkwood gaps) are caused by ______. A. tidal forces from the Sun B. the competing gravitational tugs of Mars and Jupiter C. tidal forces from Jupiter D. orbital resonances with Jupiter

How is Einstein's famous equation, E=mc2, important in understanding the Sun? A. It explains why the Sun has a magnetic field strong enough influence the atmospheres of the planets. B. It explains why the Sun's surface temperature is about 6,000°C. C. It explains why the Sun is so massive. D. It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy to shine by losing some 4 million tons of mass each day.

If our year were twice as long (that is, if Earth took twice as many days to complete each orbit around the Sun), but Earth's rotation period and axis tilt were unchanged, then _________. A. the cycle of precession would take 13,000 years instead of 26,000 years B. the Earth would not have seasons C. stars would take twice as long to rise and set D. the four seasons would each be twice as long as they are now

If you could count stars at a rate of about one per second, how long would it take to count all the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy? A. Several days B. Several years C. Several weeks D. Several thousand years

In what way is Venus most similar to Earth? A. Both planets have similar surface geology. B. Both planets have very similar atmospheres. C. Both planets have warm days and cool nights. D. Both planets are nearly the same size.

Mars has two moons that are most similar in character to: A. particles in the rings of Saturn B. comets. C. Earth's Moon D. small asteroids

Relative to the age of the universe, how old is our solar system? A. It is between about 5% and 10% as old as the universe. B. It is about 1% as old as the universe. C. It is nearly the same age as the universe. D. It is about one-third the age of the universe.

Suppose Earth were to cool down a little. How would the carbon dioxide cycle tend to restore temperatures to normal? A. Cooler temperatures allow carbon dioxide to form rain and rain out of the atmosphere. B. Cooler temperatures cause volcanoes to become more active, so they release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than they do when temperatures are warmer. C. Cooler temperatures mean more ice and more erosion, which somehow makes the planet warm up. D. Cooler temperatures lead to slower formation of carbonate minerals in the ocean, so carbon dioxide released by volcanism builds up in the atmosphere and strengthens the greenhouse effect.

Suppose that Earth's ice caps melted, but everything else about the Earth's surface and atmosphere stayed the same. What would happen to Earth's average surface temperature? A. The surface temperature would decrease. B. The temperature would not be affected at all. C. The surface temperature would change radically, until it was equal to the melting temperature of ice. D. The surface temperature would increase.

Suppose that the Sun shrank in size but that its mass remained the same. What would happen to the orbit of the Earth? A. Earth would change from a bound orbit to an unbound orbit and fly off into interstellar space. B. The size of Earth's orbit would shrink, and it would take less than one year to orbit the Sun. C. Earth's orbit would expand, and it would take more than one year to orbit the Sun. D. Earth's orbit would be unaffected.

Suppose we had a device that allowed us to see Earth's interior. If we looked at a typical region of the mantle, what would we see happening? A. dense metals falling downward while low-density rock rises upward B. hot molten rock rising upward throughout the mantle and cool, solid rock falling downward C. a rapid, up and down churning of the material in the mantle D. not much - on human time scales, the mantle looks like solid rock

Suppose you are listening to a radio station that broadcasts at a frequency of 97 Mhz (megahertz). Which of the following statements is true? A. The "radio waves" received by your radio are not light waves like those we talk about in astronomy, but rather are a special type of sound wave. B. The radio waves from the radio station have a wavelength of 97 million meters. C. The radio station broadcasts its signal with a power of 97 million watts. D. The radio waves from the radio station are causing electrons in your radio's antenna to move up and down 97 million times each second.

Suppose you kick a soccer ball straight up to a height of 10 meters. Which of the following is true about the gravitational potential energy of the ball during its flight? A. The ball's gravitational potential energy is always the same. B. The ball's gravitational potential energy is greatest at the instant the ball leaves your foot. C. The ball's gravitational potential energy is greatest at the instant it returns to hit the ground. D. The ball's gravitational potential energy is greatest at the instant when the ball is at its highest point.

The astrology practiced by those who cast predictive horoscopes can be tested by __________ A. asking astrologers if it works. B. counting how many times the predictions come true. C. polling people to find out what percentage believe their horoscopes to be accurate. D. comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance.

The transit method allows us in principle to find planets around __________. A. all stars that have planets of any kind B. only stars of about the same mass and size as our Sun C. only stars located within about 100 light-years of Earth D. only a small fraction of stars that have planets

To date, we've found very few planets orbiting their stars at distances comparable to the distances of the jovian planets in our solar system. Why do astronomers think this is the case? A. Planets at such distances are extremely rare. B. Planets at such distances are probably very low in mass. C. No known technique can detect planets at such large distances. D. We have not yet been searching for planets at such distances for a long enough time.

Using the ideas discussed in your textbook, in what sense are we "star stuff"? A. The overall chemical composition of our bodies is about the same as that of stars. B. We could not survive without light from our star, the Sun. C. Movie stars and other people are all made of the same stuff, so we all have the potential to be famous. D. Nearly every atom from which we are made was once inside of a star.

