Astro 1 Exam #2
What evidence do we have that suggests Mars was once much wetter than it is today? A: Outflow channels on the Martian surface and evidence for subsurface water ice. B: Plenty of extinct volcanoes in the southern hemisphere of the planet. C: The lack of a dense atmosphere. D: Mars is farther away from the Sun compared to Earth.
A
Which of these following statements can be said about Venus? A: Venus has a very slow speed of rotation. B: A day-night cycle is longer than a year. C: Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth is. D: All of the above are true. E: Only A and C are true.
D
Why is Venus's day so long (a day-night cycle on Venus lasts for as long as 243 Earth day and night cycles)? A: Because Venus's year is longer than a year on Earth. B: No one knows the reason. C: Venus's rotation time is very short compared to the time it takes to go once around the Sun. D: Venus's rotation time is very long compared to the time it takes to go once around the Sun.
D
*Visual of planets orbiting the sun* From what is seen, what can be said about the orbit of Earth around the Sun? A: As viewed from above the plane of its orbit, Earth revolves in a counterclockwise direction around the Sun. B: The Sun orbits around the Earth in a clockwise orbit. C: Some planets orbit clockwise and others counterclockwise. D: Both A and B. E: None of the above.
A
A comet's nucleus is composed of: A: dust, dry ice, and water ice. B: iron and silicates. C: just iron D: gases, including mostly hydrogen and helium.
A
A meteor shower can occur when : A: Earth's orbit crosses a trail of debris left behind from a comet. B: Earth passes through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. C: many stars pass near the Sun at the same time and shoot through the sky. D: shooting stars reach stable orbits around the Earth and orbit for some time.
A
And what is the consequence of tidal locking? A: The same side of planet B will be facing star A at all times. B: Planet B will stop revolving around star A. C: The planet and star will collide after sometime. D: None of the above.
A
Craters on Venus : A: are about the same in size and structure to those on Earth, Moon, and Mars. B: are much larger in size than those on Earth, Moon, and Mars. C: are much smaller in size than those on Earth, Moon, and Mars. D: are never apparent because of the large amounts of volcanic activity.
A
How does Pluto's mass compare with that of Earth's Moon? A: The Moon is roughly 7 times more massive than Pluto. B: Pluto is roughly 7 times more massive that the Moon. C: They both have the same mass. D: Pluto's mass is roughly 1/20th the mass of the Moon. E: The Moon's mass is roughly 1/20th the mass of Pluto.
A
How long does it take for Neptune to complete one orbit around the Sun, in terms of the time it takes for Earth to complete one orbit around the Sun (1 Earth year)? A: 164 Earth years. B: 365 Earth days. C: 1/2 Earth year. D: 227 Million Earth years.
A
In the night sky, we are able to see some planets with the unaided eye because: A: They reflect the Sun's light. B: They reflect light from Earth. C: They emit bright light in the visible range. D: They emit bright light in the infrared range.
A
In which direction does the Great Red Spot rotate? A: Counter-clockwise. B: Clockwise. C: It does not rotate. D: Both clockwise and counter-clockwise.
A
Of the total amount of sunlight that is incident on Earth, about 70% is absorbed. The remaining is reflected back to space. If we calculate the temperature of Earth from the absorption of the Sun's radiation, it will come to -18 deg centigrade. However, observations show that the global average temperature of the earth is a pleasant +15 deg centigrade. What do you think is the cause for this additional heating of "approximately" 30 deg centigrade (from -18C to + 15C)? A: Green house gases in Earth's atmosphere. B: Earth's proximity to the Sun. C: Comets and asteroids hitting the Earth periodically. D: The ozone layer in Earth's atmosphere. E: All of the above.
A
Several of the tributary canyons of the Valles Marineris are thought to be formed: A: when ground water, escaping from opening cracks flowed cutting a channel through the surface beneath. B: when water coming from the volcanoes started flowing through the planet C: when strong wind currents along the equatorial region started blowing out sand.
