Chapter 28

Which of the following correctly orders planets by decreasing day length?

Venus, Earth, Jupiter

One day on Venus is equal to how many days on Earth?

243

what percentage of all planetary matter in the solar system is in Jupiter's mass?

70%

What is a periodic comet? Give an example.

A comet that goes off and comes back in the solar system, Halley's Comet.

The surface of Mercury is similar to the surface of ____________? a) the Moon b)Mars c)Venus d)Earth

A) the Moon

T/F: If the distance between and object with a mass of 10kg and an object with a mass of 5kg is doubled, the force of gravity between them will be halved.

False

T/F: Saturn is the only planet with rings.

False

T/F: The Sun formed along the outside of the rotating interstellar cloud.

False

T/F: The difference between meteors and meteorites is their size.

False

T/F: The force of gravity between two objects is determined entirely by their masses.

False

T/F: The southern hemisphere of Mars is dominated by sparsely crated plains.

False

List the three early scientists whose contributions were important to our understanding of the solar system and list their contributions.

Galileo - telescope and moons of Jupiter Newton - laws of gravity Kepler - determined the distance from the Earth to the Sun

What are some of the differences between a sun centered, heliocentric, and and Earth centered, geocentric, model of our solar system?

Geo - Earth is the center of the solar system with the moon as the first planet. Helio - Sun is the center of the solar system and Mercury is the first planet. Earth is the third.

Life forms on Earth require water. Assuming that life forms found elsewhere would have this same requirement, identify one place in the solar system that scientists should focus their search.

Mars or Europa

Compare the atmospheric pressure on Venus to the atmospheric pressure on Earth.

The atmospheric pressure on Venus is much higher than the atmopheric pressure on Earth.

T/F: Earth is the most tectonically active of the planet.

True

T/F: Mercury's days and years are more similar in length than Earth's days and years.

True

T/F: Only one of the eight planets in the solar system has all three forms of water on its surface.

True

T/F: The inner planets have greater densities than the outer planets.

True

T/F: The rotational axis of Uranus is tipped over so far that the north pile almost lied in its orbital plane.

True

T/F: Until 1994, Neptune had a persistent storm, the Great Dark Spot, with characteristics similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

True

What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot? a) an atmospheric storm b) an ice cap c) a surface ocean d) a large moon

a) an atmospheric storm

The result when Earth intersects a cometary orbit is a(n) ______________. a) meteor shower b) loss of satellite communication c) asteroid shower d) aurora borealis

a) meteor shower

What two gas giants appear blue because of the methane in their atmosphere? a) Saturn and Uranus b) Neptune and Uranus c) Jupiter and Saturn d) Jupiter and Neptune

b) Neptune and Uranus

What force draws the matter in an interstellar cloud together to form a star? a) electric b) gravity c) magnetism d) friction

b) gravity

The form of hydrogen that has properties of both a liquid and a metal is ___________? a) magnetic hydrogen b) liquid metallic hydrogen c) electric hydrogen d) liquid hydrogen

b) liquid metallic hydrogen

Interplanetary material that enters the Earth's atmosphere and collided with the ground rather than burning up is called a(n) ____________? a) meteor b) meteorite c) comet d) asteroid

b) meteorite

The four inner planets of our solar system are? a) interplanetary asteroids b) terrestrial planets c) gas giant planets d) meteorites

b) terrestrial planets

What is the main reason why Venus' surface is so hot? a) the extremely fast rotation of Venus b) the very efficient greenhouse effect on Venus c) the large number of volcanoes on Venus d) the great amount of water on Venus

b) the very efficient greenhouse effect on venus

Saturn's largest moon is named ________? a) Europa b) Io c) Titan d) Ganymede

c) Titan

The brightest planet in Earth's nighttime sky is ________? a) the Moon b) Mars c) Venus d) Mercury

c) Venus

Bodies of interplanetary debris that orbit the Sun with most in the area between Mars and Jupiter are called ______________? a) meteors b) comets c) asteroids d) meteorites

c) asteroids

The atmosphere of Venus is mostly ___________? a) nitrogen and oxygen b) oxygen c) carbon dioxide and nitrogen d) sodium

c) carbon dioxide and nitrogen

Small, icy bodies that have highly eccentric orbits and can be found in the Oort cloud or the Kuiper belt are called ___________.

comets

The closest planet to the Sun is ________? a) Venus b) Earth c) Mars d) Mercury

d) Mercury

Galileo developed Jupiter's _____________? a) 12 smaller rings b) rings c) Great Red Spot d) four major satellites

d) four major satellites

Saturn's average density is lower than that of ____________? a) hydrogen b) methane c) helium d) water

d) water

Erosional features on Mars, such as runoff channels, provide evidence of what substance?

liquid water