astronomy exam 2
it is currently thought that moons typically do not form near a. jovian planets b. terrestrial planets c. any planets of isolated stars d. any planets of binary star systems
b.
kuiper belt objects can be described as... a. flying rocks/mountains b. dirty snowballs/flying icebergs c. small stars/large moons d. flying lakes/oceans
b.
law of inertia says that if an object is not acted on by an outside force its acceleration will be: a. constant b. zero c. zero if at rest and non-zero if moving d. any value
b.
The first space probes to land on another planet were from the: a. russian venera series b. us pioneer series c. european venus express series d. viking series e. voyager series
a.
an object that weighs 20 N is raised 10 m: a. force of gravity on object is 20 N b. mass of object is 20 N c. force of gravity is 10 m d. mass of object is 10 m e. acceleration of object is 200 kg-m
a.
lunar maria are thought to have been caused by ancient... a. lava flows from large impacts b. evaporated oceans of water c. bombardment by charged particles from sun d. dust storms
a.
magnetic field on mars is a. essentially zero b. 1% of earth's c. similar to earth's d. 10x intensity of earth's e. 100x intensity of earth's
a.
mars' magnetic field is: a. essentially 0 b. about 1% of earth's c. similar in intensity to earth's d. 10x intensity of earth's e. 100x intensity of earth's
a.
mercury's magnetic field is surprising because it was expected to have... a. no magnetic field bc of slow rotation b. no magnetic field bc density indicates small iron core c. much larger magnetic field bc large iron core d. magnetic field similar to earth's
a.
normal terrestrial planet should have: a. no moon b. one moon c. a family of moons
a.
space probes use gravitational maneuvers to: a. change direction and speed of spacecraft without using rockets b. launch probes without using rockets c. see more planets in a single trip d. arrive at the destination at the right time
a.
suppose spacecraft has a total mass of 5000 kg and sunlight exerts a total force of 5 N on the sail. what is the craft's acceleration? a. 0.001 m/s2 b. 5 m/s2 c. 0.05 m/s2 d. 5000 m/s2 e. 25000 m/s2
a.
suppose that you drop two objects from the same height at the same time. Both objects are heavy enough to be unaffected by air resistance. If one object is twice as heavy as the other, Aristotle would predict that: a. heavier object hits the ground before the lighter object b. lighter object hits the ground before the heavier object c. they hit the ground at the same time
a.
the ancient greeks thought that: a. a heavy object should fall faster than a lighter object bc the heavy object is pulled down by more force b. a light object should fall faster than a heavier object because the lighter object offers less resistance to motion. c. a heavy object should fall at the same speed as a lighter object because the heavier object feels more force but the lighter object offers less resistance to motion.
a.
viewed from polaris, venus: a. rotates clockwise and orbits counterclockwise b. rotate counterclockwise and orbits clockwise c. rotates and orbits clockwise d. rotates and orbits counterclockwise e. does not rotate
a.
which has no moons? a. venus b. earth c. mars d. jupiter e. neptune
a.
which of the following could be described as "dirty snowballs" or "flying icebergs?" a. comets b. asteroids c. stars d. meteors e. terrestrial planets
a.
which planet has almost no atmosphere? a. mercury b. venus c. earth d. mars
a.
ice cannot be found on: a. mercury b. venus c. earth d. mars
b.
In comparison to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion, Newton's theory of Universal Gravitation predicted: a. exactly the same motions b. almost the same motions with some corrections c. a completely different set of motions d. same motions with different interpretation
b.
The gravitational attraction of the Earth for other objects: a. is the same no matter where the objects are b. is smaller for objects farther away but never vanishes entirely c. extends only as far as earth's atmosphere d. is larger for objects farther away
b.
The phase diagram for water is presented on a graph with axes for temperature and a. mass density b. pressure c. volume d. physical state
b.