Venus has a higher average surface temperature than Mercury. Why? A. Because it is closer to the Sun. B. Because its slow rotation gives it more time to heat up in sunlight. C. Because its surface is covered with hot lava from numerous active volcanoes. D. Because its surface is heated by an extreme greenhouse effect.

What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure? A. The presence of inactive volcanoes on Mars tells us that there must once have been a lot of outgassing, and hence a thicker atmosphere. B. The fact that parts of Mars have a lot of craters tell us that Mars must once have been much warmer. C. We think it for purely theoretical reasons, based on calculations showing that the Sun has brightened with time. D. The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence of flowing water in the past.

What would happen to Earth if we somehow moved our planet to the orbit of Venus? A. The fact that we have oceans would moderate the temperature change due to moving our planet, so temperature would hardly change at all. B. Being so much closer to the Sun would almost immediately cause the surface of Earth to melt, and all our cities would then be destroyed by the hot lava. C. Temperatures would rise only slightly, but enough to melt the polar caps. D. Earth would suffer a runaway greenhouse effect and become as hot or hotter than Venus.

When space probe Voyager 2 passed by Saturn, its speed increased (but not due to firing its engines). What must have happened? A. Saturn's rotation must have sped up slightly. B. Voyager 2 must have dipped through Saturn's atmosphere. C. Saturn must have captured an asteroid at precisely the moment that Voyager 2 passed by. D. Saturn must have lost a very tiny bit of its orbital energy.

When traveling north from the United States into Canada, you'll see the North Star (Polaris) getting _________. A. lower in the sky B. brighter C. dimmer D. higher in the sky

When we look at an object that is 1,000 light-years away we see it _________. A. as it is right now, but it appears 1,000 times dimmer B. looking just the same as our ancestors would have seen it 1,000 years ago C. as it was 1,000 light-years ago D. as it was 1,000 years ago

When we see a meteor shower, it means that _________. A. an Earth-approaching asteroid has recently come very close to our planet B. the solar wind is unusually strong C. you should duck and run for cover to avoid being blasted on the head by a rock from space D. Earth is crossing the orbit of a comet

Which characteristic of Earth explains why we have an ultraviolet-absorbing stratosphere? A. the existence of oceans B. the existence of plate tectonics C. the moderate surface temperature D. the existence of photosynthetic life

Which internal heat source still generates heat within the terrestrial worlds today? A. Heat of accretion. B. Heat from convection. C. Heat from differentiation D. Heat from radioactive decay.

Which jovian planet should have the most extreme seasonal changes? A. Jupiter B. Neptune C. Saturn D. Uranus

Which of the following best describes a set of conditions under which archaeoastronomers would conclude that an ancient structure was used for astronomical purposes? A. The structure consists of lines in the desert that make patterns visible only from high above. B. The structure has the same dome shape as modern astronomical observatories. C. They find that, looking out from the center of the building, there are two windows that align with the rise and set points of two bright stars. D. The structure has holes in the ceiling that allow viewing the passage of constellations that figure prominently in the culture's folklore, and many other structures built by the same culture have ceiling holes placed in the same way.

Which of the following best describes the origin of ocean tides on Earth? A. The Moon's gravity pulls harder on water than on land, because water is less dense than rock. B. Tides are caused by the 23.5-degree tilt of the Earth's rotational axis to the ecliptic plane. C. Tides are caused on the side of the Earth nearest the Moon because the Moon's gravity attracts the water. D. Tides are caused by the difference in the force of gravity exerted by the Moon across the sphere of the Earth.

Which of the following best explain what we think happened to outgassed water vapor on Venus? A. Water was removed from the atmosphere by chemical reactions with surface rock. B. It is frozen as water ice in craters near the poles. C. It turned into carbon dioxide by reacting with nitrogen in Venus's atmosphere. D. Ultraviolet light split the water molecules, and the hydrogen then escaped to space.

Which of the following best explains why we can rule out the idea that planets are usually formed by near-collisions between stars? A. A near collision should have left a trail of gas extending out behind the Sun, and we see no evidence of such a trail. B. Studies of the trajectories of nearby stars relative to the Sun show that the Sun is not in danger of a near-collision with any of them. C. A near collision might have created planets, but it could not have created moons, asteroids, or comets. D. Stellar near-collisions are far too rare to explain all the planets now known to orbit nearby stars.

Which of the following is not a line of evidence supporting the hypothesis that our Moon formed as a result of a giant impact? A. The Moon's average density suggests it is made of rock much more like that of the Earth's outer layers than that of the Earth as a whole. B. Computer simulations show that the Moon could really have formed in this way. C. The Moon has a much smaller proportion of easily vaporized materials than Earth. D. The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater - probably the one made by the giant impact.