A
The Greenhouse effect : A: is larger on Venus than on Earth. B: is smaller on Venus than on Earth. C: cannot exist because Venus has no atmosphere. D: is sometimes larger than on Earth and sometimes smaller.
A
Volcanos on Venus : A: produce very large lava flows that cover at least 85% of the planet's surface. B: were never important in the planet's geological history. C: are not common, with only two apparent on its whole surface. D: are much less active than volcanos on Earth and Mars.
A
What best describes the orbit of the Earth around the Sun? A: An ellipse that is close to being circular. B: A perfect circle. C: A very elongated ellipse. D: An oscillation along a line. E: None of the above.
A
What chemical compound(s) gives Uranus its blue color? A: methane. B: hydrogen and helium. C: liquid water. D: ozone.
A
What general conclusion can we draw about the history of Martian geology? A: The southern hemisphere with its highlands and craters are much older surfaces than the crater-deficient northern hemisphere with its lowlands. B: The northern lowlands are much older surfaces than the southern highlands. C: The northern and southern plains are of the same age. D: Nothing meaningful can be deduced from the given information.
A
Which of the following does Kepler's Second Law support? A: When a planet is closer to the Sun, its speed is greater than when it is farther away. B: When a planet is closer to the Sun, its speed is less than when it is farther away. C: Planets move at constant speed in their orbit around the Sun. D: A planet's speed in its orbit is directly proportional to its distance from the Sun. E: None of the above.
A
Which of the following is a truthful description of the physical appearance of a comet? A: Comets develop a tail only when they get closer to the Sun in their orbit. B: All comets are short period comets. C: Comets emerge from the Sun. D: The brightness of comets stay the same throughout their life.
A
Which of these observations was used to prove that the rings of Saturn are not a single solid sheet? A: The orbital speed of outer part of the ring was smaller compared to the inner part. B: The orbital speed of outer part of the ring was larger compared to the inner part. C: The orbital speed were measured to uniform throughout the disk. D: Both A and B. E: Both B and C.
A
Which type of lunar surface - the maria or the highlands - do you think is relatively young compared to the other? A: The dark lunar maria are younger than the bright highlands. B: The dark lunar maria are older than the bright highlands. C: The maria and highlands are of the same age. D: It cannot be determined from this image.
A
Why are Uranus's rings darker in color (gray) than Saturn's or Jupiter's? A: they have a lot of carbon/soot-like material in them. B: there is more sunlight incident on Uranus's rings because of its greater distance from the Sun. C: they do not have as much nuclear activity in them, so they do not produce as much light. D: they are blocking more light from the stars behind them.
A
Why do the planets orbit the Sun in close to the same plane? A: Because they all formed in a disk around the early Sun and there was little material outside of that disk. B: Because the other planets that formed around the Sun were pulled away by interactions with other nearby stars. C: Because the gravity of the planets in the plane pull the other planets toward them and out of the spherical distribution they form in. D: Because they all happen to be in the same plane completely by chance; our solar system is peculiar in this way. E: Because a big explosion at the time of the formation of the solar system pushed the planets into those positions.
A
Without greenhouse gases, the Earth's surface temperature would be... A: 33°C cooler. B: Unchanged. C: 33°C warmer. D: Hotter in the winter and cooler in the summer. E: Hotter in the summer and cooler in the winter.
A
Based on current evidences and understanding, what is the composition at the center of Neptune and in fact at the center of all the giant planets in the outer Solar System? A: There is no core; Nepture just has an atmosphere. B: solid, rocky core. C: swiss cheese. D: methane gas mixed with water.
B
Based on what we see in the panoramic image, why do you think Moon is likely NOT to have an atmosphere? A: If the Moon had an atmosphere, the light from the Sun would heat the atoms in the atmosphere and the atmosphere would start glowing. B: If the Moon had an atmosphere, it would scatter sunlight in all directions and the lunar sky would look bright. C: Only in the absence of an atmosphere would the moon be able to reflect light from the Sun, thereby making it visible from Earth. D: If the Moon had an atmosphere, then humans wouldn't have been able to land on its surface.