You are standing in an elevator that is accelerating upward at 1m/s². Which of the following pairs of forces is an action-reaction pair that have to be exactly equal and opposite to each other? a. force gravity exerts on you and force elevator exerts on you b. force the floor exerts on you and force you exert on floor c. force gravity exerts on you and force you exert on floor d. none
b.
a book weighing 10 N sits on a table. which pair is the correct action-reaction pair? a. force gravity on the book and force of table on book b. force of book on table and force of table on book c. force of gravity on book and force of book on table d. force of gravity on book and gravity on table e. force of book on table and force of gravity on table
b.
a lunar crater is... a. any large, flat area that is lower than surrounding area b. circular ring wall around a flat area c. a mountain in the center of a flat area d. a large, deep hole in the moon
b.
a model in which the Moon forms from the same rotating cloud of gas and dust as the Earth would predict that the Moon's orbit should be: a. in the plane of the ecliptic b. in the plane of earth's equator c. perpendicular to plane of earth's equator d. somewhat tilted relative to plane of earth's equator
b.
a planet following kepler's laws accelerates... a. in the direction of the planet's motion b. toward the sun c. away from the sun d. between the direction of the planet's motion and the direction from the planet to the sun e. opposite the direction of the planet's motion
b.
an astronomical unit is a. distance from earth to moon b. distance from earth to sun c. distance to a star that shows one arc-second of parallax shift d. distance light travels in a year e. time it takes earth to orbit sun
b.
apollo 11 made first: a. landing on moon by a spacecraft b. crewed landing on moon c. crewed orbit of moon d. test of docking procedures in lunar orbit
b.
compared to the rest of the lunar surface, maria are: a. higher & younger b. lower & younger c. higher & older d. lower & older e. same age and level
b.
earth's moon is... a. 1/25 the size of earth, which is normal for a moon b. ¼ the size of earth, which is large for a moon c. 1/500 the size of earth, which is unusually small for a moon d. ¼ size of earth, which is normal for a moon e. 1/25 size of earth, which is small for a moon
b.
earth's orbit around the sun is: a. exactly circular so intensity of sunlight never changes b. slightly elliptical so intensity of sunlight varies by 6% c. very elliptical so intensity varies 40% d. slightly elliptical but not even 1% change in intensity e. hyperbolic
b.
first successful soft landing on moon was surveyor 1 in a. 1958 b. 1966 c. 1969 d. 1972 e. 1974
b.
freely 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.
on earth you might find a temperature of 59º on a spring or fall day in the temperate zone. on mars, that temperature might be found a. only at the poles b. at noon near the equator c. nowhere on mars d. almost anywhere on mars when the sun is shining
b.
pathfinder was the first a. mars orbiter b. to use airbags to land on mars c. mars langer d. to use ion drive rockets for planetary exploration
b.
relative to distant stars, mercury a. completes a full rotation every orbit b. completes 1.5 rotations every orbit c. completes 2 rotations every orbit d. does not rotate
b.
temps on the surface of mercury are... a. uniform because its thick atmosphere spreads heat b. extremely varied because it has no atmosphere to spread heat c. similar to antarctic temps d. extremely high everywhere because of proximity to sun
b.
the Moon rotates on its axis so that it always keeps... a. same side (dark side) pointed away from sun b. same side (far side) pointed away from earth c. same side toward particular distant star
b.
the magnetic field on mars is: a. exactly zero everywhere b. present locally, near magnetized ore deposits c. present globally at 1% of the intensity of earth's d. 10x intensity of earth's e. 100x intensity of earth's
b.
the moon always keeps the same side toward: a. sun b. earth c. a particular distant star
b.
the moon rotates on its axis relative to distant stars a. not at all b. once every sidereal month c. once every sidereal day d. once a year
b.
the shortest earth-sun distance (and therefore highest intensity sunlight) currently occurs: a. at different times each year b. every January c. every July d. every winter solstice e. every summer solstice
b.
water on the moon has motivated many nations to launch moon missions because it... a. indicated life may have originated on the moon b. could make a moon base possible c. complicated the already difficult problem of explaining the moon's formation d. could be mined and sent back to earth
b.
what has a long elliptical orbit that takes it from far outside mars's orbit to a close approach to the sun? a. asteroid b. comet c. planet
b.
