Solar System Exam Questions

absolute zero is

0 degrees kelvin

The four large moons of Jupiter were first discovered by:

Galileo with his early telescope

Why is an absorption spectrum especially useful for astronomers?

It has dark lines in it that allow astronomers to determine what elements are in the star

A planet in our solar system whose composition resembles that of our Sun is:

Jupiter

The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is

Jupiter

How are wavelength, frequency, and energy related for photons of light?

Longer wavelength means lower frequency and lower energy

It is a normal experience on Earth to see the stars twinkle. Suppose you traveled to the Moon. Would you see stars twinkle while standing on the surface of the Moon?

No; twinkling occurs due to atmospheric turbulence, and the Moon does not have an atmosphere.

The largest volcano on Mars is called:

Olympus Mons

Which of the following conditions holds for relative distances during a lunar eclipse?

The Earth is closer to the Sun than the Moon is

In Copernicus' model of the universe

The Sun was at the center and the planets orbited in perfect circles

What would have to be true for there to be a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse every month?

The moon's orbit would have to be exactly on the ecliptic

If you drop two objects with different masses from a tall building, neglecting the effects of air resistance, which object will hit the ground first?

They will both hit at the same time

According to Newton's universal law of gravitation, if you triple the distance between two objects, then the gravitational force between them wil

decrease by a factor of 9

What could your latidute on Earth be if a star with a declination of 0° reaches a maximum altitude of 60° over the course of a day?

either 30N or 30S

What kind of spectrum will you see if you observe a hot, thin cloud of gas with no hot object behind it?

emission

True or False- gravity strength is inversely proportional to the mass: the more mass, the less gravity

false

True or false- The main purpose of a telescope is to make the things it looks at bigger.

false

In the future, a pair of astronauts are sent on a mission to the planet Mercury. They watch the Sun set one mercurian evening and decide they will go exploring in opposite directions and meet again the NEXT time the Sun is setting in the spot where they started. How long will they have to wait for the next sunset at that spot?

two Mercury years, 176 Earth days

Of the following planets, which does NOT have satellites (moons)?

venus

The light which allows you to see this very interesting exam is made up of waves. In these waves, the distance between crests is called the

wavelength

If the Sun passes directly over your head on at least one day per year, then

you are somewhere within 23.5° of the equator

What is the approximate declination of the moon on December 21, if the moon is at full phase?

+23.5 degrees

At the beginning of the semester, we imagined a scale where the Sun was about the size of a grapefruit and located on the National Mall in Washington DC

15 meters

It takes light about 5 hours to travel from the Sun to the Neptune. How far is this in km?

5.4x10^9km

What fraction of the celestial sphere can be seen from the North Pole during the course of a year?

50%

A synodic month is the time between two successive full moons, while a sidereal month measures the time it takes the moon to orbit 306° with respect to the background stars. Why are they different?

Because the Earth-Moon system is also orbiting the Sun.

The surface gravity on the moon the surface of the moon is smaller than it is on the Earth (objects fall slower). Which of the following is true about your mass and weight on the Moon compared to Earth?

Your mass is the same on the moon, but your weight is less.

These days the theory of the Earth's Moon's origin that best fits with the facts we have about the Moon is

a large object hit the Earth and the collision produced a filament of material that condensed to make the Moon

A graduate student is trying to follow the weather on Jupiter for her PhD thesis. To see the big weather patterns in the upper atmosphere of the planet, she needs to have excellent resolution. What type of telescope would be best for her to use?

a large reflector located in orbit above the Earth's atmosphere

Radioactive dating techniques have revealed that our Earth and Moon are approximately how old?

about 4.5 billion years

An artist who likes working with sources of light decides to make a modern sculpture out of electrified glass tubes that contain very thin (rarified) neon gas. When the sculpture is finished, and the electricity is turned on, the tubes glow with a rich red color. What we are seeing is

an emission spectrum

Why are the largest craters we find on the Moon and Mercury so much larger than the largest craters we find on the Earth?