B
Comparing the two images, what can be inferred about the relative temperature of the clouds that form zone and belt regions? A: The zones are hotter than the belts. B: The belts are hotter than the zones. C: Both regions have the same temperature. D: None of the above.
B
Each chemical compound has a unique color. By looking at these samples of chemical compounds, identify the compound that permeates the surface of Mars that gives the Martian soil its distinctive color. A: Water. B: Iron Oxide. C: Zinc Oxide. D: Copper Carbonate.
B
From Armstrong's description, what do you think the lunar surface is physically like? A: The surface is filled with water. B: The surface is covered with fine dust. C: The surface is crystallized and transparent. D: The surface is black and therefore not visible. E: The surface is thick and rubbery.
B
How long ago did the Sun and the Solar System form? A: 100 million years = 0.1 billion years ago. B: 4500 million years = 4.5 billion years ago. C: 100,000 years ago. D: 300 billion years ago. E: 500 billion years ago.
B
Most meteors : A: are visible every night at about the same time for a couple of years. B: are very small (centimeter scale) pieces of rock burning in the Earth's atmosphere. C: appear as streaks of light in the sky when observed from Earth because of heating from the Sun. D: eventually become comets.
B
Observe this animation and pick from the choices the one that best describes what is shown. A: The planet moves at a constant speed through out its orbit around the Sun. B: The planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun. C: The planet revolves around the Sun in a circular orbit. D: None of the above.
B
Observe this animation for a while. It shows the orbit that a planet (say Earth) has around the Sun. Based on this animation, which of the following statements is most accurate? A: The orbit of the planet is really random. B: The planet revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. C: The planet revolves around the Sun in a circular orbit. D: Both B and C.
B
Venus's orbital distance from the Sun is 0.72 AU. What is the duration of a year on Venus? In other words, how long does it take for Venus to complete one orbit around the Sun (in units of Earth year)? A: 1 Earth year (i.e., 365 days) B: 0.61 Earth years or about 220 Earth days. C: 1.2 Earth years or about 438 Earth days.
B
What factor is at least partly responsible for the creation of the Antarctic "ozone hole?" A: Optical light from the Sun destroys ozone as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere. B: Human-generated gases that rise into the stratosphere and break ozone molecules apart. C: Penguins in Antarctica have become radioactive because of scientific experiments there and the radioactivity destroys ozone above that continent. D: When spacecraft pass through the stratosphere they leave holes in it. E: Human and animal respiration takes oxygen out of the atmosphere so that much less is available now to form new ozone.
B
What is known about the formation of Valles Marineris? A: The large valley was created from an impact with a comet or asteroid. B: Different parts of Valles Marineris were shaped by different kinds of geological processes and NOT a single process. C: Valles Marineris was created by Martians as a water channel. D: The valley was carved out by the melting of ice.
B
What kind of atmosphere that Mercury is likely to have: A: An atmosphere that is thicker (denser) than Earth's atmosphere. B: An atmosphere that is thinner than Earth's. C: An atmosphere that is almost the same as Earth's. D: All of the above. E: None of the above.
B
What was Kepler's First Law? A: Planets revolve around the sun in circular orbits with Sun in the center. B: Planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits with Sun at one focus of the ellipse. C: Not all planets revolve around the Sun. D: The Earth is stationary, and the Sun and other planets revolve around it. E: None of the above.
B
Which of the following best describes how the sky would appear for someone standing on the surface of Mercury? A: The sky would appear blue since Mercury's atmosphere is similar to Earth's. B: The sky would appear black since Mercury has next to no atmosphere. C: The sky would look blue at the zenith and black near the horizon. D: None of the above.
B
Which of the following best describes what is commonly referred to as atmospheric pressure? A: It is the pressure with which gravity pushes Earth's atmosphere. B: It is the force that atmospheric gases exert on surfaces below them. C: It is the pressure that astronauts feel when they exit Earth's atmosphere. D: None of the above.