when a space probe uses a grav slingshot maneuver it... a. reverses gravity to repel the probe b. comes close to a planet to change probe's speed and direction c. uses counterweight to change speed and direction d. converts rotational motion into forward motion
b.
when the rocket engine on a spacecraft stops firing, the craft continues moving because: a. the force of inertia pushes it b. no force stops it c. it is pointed at the front and has fins at the back d. the force exerted by the engine earlier continues to act
b.
which can be made of rock and iron? a. comets b. asteroids c. kuiper belt objects d. jovian planets
b.
which has an atmosphere with 90x surface pressure of earth? a. mercury b. venus c. mars d. titan
b.
which has no magnetic field? a. mercury b. earth's moon c. mars d. jupiter e. saturn
b.
which has no magnetic field? a. mercury b. venus c. mars d. jupiter e. saturn
b.
which of the following can be described as "flying rocks/mountains" a. comets b. asteroids c. kuiper belt objects d. jovian planets
b.
which would be most likely to have a long elliptical orbit that takes it from far outside mars' orbit to a close approach to the sun? a. asteroid b. comet c. planet
b.
why don't we send our trash into the sun? a. maybe someone will buy it from us b. sun is hard to get to c. it could end up anywhere d. might bounce back e. nobody to take it
b.
you lift an object by exerting an upward force of 5 N. if gravity exerts a force of 20 N downward on the object, what is the total force on the object? a. 15 N up b. 15 N down c. 5 N up d. 5 N down e. 25 N down
b.
"dryness" of lunar material refers to absence of: a. liquid water b. ice c. mud d. hydrated minerals
d.
Galileo predicted that dropping a wooden ball and an iron ball at exactly the same time would result in them hitting the ground at the same time, so long as air friction was negligible. When he actually did the experiment, the balls hit the ground very close together, but sometimes the wooden ball hit first and sometimes the iron one hit first. If we repeat his experiment today, we find exactly the same thing. Which of the following conclusions is appropriate? a. theory was disproven bc prediction did not correspond to observation b. he did not actually do the experiment c. he really did the experiment
c.
Suppose that a spacecraft is in a roughly circular orbit near the surface of the Earth, moving at around 5 miles per second. Suppose the spacecraft flips over backwards and fires its rocket engine to slow its speed to 4.96 miles per second. The spacecraft will then a. coast down to slightly lower circular orbit b. escape from the earth c. follow an ellipse that descends a bit then rises again d. follow an ellipse that rises a bit then descends again
c.
The density of water is 1000kg/m³, the density of rock is about 3000kg/m³, and the density of iron is 7800kg/m³. Which of the following densities is closest to the average density of the Earth? a. 700 kg/m3 b. 1300 kg/m3 c. 5200 kg/m3 d. 3900 kg/m3 e. 10000 kg/m3
c.
When Newton calculated the magnitude of the acceleration of Earth's Moon relative to the Earth, and compared it to the acceleration of falling objects on the surface of the Earth, he found that: a. accelerations were the same b. moon's acceleration was larger c. moon's acceleration was smaller
c.
_____ has a moon that rises in the west a. venus b. earth c. mars d. mercury
c.
______ has a solar day close in length to earth's a. mercury b. venus c. mars d. jupiter e. saturn
c.
a martian 'sol' (full day/night cycle) is... a. about 27 earth days b. slightly shorter than an earth day c. slightly longer than an earth day d. about 687 earth days e. about 11 hours
c.
a mercurial sidereal day lasts: a. one complete orbit around sun b. two complete orbits around sun c. ⅔ complete orbits around sun d. three complete orbits around sun e. 1.5 complete orbits around sun
c.
as of 2009, of these 6 space programs (Europe, China, Russia, Japan, India, US): a. all except European Space Agency have sent probes/orbiters to moon b. all except NASA have sent probes/orbiters to moon c. all except Russia have sent probes/orbiters to moon d. all except Indian Space Research Org have sent probes/orbiters to moon e. all except Japanese Space Agency have sent probes/orbiters to moon
c.