because the largest craters were made early in each world's history, and geologic activity has erased all traces of this early period on the Earth's surface

Pluto's big satellite is called

charon

Which part of the Earth has the greatest density?

core

What is one way that astronomers have actually gotten an idea of the age of the surfaces of terrestrial planets other than the Earth?

counting craters

True or false- Someone drops a bowling ball from the top of the Empire State building (that's the tall building in New York City King Kong likes to climb). As the Earth's gravity pulls on the bowling ball, it accelerates toward the Earth. The Earth, however, does not accelerate toward the bowling ball to any degree at all.

false

True or false- Using telescope on Earth, we can't make out any features on the surface of Mars.

false

True or false- a photon of visible light cannot pass through the atmosphere of the Earth, and thus cannot be seen at the Earth's surface

false

True or false- the mass of the earths atmosphere is a substantial part of the mass of the Earth

false

true or false- a reflecting telescope uses large lenses to form an image

false

true or false- on Earth, we can see all its sides in the course of a month as it goes around us

false

What phase will Venus appear to have when it is farthest from the Earth in its orbit?

full

You are alone in a large, completely dark auditorium on Earth. What kind of telescope should I use from the other side of the auditorium to detect the electromagnetic radiation emitted by your body?

infared

Which of the following is a way that the planet Mercury is similar to the Moon?

its surface is heavily cratered

which planets rotate quickly?

mars and earth

which planets rotate slowly?

mercury venus moon

Which substance plays the same role on Titan as water does on Earth (existing as gas, liquid, and solid)?

methane

When someone on the Earth observes the Moon in the full phase, someone on the Moon facing the Earth observes the Earth in the

new earth phase

Is this a part of Newtons Laws? What goes up must come down.

no

Suppose you observe a star moving laterally (sideways) across the sky, with no motion toward or away from you. What can you expect to see in its spectrum?

no doppler shift

At about what time will the third-quarter moon set?

noon

If you were building a very large and expensive telescope, where should you put it to get the best results?

on the top of a high mountain, above a large fraction of the disturbing atmosphere

Because life has developed on Earth, our planet's atmosphere contains a significant amount of

oxygen

Which of the following worlds does NOT have a ring?

pluto

all modern optical research telescopes are

reflecting telescopes

Which planet in the solar system has not been examined by spacecraft instruments that have either flown by or orbited them?

spacecraft have visited all the planets in our solar system

Winter in the northern hemisphere is when

sunlight shines most directly on the southern hemisphere

A synodic month is the time between two successive full moons, while a sidereal month measures the time it takes the moon to orbit 306° with respect to the background stars. Which is the longest?

synodic month

Wien's Law relates the wavelength at which a star gives off the greatest amount of energy to the star's

temperature

Why do astronauts (and cans of soft drink) float around in the International Space Station instead of falling?

the Station is falling around the Earth (and everything aboard is in free fall)

A solar eclipse is caused by

the earth moving into the moons shadow

What is the cause of its many volcanic/geyser-like eruptions on the moon Io?

the gravitational stress of being so close to Jupiter and its other large moons heats Io's inside

One way in which Mars closely resembles the Earth is:

the length of its day (period of rotation)

During a solar eclipse, which of the following conditions is guaranteed to make it an annular solar eclipse?

the moon is at farthest point from the earth in its orbit

Which of the following is NOT one of the key reasons that so many spacecraft from Earth have visited Venus and Mars?

their atmospheres are very similar to the Earth in terms of their chemical make-up

True or false- Pluto is smaller than any of the terrestrial or jovian planets in our solar system.

true

True or false- The most useful telescopes for observing ultra-violet rays, x-rays, and gamma-rays are located in space, outside the Earth's atmosphere.

true

True or false- Using visible light, you can't generally see the surface features of Venus from space

true

True or false- jupiter has more mass than all the other planets combined.

true