B
Which of the following is an accurate description of the KT event? A: The impacting asteroid hit the Earth at the region that had the maximum human population. B: Living forms, notably the dominant ones such as the dinosaurs, were driven to extinction by the aftermath of the impact more than the impact itself. C: The KT impact produced Earth's moon. D: The extinction of dinosaurs happened because of the asteroid hitting directly on their head.
B
Which of the following phenomenon is associated with magnetic fields of planets? A: greenhouse effect. B: auroras. C: retrograde motion. D: seasons.
B
Why do you think astronauts walk on the surface of Moon with slow hops? A: The Moon has no gravity to hold the astronauts to the ground. B: The gravity on the Moon is smaller than the gravity on Earth. C: Astronauts like hopping. D: The video is deliberately run in slow motion. E: The Moon's surface is rubbery, so they bounce off it like that.
B
Comparing Mercury to the Earth's Moon : A: Since Mercury has so many active volcanoes, the craters on its surface have almost all been wiped away, while the Moon's craters remain. B: Mercury is more than 100 times the mass of Earth's Moon. C: they both have little atmosphere and a similar cratered surface. D: they both take the same time to complete one orbit around the Sun.
C
From what was described, where are aurorae likely to be seen most frequently? A: Equally likely anywhere on Earth. B: At locations along the equator. C: At locations near the poles. D: They can only be seen from Earth orbit, not on the surface.
C
Given the distance at which Mercury (0.4 AU) orbits the Sun, what could be the orbital time period of Mercury around Sun (in units of Earth years)? A: 1 Earth year (i.e., 365 Earth days) B: 2 Earth years. C: 0.24 Earth years D: Both A and C.
C
Given what we learned about the history of the solar system and the "heavy bombardment phase" that it went through, if a planet or a moon has very few craters on its surface, then which of the following is the most likely reason? A: The planet (or moon) has few craters because it was never bombarded by asteroids, comets or other minor solar system debris from space. B: The craters are present on the planet's (or moon's) surface but we do not have good images. C: The planet (or moon) did have impacts with asteroids and comets from space, but the craters from those impacts were eroded over time by some natural process. D: All of the above.
C
How would the inflated landing module bounce if it were dropped onto the surface of Earth from the same altitude as it was on Mars? A: It would not bounce at all. B: It would bounce higher and more times than it did on the surface of Mars. C: It would bounce lower and fewer times than it did on the surface of Mars. D: It would bounce higher and slower than it did on the surface of Mars.
C
Huygens probe saw bright and dark regions on the surface of Titan. Based on the measurements that Huygens carried out while descending through Titan's atmosphere, what are these dark and bright regions likely to be made of? A: the dark and bright regions were mere illusions created by Titan's thick atmosphere. B: the bright regions are liquid water and the dark regions are volcanic ash. C: the dark regions are hydrocarbon mixtures and the bright areas are water-ice . D: None of the above.
C
If not a single solid sheet, then which of the following best describes what the ring system of Saturn is like: A: The ring structure is just an illusion. B: Rapidly expanding gas with various different chemical compositions. C: Individually orbiting particles that are clustered around certain orbits. D: Randomly moving particles that will soon disperse in all directions. E: Randomly moving particles that frequently collide, so that the force of collision quickly pushes the rings apart.
C
Imagine that planet B is revolving around star A. Which of the following scenarios describes 'tidal locking' of planet B by star A? A: When the mutual gravitational force between the two bodies cancel out. B: When the tides on planet B are locked by the tides on A. C: When the time it takes for B to complete one rotation on its axis becomes equal to the time that B takes to revolve (complete one orbit) once around A. D: None of the above.
C
The Sun formed... A: as planets merged together in a spinning cloud of dust and ices. B: as material fell to the center of a perfect spherical cloud of gas. C: at the center of a spinning disk made of gas and dust. D: when larger stars broke apart into smaller units due to collisions with asteroids. E: when a large planet collapsed due to gravity.