asteroids are found... a. always in the asteroid belt, between orbits of mars and jupiter b. always in the asteroid belt, between orbits of jupiter and saturn c. usually in the asteroid belt, between orbits of mars and jupiter d. usually found in the asteroid belt, between orbits of jupiter and saturn
c.
at present, the distance from the earth to the sun... a. never changes b. changes some, but not enough to affect intensity of sunlight c. changes enough to make intensity of sunlight vary by 6% d. changes enough to make intensity of sunlight vary by 40%
c.
capture theory of the moon became popular when computer models showed that such a capture would have been possible. a. capture theory is still the accepted model of the moon's formation b. capture theory was dropped partly because it predicts the moon's orbit should be in the plane of earth's equator and it is not c. capture theory was dropped partly because it predicts the moon should have hydrated rocks and it does not d. capture theory was dropped partly because it predicts the moon should not have a large iron core and it does
c.
changes in intensity of sunlight due to shifts in earth's orbit and rotation axis cause: a. seasons b. phases of the moon c. milankovich cycles d. precession of the equinoxes
c.
current model says that planets must have what to acquire a magnetic field? a. rotation and iron core b. only an iron core c. rotation and liquid electrical conductor core d. only a liquid electrical conductor core e. rotation and liquid iron core
c.
earth's magnetic field... a. keeps moon in orbit b. protects earth from UV rays c. protects earth from charged particles from sun d. maintains earth's rotation
c.
for a planet to have substantial amounts of liquid water on surface, it must have: a. temp betwee 0ºC and 100ºC b. temp and pressure at triple point of water c. atmospheric pressure above triple point d. atmospheric pressure at triple point e. temp above triple point
c.
for an object moving along a straight path, the acceleration is: a. zero b. distance divided by time c. change in speed divided by time d. time divided by distance e. time divided by change in speed
c.
force of gravity explains: a. how planets move but not how objects on earth fall b. how objects fall on earth but not how planets move c. how tides work but not how lightning works d. how objects fall on earth but not how tides work e. how sun shines but not how planets move
c.
jovian planets typically have a. no moons b. only moons captured by accident c. large moon systems
c.
law of inertia states a moving object will: a. always stop b. keep moving if force is applied c. keep moving if no force is applied d. stop if no force is applied e. never stop
c.
mars' atmosphere... a. does not exist b. is carbon dioxide with 90x surface pressure of earth's c. is carbon dioxide with 1% surface pressure of earth's d. has temp and pressure that permit all 3 forms of water e. has temp and pressure that permit all 3 forms of methane
c.
mercury rotates so that... a. always keeps the same side toward the sun b. solar day lasts 1 orbit around sun c. solar days lasts 2 orbits around sun d. solar day lasts 3 orbits around sun
c.
moon missions since 2007 have mostly been focused on... a. search for life that may have originated on the moon b. search for clues about the origin of the moon c. search for water needed for a moon base d. demonstrated mastery of rocket science
c.
moon's orbit around earth is: a. circular b. somewhat elliptical but not enough to affect eclipses c. elliptical enough to allow annular eclipse when moon is near apogee d. elliptical enough to allow annular eclipse when moon is near perigee
c.
since last apollo mission and last soviet LUNA sample-return mission... a. there have been no spacecraft sent there at all b. spacecraft began to be sent again by 1980 c. spacecraft began to be sent again by 1994 d. spacecraft began to be sent again in 2003 e. spacecraft began to be sent again in 2007
c.
temperature of mercury's poles is expected to be... a. very hot all the time because mercury is so close to the sun b. very hot during mercurian summer when the sun shines to bottoms of the craters c. very hot all the time on mountain peaks hit by the sun and very cold all the time in craters never hit by the sun
c.
the ISS is in a roughly circular orbit near the surface of the Earth, moving at ~5 mi/s. we want to raise it to a new circular orbit, farther from the surface, by having a rocket give it one or more short boosts. we should... a. increase it speed to 6 mi/s to put it on a rising path b. increase its speed to 8 mi/s to put it on a rising path c. increase its speed to 6 mi/s to put it on rising path and give it another boost when its distance from earth stops increasing d. push it directly upward away from earth e. decrease its speed to 4.9 mi/s and then give it a speed boost when its distance from earth stops decreasing
c.
