WQ #11

Which of the following does the composition of a planet like Jupiter resemble: a. the Sun b. the Moon c. the Earth d. Mars e. the asteroids

a. the Sun

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the ways the jovian planets differ from the terrestrial planets? a. the jovians are larger b. all the jovians have satellites around them and none of the terrestrials do c. the jovians are made mostly of liquid and gas d. the jovians are typically colder and further from the Sun e. the jovians have rings while the terrestrials do not

b. all the jovians have satellites around them and none of the terrestrials do

One reason that we have such a complex system of belts/zones/storms in Jupiter's atmosphere is that: a. the moon Io stirs up the atmosphere b. the planet rotates very rapidly c. the magnetic field is not centered inside d. ring particles "rain down" regularly e. the closeness of the asteroid belt means the planet feels a lot of gravitational tugs from nearby asteroids

b. the planet rotates very rapidly

Jupiter has enough mass to make 318 Earths. In contrast, Uranus and Neptune have only enough mass to make a. 100 Earths b. 70 Earths c. 15 Earths d. 2 Earths e. you can't fool me, Uranus and Neptune have a lot of ice, and so have much more mass than Jupiter

c. 15 Earths

The primary clouds in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn are composed of: a. water vapor b. iron and nickel c. frozen ammonia crystals d. metallic hydrogen e. frozen alcohol (ready to make cocktails)

c. frozen ammonia crystals

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes Uranus from every other planet in our solar system? a. it has more than one moon b. its atmosphere is made of gases c. it rotates on an axis tilted almost 90 degrees to the circle of its orbit d. its orbit is significantly tilted relative to the orbits of the other planets e. its magnetic axis does not lie in the same direction as its rotation axis

c. it rotates on an axis tilted almost 90 degrees to the circle of its orbit

One way to measure how long Jupiter takes to rotate is to watch the giant storms in its atmosphere go around. A more fundamental way to measure the rotation is to: a. send a spacecraft like the Galileo probe into the top cloud layer b. determine how long the innermost moons take to orbit Jupiter c. measure the changes in the planet's radio waves, which are controlled by its magnetic field d. determine the amount of methane in the planet's atmosphere e. you can't fool me, astronomers don't have any reliable way of knowing how long Jupiter takes the spin

c. measure the changes in the planet's radio waves, which are controlled by its magnetic field

To obtain the wonderful images of the jovian planets in our textbook (out where the sunlight is a lot fainter) what did the Voyager spacecraft cameras have to do as they flew by each world? a. use faster (more light sensitive) film b. slow down the spacecraft using retro-rockets to get long exposures c. swivel the cameras backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by d. use more than one camera and combine the light that fell into each one e. simply make do with pictures that got worse and worse as we went outward from the Sun; by the time we got to Neptune, the images were quite blurry

c. swivel the cameras backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by

What was a surprise to astronomers when they carefully examined Neptune with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1994? a. the magnetic field of the planet had reversed (north was now south) b. new elements and compounds were found in the upper atmosphere that had not been there before c. the Great Dark Spot had disappeared d. the wind speeds had slowed considerably e. a large smiley-face had been constructed using dark clouds

c. the Great Dark Spot had disappeared

The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is a. Earth b. Mars c. Venus d. Jupiter e. Neptune

d. Jupiter

At their centers, all the jovian planets have cores made of: a. hydrogen and helium in the form of gas b. hydrogen and helium in the form of liquids c. methane, ammonia, and sulfur compounds d. a solid mixture of rocky and icy materials under great pressure e. new elements produced by the high pressure; elements which we do not have on Earth

d. a solid mixture of rocky and icy materials under great pressure

Which of the following statements about the Galileo probe that dropped into Jupiter is FALSE? a. it was the first spacecraft to enter the atmosphere of a jovian planet b. it sent back information for a little less than an hour c. it was slowed by atmospheric friction and a parachute d. it detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down e. it found that the temperature and pressure increased as it got further down

d. it detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down

The first spacecraft to explore the environment of the planet Jupiter was called a. Viking b. Mariner c. Apollo d. Voyager e. Pioneer

e. Pioneer

Which of the following is NOT a way that Jupiter differs from terrestrial planets? a. its average density is lower b. it is farther away from the Sun c. it includes much more gas and liquid d. it is larger in diameter e. its surface has many more craters from early collisions

e. its surface has many more craters from early collisions

The upper clouds in the atmosphere of Neptune are composed of: a. frozen water crystals b. liquid hydrogen c. iron crystals caught in the magnetic field lines d. carbon dioxide e. methane

e. methane

The first spacecraft which did not merely fly bya jovian (or giant) planet, but actually went into orbit around it for an extended period of time was a. Galileo b. Einstein c. Voyager d. the Hubble Space Telescope e. Cassini

a. Galileo

The planet that has an axis that points roughly straight up, and thus has no seasons to speak of, is: a. Jupiter b. Saturn c. Uranus d. Neptune e. you can't fool me, all the giant planets have dramatically different seasons

a. Jupiter

What do the magnetic fields of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune have in common? a. all three have their magnetic axes offset from the center of the planet b. all are weaker than the Earth's magnetic field c. all are caused by molten iron and nickel deep within each planet d. all are tilted by about 50 or 60 degrees from the planet's axis of rotation e. all were discovered by spacecraft that flew by the planets

a. all three have their magnetic axes offset from the center of the planet

The same process that explains why astronomers see less helium in the upper atmosphere of Saturn when they take spectra also explains a. why the winds near the equator are so high b. the reason Saturn is warmer than we expect c. the hexagon at one of Saturn's poles d. why Saturn has rings e. the strong radio waves we detect from Saturn

b. the reason Saturn is warmer than we expect

At the moment when the Voyager spacecraft got closest to Uranus, the Sun was shining directly on the planet's south pole. Uranus takes about 17 hours to rotate once on its axis. If Voyager took a photo of the south pole 8.5 hours later, what would it observe? a. the south pole was in darkness b. the south pole was brightly lit, with the Sun shining down on it c. the south pole was in twilight d. the south pole was facing directly away from the Sun e. more than one of the above

b. the south pole was brightly lit, with the Sun shining down on it

Astronomers believe that Jupiter's strong magnetic field is caused by a. a core of molten iron and nickel b. electric charges from the moon Io c. a huge layer of metallic hydrogen inside Jupiter d. the circulation of large reddish storms containing magnetic ammonia crystals e. the magnetic personalities of all the jovian movie stars that live there

c. a huge layer of metallic hydrogen inside Jupiter