C
The Sun is at one focus of the elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun. What is at the other focus? A: The Earth. B: The Moon. C: Nothing. D: Mars. E: Jupiter.
C
The distribution of craters (on Mars) can be best described as: A: The craters are uniformly distributed throughout the surface. B: There are no craters on Mars. C: The Southern Hemisphere has numerous craters and the Northern Hemisphere has few. D: There are more craters in the North compared to South.
C
The mass of Saturn is equivalent to approximately how many Earth masses? A: 10. B: 50. C: 100. D: 500. E: 1000.
C
What causes some Kuiper belt objects to become short period comets? A: the wind from the forming Sun exerts a pressure which pushes them out away from the Sun and then they come back in again. B: their orbits decay due to nuclear reactions in their metallic cores. C: the gravity of the giant planets like Uranus and Neptune throw them into orbits that take them into the inner Solar System. D: the Kuiper belt objects become short period comets out of desire.
C
What kind of radiation does the Earth's surface re-radiate after it absorbs sunlight? A: Ultraviolet. B: X-rays. C: Infrared. D: Radio. E: Microwave.
C
What type of radiation gets absorbed by greenhouse gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide? A: Ultraviolet and optical. B: Ultraviolet and radio. C: Infrared but not optical. D: Optical but not infrared. E: Optical but not ultraviolet.
C
What was Kepler's Third Law? A: The farther away a planet is from the Sun, the shorter a time it takes for it to complete one orbit around the Sun. B: The cube of the time period of the planet's orbit is proportional to the square of its average distance from the Sun (P3is proportional to a2). C: The square of the time period for an orbit of a planet is proportional to cube of its average distance from Sun (in other words P2is proportional to a3). D: The time period for an orbit of a planet is proportional to the cube of its average distance from Sun (in other words P is proportional to a3). E: The closer a planet is to the Sun, the longer a time it takes for it to complete one orbit around the Sun.
C
Which of the following could be the reason that Mars has only a thin atmosphere? A: The atmosphere is spread over a very large area. B: The gravitational pull from Earth caused Mars to lose some of its atmosphere. C: The gravity on Mars was insufficient to hold a thick atmosphere and hence the gases in the atmosphere escaped over time. D: All of the above.
C
Which of the following is true about Neptune? A: Its atmosphere's composition and rings are most like Saturn's. B: Its atmosphere's composition is most like Saturn's, but its rings are more like those of Uranus and Jupiter. C: Its atmosphere's composition is most like Uranus and its rings are like those of Uranus and Jupiter. D: It is more like the Earth than it is like any of the other giant planets.
C
Asteroids are : A: rare objects - only three exist in our Solar System. B: all very small, less than a centimeter in diameter. C: all found out beyond the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud. D: found in higher concentration in an asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. E: composed mostly of ice, both dry ice and water ice.
D
Estimate the approximate distance to Pluto based on its orbital time period? A: 0.5 AU B: 200 AU C: 12 AU D: 40 AU
D
How did Kepler himself originally state this second law? A: The speed of a planet in its orbit is directly proportional to its distance from the Sun. B: The speed of a planet in its orbit is inversely proportional to its distance from the Sun. C: All planets move at a constant speed in their orbit around the Sun. D: A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time. E: None of the above.
D
How would you describe the rotation of Uranus? A: Its rotation axis is very similar to Earth's, tilted at about 23 degrees relative to perpendicular. B: Its rotation axis is not tilted very much at all, so that its equator always faces the Sun. C: It alternates in having a rotation axis parallel to its plane of rotation and perpendicular to its plane of rotation. D: Its rotation axis is tilted so that its pole almost faces the Sun.
D
Identify, which of these are classified as short period comets and which ones are long period comets. A: Comets Halley and Ikeya-Seki are short period comets and the other two are long period. B: All are short period comets. C: Comet Hale-Bopp is a longer period comet and the remaining three are short period. D: Comets Ikeya-Seki and Hale-Bopp are long period and the other two are short period.