the average radius of earth's orbit is a. 0.1 AU b. 0.01 AU c. 1.0 AU d. 2.0 AU e. 5 AU
c.
the circular structures on the surface of the Moon are the result of: a. volcanoes b. moonquakes c. impacts d. gas bubbles
c.
the presence of frozen water on mercury is... a. impossible because every part of it is too hot for water ice b. possible because the planet always keeps the same side turned away from the sun c. possible because it has almost no axial tilt so that its poles never directly face the sun d. impossible because the night side, where it is cold, eventually rotates to face the sun
c.
viking 1 and 2 were sent to explore a. venus b. our moon c. mars d. jupiter e. neptune
c.
water on mars has been confirmed to exist... a. as small, long lasting streams b. as surface oceans c. as ice at poles and as vapor in the atmosphere d. nowhere
c.
what total force will cause an object with mass 1 kg to gain 5 m/s every second? a. 1 N b. 9.8 N c. 5 N d. 10 N e. 2.5 N
c.
when Newton's laws were applied to predict the exact motion of the planet Uranus, the prediction failed to agree with very precise measurements. this failure led to the discovery: a. that newton's theory of gravity is incorrect b. that the sun wobbles c. of the planet neptune d. of the planet pluto e. of an invisible moon of uranus
c.
which has an atmosphere whose temp & pressure permit all three forms of water? a. mercury b. venus c. earth d. mars e. titan
c.
which of these Mars rovers has been operating on the surface of Mars for fourteen years so far (as of 2018)? a. pathfinder b. spirit c. opportunity d. curiosity e. surveyor
c.
________ was the first space probe to place a robotic rover on surface of mars a. mariner 9 b. viking 1 c. surveyor 1 d. pathfinder e. spirit & opportunity
d.
a planet whose atmospheric pressure is exactly at the triple point of water and whose surface temp has a range that includes the triple point of water will have: a. all 3 forms of water on surface b. water only as ice c. water only as vapor d. water as ice or vapor, depending on temp
d.
according to newton's theory of gravity everything is attracted... a. only to the sun b. only to the center of the earth c. only to massive objects (i.e. sun, moon, planets, earth) d. every other object in the universe e. to the center of the universe
d.
as of 2018, venus has been visited by: a. no successful probes b. one successful probe c. 2-3 successful probes d. 28 successful probes e. 48 successful probes
d.
at present, the distance from mars to the sun a. never changes b. changes, but not enough to affect intensity of sunlight c. changes enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 6% d. changes enough to make the intensity of sunlight vary by 40%
d.
currently accepted theory of moon formation is: a. capture theory b. co-formation theory c. breakup/fission theory d. collision theory
d.
mars is the _____th planet a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5
d.
the soviets had a secret moon program. this program... a. never got beyond planning stage b. built a moon rocket but never test fired it c. successfully test launched a moon rocket but was cancelled by the Politburo d. test launched the moon rocket several times but it blew up every time
d.
what force will cause an object with mass 50 kg to gain 1 m/s every second? a. 1 N b. 9.8 N c. 5 N d. 50 N e. 490 N
d.
which has been operating on mars for 6 years so far (as of 2018)? a. pathfinder b. spirit c. opportunity d. curiosity e. surveyor
d.
an ion rocket engine produces 50 N of thrust. What acceleration can it give to a space probe with a mass of 10000 kg? a. 5 m/s2 b. 5000 m/s2 c. 0.5 m/s2 d. 0.05 m/s2 e. 0.005 m/s2
e.
relative to distant stars, venus a. completes a full rotation every orbit b. completes 1.5 rotations every orbit c. completes 2 rotations every orbit d. does not rotate e. completes less than a full rotation every orbit
e.
why can't we fly a space shuttle by the moon for a flyby? a. it needed the support of earth's atmosphere b. they were reserved for other things c. we had already been to the moon d. it would not have enough fuel to return to earth e. it did not have enough fuel to reach escape velocity
e.