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that an impact caused the mass extinction that occurred 65 million years ago? A. Grains of quartz formed under high pressure are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago. B. Unusually large abundances of iridium and other rare metals are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago. C. A large impact crater along the coast of Mexico dates to 65 million years ago. D. Fossilized dinosaur bones contain fragments of rock from the impact.

Which of the following is not generally true of all the terrestrial world lithospheres? A. The lithosphere extends from somewhere in the mantle all the way to the surface. B. The thickness of the lithosphere depends on interior temperature, with cooler interiors leading to thicker lithospheres. C. Rock in the lithosphere is stronger than rock beneath it. D. The lithosphere is broken into a set of large plates that float upon the softer rock below.

Which of the following most likely explains why Jupiter's interior releases so much heat? A. A slow rate of nuclear fusion in Jupiter's core. B. Heat from radioactive decay. C. Tidal heating. D. Jupiter is contracting very gradually.

Which of the following scenarios involves energy that we would typically calculate with Einstein's formula E=mc2? A. An object accelerated to a great speed has a lot of kinetic energy. B. A burning piece of wood produces light and heat, therefore giving off radiative and thermal energy. C. A mass raised to a great height has a lot of gravitational potential energy. D. A small amount of the hydrogen in of a nuclear bomb becomes energy as fusion converts the hydrogen to helium.

Which of the following statements about the celestial sphere is NOT true? A. The celestial sphere does not exist physically. B. When we look in the sky, the stars all appear to be located on the celestial sphere. C. The Earth is placed at the center of the celestial sphere. D. The "celestial sphere" is another name for our universe.

Which of the following statements about the object called Eris is not true? A. It lies well beyond Pluto and Neptune. B. It is slightly larger in mass than Pluto. C. It orbits the Sun in the same general direction as the planets. D. It is thought to be the first example of a new class of object.

Which of the following statements is true of green grass? A. It means the lawn is healthy. B. It transmits all colors of light except green. C. It absorbs red light and emits green light. D. It absorbs red light and reflects green light.

Which statement about Saturn's rings is not true? A. Some features of the rings are shaped by small moons that actually orbit within the ring system. B. The large gap known as the Cassini Division is shaped by an orbital resonance with the moon Mimas, which orbits well outside the rings. C. The rings are so thin that they essentially disappear from view when seen edge-on. D. The rings must look much the same today as they did shortly after Saturn formed.

Which statement about motion in the universe is not true? A. Except for a few nearby galaxies, all other galaxies are moving away from us. B. Your speed of rotation around Earth's axis is faster if you live near the equator than if you live near the North Pole. C. Some stars in the Milky Way Galaxy are moving toward us and others are moving away from us. D. The mysterious dark matter is the fastest-moving material in the universe.

Which two factors are critical to the existence of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle on Earth? A. life and active volcanism B. active volcanism and active tectonics C. life and atmospheric oxygen D. plate tectonics and liquid water oceans

Why do astronomers believe that Triton is a captured moon? A. Triton appears to be made mostly of ice. B. Triton is too large to have been formed in the "miniature solar nebula" thought to have surrounded Neptune in its very early history. C. Triton is very small and potato-shaped, which is common of captured moons. D. Triton orbits Neptune in a direction opposite that of Neptune's rotation.

Why do we think that Venus has so much more atmospheric gas than Earth? A. Earth has lost much more gas to thermal escape than has Venus. B. Because of its lack of magnetic field, Venus has been able to gain gas through the impacts of solar wind particles, while Earth has not gained gas in this way. C. Venus has gained much more gas through outgassing than has Earth. D. Most of the gases that have been released from volcanoes on Earth later returned to the surface.

Why is Earth's continental crust lower in density than seafloor crust? A. Continental crust comes from Earth's inner core while seafloor crust comes from the outer core. B. Continental crust comes from volcanoes while seafloor crust comes from geysers. C. Continental crust is made from a low-density volcanic rock called basalt. D. Continental crust is made as the lowest-density seafloor crust melts and erupts to the surface near subduction zones.

Why is the Coriolis effect so weak on Venus? A. Because Venus has such a thick atmosphere. B. Because Venus has such a strong greenhouse effect. C. Because Venus is so hot. D. Because Venus rotates so slowly.

You observe a star very similar to our own Sun in size and mass. This star moves very slightly back and forth in the sky once every 4 months, and you attribute this motion to the effect of an orbiting planet. What can you conclude about the orbiting planet? A. You do not have enough information to say anything at all about the planet. B. The planet must have a mass about the same as the mass of Jupiter. C. The planet must be farther from the star than Neptune is from the Sun. D. The planet must be closer to the star than Earth is to the Sun.

Which of the following has your "cosmic address" in the correct order? A. You, Earth, solar system, Local Group, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Supercluster, universe B. You, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, solar system, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe C. You, Earth, Local Group, Local Supercluster, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, universe D. You, Earth, solar system, Local Group, Local Supercluster, Milky Way Galaxy, universe E. You, Earth, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe

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