D
Kuiper belt objects, some of which become short period comets, are also known as: A: long period comets. B: failed stars because they are not very close to the Sun. C: proto-asteroids because they are not yet large enough to be asteroids. D: trans-Neptunian objects because they are beyond Neptune's orbit.
D
Observations show the dominant composition of Saturn's rings as: A: a mix of hydrogen and helium gas. B: burned carbon compounds and rocks . C: liquid water. D: chunks of dusty water ice crystals. E: chocolate chip cookie dough.
D
The ground on which Huygens descented was littered with rocks and smaller pebbles (like a dried up river bed on Earth). What are these rocks and smaller pebbles understood to be? A: We have no idea what they are. B: the rocks and pebbles were made of methane . C: The rocks and pebbles were made of volcanic ash. D: The rocks are made of water-ice and the smaller pebbles were made of either water-ice or hydrocarbons or a combination of the two.
D
The mass of Jupiter is equivalent to approximately how many Earth masses? A: 0.1. B: 400. C: 70,000 million. D: 300.
D
The mass of Jupiter is equivalent to approximately how many Saturn masses? A: ½. B: 1. C: 2. D: 3. E: 5.
D
The material in a meteorite is : A: mostly gases and vapors from the Sun. B: unknown since scientists have never been able to collect one. C: a few thousand years old. D: roughly as old as the Solar System.
D
What is ozone? A: A mixture of many chemical elements, including nitrogen (N), magnesium (Mg), carbon (C), and silicon (Si), that block ultraviolet light. B: Single oxygen atoms in the atmosphere (O). C: Two oxygen atoms bonded together into a single molecule (O2). D: Three oxygen atoms bonded together into a single molecule (O3). E: Carbon monoxide molecules (CO).
D
What would happen if the ozone layer were completely destroyed? A: X-rays and gamma rays would no longer get through the atmosphere. B: Meteorites would be able to fall through the atmosphere and would destroy life of all types. C: Optical and infrared light would no longer get through the Earth's atmosphere, and plants couldn't grow. D: Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun would get through the atmosphere and cause damage to life. E: Radio waves would no longer get through the Earth's atmosphere and we would have difficulty with communications.
D
When charged particles in the solar wind under the magnetic field's influence interact with the atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, what observable phenomenon occurs? A: Volcanoes. B: Winter. C: Gravity. D: Aurora.
D
Where do mountains like the Himalayas come from? A: Rain of debris from meteorites and comets falls in some places more than others, and builds up into mountains. B: The Earth is made of molten rock and metals, and regions with opposite electrical charges attract each other and form peaks. C: The Earth formed by an irregular processes and that is just the way that it was shaped when the molten rock cooled into place. D: In some locations, plates of rock on the planet's surface press together and the plates rise together. E: The Moon's gravity pulls some layers up into mountain ranges.
D
Which of the following is/are caused by dense atmospheres? A: It absorbs and scatters light. B: Atmosphere makes planetary surfaces warmer than they would be otherwise. C: Atmosphere distributes heat around a planet. D: All of the above.
D
Which of the following objects of the solar system also has an icy surface? A: Venus. B: Earth's Moon. C: Jupiter's Moon Io. D: Jupiter's Moon Europa.
D
Which of the following would be an accurate description of the Great Red Spot? A: The red spot has formed at the interface between two adjacent bands. B: The red spot is a solid feature on the gaseous surface of Jupiter. C: The red spot rotates like a whirlpool. D: Both A and C.
D
Saturn is about 10 times as far from the Sun as Earth is (a = 10 AU, roughly). About how many times does Earth orbit the Sun in the time it takes Saturn to orbit just once? A: About 3. B: About 5. C: About 10. D: About 20. E: About 30.
E
How can the rock layers on the outside of the Earth move? A: Winds and ocean currents push the continents around. B: Volcanic eruptions shake them and they crack up and move. C: Tidal forces from the Moon pull them around. D: They are held up by vents of air beneath them, which are due to emission of volcanic gases. E: They are made of less dense rock, effectively floating on top of a denser fluid beneath.
E
