Astronomy exam 2

Most Kuiper Belt Objects are similar in composition to A. Comets B. Asteroids C. Stars D. Meteors E. Terrestrial planets

A. Comets

Which of the following types of objects could reasonably be described as "dirty snowballs" or, for the larger ones "flying icebergs" A. Comets B. Asteroids C. Stars D. Meteors E. Terrestrial planets

A. Comets

An artificial satellite such as the international space station stays up because A. The earth curves out from under it as fast as it falls B. It is beyond the reach of earths gravity and is weightless C. It's speed weakens the pull of gravity

A. The earth curves out from under it as fast as it falls

The density of water is 1000kg/m^3, The density of rock is about 3000 kg/m^3, and the density of iron is 7800 kg/m^3. Which of the following densities is closest to the average density of Jupiter? A. 700 kg/m^3 B. 1200 kg/m^3 C. 5200 kg/m^3 D. 3900 kg/m^3 E. 10,000 kg/m^3

B. 1200 kg/m^3

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter are you find A. The Kuiper belt B. The asteroid belt C. The Oort Cloud D. The planet Saturn E. The planet Neptune

B. The asteroid belt

The law of inertia says that if an object is not acted on by any outside force, it's acceleration A. Will always be constant B. Will always be zero C. Will be zero if the object is at rest and not zero if the object is moving D. Can have any value at all

B. Will always be zero

The average radius of the earth orbit is A. 0.1 au B. 0.01 au C. 1.0 au D. 2.0au E. 5 au

C. 1.0 au

It is expected that a normal Jovian planet, with no accidental encounters that could add or subtract moons, should have A. No moon B. Just one moon C. A family of moons are orbiting in the plane of the planets equator

C. A family of moons are orbiting in the plane of the planets equator

Suppose that a comet is spotted while it is still far from the sun (beyond the orbit of mars). The tail of this comet is most likely A. Extending almost to the orbit of Jupiter B. Spherical in shape C. Not yet formed D. Elliptical in shape

C. Not yet formed

Once it's rockets have ceased firing, an intercontinental ballistic missile will follow a path that is best described as A. a parabola B. a straight line C. an ellipse with the center of the earth at one focus

C. an ellipse with the center of the earth at one focus

If the planets are numbered from 1 to 8, going outward from the Sun, the planet Neptune is number A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8 E. 4

D. 8

The international space station(ISS) is in a roughly circular orbit near the surface of the earth, moving at around 5 miles per a second. Suppose that rocket pushes it and quickly increases its speed to 6 miles per a second. The ISS will then A. Coast up to a higher circular orbit B. Escape from the earth C. Follow an ellipse that the sins and then rises again D. Follow an ellipse that rises and then descends again

D. Follow an ellipse that rises and then descends again

Which of these sequences places the inner planets in the correct order from the sun, from the closest to the farthest A. Venus, Mercury, Mars, Earth B. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth C. Venus, mercury, Earth, Mars D Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

D. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Why couldn't we just fly a space shuttle to the moon for at least a flyby?

The space shuttle did not have enough fuel to reach escape velocity

Why don't we just shoot all of our really nasty waste products into the sun where they could not possibly bother anyone

The sun is actually the hardest part of the solar system to get to from here

Aristotle said that a moving earthly or "mundane" object with nothing pushing or pulling on it will always a. Slow down and stop b. Speed up c. Keep moving at the same speed d. Follow a circular path

a. Slow down and stop

Really falling objects with different masses fall with the same acceleration because a. They have the same amount of inertia b. Gravity exerts more force on the more massive object c. Gravity acts with the same force on both objects d. Gravity acts with less force on the more massive object e. There is no air resistance

b. Gravity exerts more force on the more massive object

According to newtons law of gravity the gravitational attraction of the earth for other objects such as the moon apples on trees and space shuttles and low Earth orbit a. Is the same no matter where those objects are b. Is smaller for objects farther from the earth but never vanishes entirely c. Extends only as far as the earths atmosphere and vanishes for objects like an orbiting space shuttle d. Is larger for objects farther from the earth

b. Is smaller for objects farther from the earth but never vanishes entirely

The force that acts on a rocket because it's engine is firing is exerted by a. The air around the rocket b. The exhaust from the rocket c. The rocket itself d. The inertia of the rocket e. Gravity

b. The exhaust from the rocket

A book, weighing 10 Newtons, sits on a table. Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair? a. The force of gravity on the book and the Force that the table exerts on the book b. The force that the book exerts on the table and the force that the table exerts on the book c. The force of gravity on the book and the force that the book exerts on the table d. The force of gravity on the book and the force of gravity on the table e. The force that the book exerts on the table and the force of gravity on the table

b. The force that the book exerts on the table and the force that the table exerts on the book

If you are told that a 20 kilogram object is raised by 10 meters, you know that a. The force of gravity on the object is 20 kilograms b. The mass of the object is 20 kilograms c. The force of gravity on the object is 10 meters d. The mass of the object is 10 meters

b. The mass of the object is 20 kilograms

When Newton calculated the magnitude and direction of the acceleration for a planet that was following Kepler's Laws, he found that the direction of the acceleration was a. In the direction of the planets motion b. Toward the sun c. Away from the sun d. Between the direction of the planets motion and the direction from the planet to the sun e. Opposite to the direction of the planets motion

b. Toward the sun

If the acceleration of an object is zero, it's speed a. Is also zero b. Is increasing c. Is not changing d. Is decreasing

c. Is not changing

Galileo said that a moving object with nothing pushing or pulling on it will always a. Slow down and stop b. Speed up c. Keep moving at the same speed d. Follow a circular path

c. Keep moving at the same speed

When Newton calculated the magnitude of the acceleration of Earth's Moon, and compared it to the acceleration of falling objects on the surface of the Earth, he found that a. The acceleration's were the same b. The moons acceleration was larger c. The moons acceleration was smaller

c. The moons acceleration was smaller

What total force will cause an object with a mass of 1kg to gain 10 meters per second every second a. 1 Newton b. 9.8 Newton c. 5 Newton d. 10 Newton e. 2.5 Newton

d. 10 Newton

Suppose that you can lift an object by exerting an upward force of 12 Newtons on it. If gravity exerts a force of 10 Newtons downward on the object, what is the total force on the object ? a. 22 Newton b. 12 Newton c. 10 Newton d. 2 Newton e. 120 Newton

d. 2 Newton

An ion rocket engine produces 1 Newton of thrust. What acceleration can it give to a space probe with a mass of 1000kg? a. 1 m/s^2 b. 1000 m/s^2 c. 0.1 m/s^2 d. 0.01 m/s^2 e. 0.001 m/s^2

e. 0.001 m/s^2