Astronomy college course/Unit 3 study guide

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AstroTest3_Study

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AstroTest3_Study-v1s1

1.

incomplete rim

The incomplete rims seen in the figure are caused by:

___ a) low surface gravity

___ b) vulcanism

___ c) meteorite erosion

___ d) rilles

___ e) micrometeorite erosion

2. Rilles are caused by

___ a) water

___ b) impacts

___ c) meteorites

___ d) lava

___ e) meteors

3. In the Wikipedia excerpt on "Planetary Astronomy" the mechanism by which a meander grows over time was discussed. Which of the the following is best describes why meanders grow? (Pick only one best answer)

___ a) wind erosion

___ b) combination of erosion and underlying bedrock strength

___ c) combination of deposition and underlying bedrock strength

___ d) a combination of deposition and erosion

___ e) occasional periods of intense flooding

4. When imaged in visible light Venus appears like ______ rather than ______.

___ a) Mars ... Venus

___ b) a gas dwarf ... a rocky planet

___ c) an asteroid ... a terrestrial planet

___ d) Venus ... Mars

5. The clouds on Venus are made of

___ a) water

___ b) nitrogen

___ c) carbon dioxide

___ d) steam

___ e) sulfuric acid

6. The geology of Venus is predominantly

___ a) Picrite

___ b) Andesite

___ c) Basalt

7. Basalt is what type of rock?

___ a) Sedimentary

___ b) Igneous

___ c) Metamorphic

8. The rocks on Venus are mostly

___ a) associated with plate tectonics

___ b) from the seabed of a now non-existent ocean

___ c) from volcanoes

9. The rocky surface of the planet Venus can be detected when Venus is observed using infrared astronomy.

___ a) TRUE

___ b) FALSE

10. When Venus is viewed in the ultraviolet, its color appears brownish.

___ a) TRUE

___ b) FALSE

11. Moldavite is a mineral that may be associated with what radiation astronomy phenomenon?

___ a) predicting when currently dormant volcanoes will erupt

___ b) meteorite impacts and fireballs

___ c) lightening strikes

___ d) evidence that Venus was once a comet

12. According to Wikipedia, a "mineral" is a naturally occurring solid that

___ a) has useful value

___ b) is heterogeneous

___ c) does not contain carbon

___ d) is by a chemical formula

___ e) contains carbon

13. Which types of radiation astronomy directly observe the rocky-object surface of Venus?

___ a) visual astronomy

___ b) radio astronomy

___ c) ultraviolet astronomy

___ d) X-ray astronomy

___ e) infrared astronomy

14. One reason that Venus's atmosphere has more carbon dioxide than Earth's is that

___ a) Venus is exposed to a stronger solar wind strips away the other gasses

___ b) Venus was too hot for oceans that could absorb the carbon dioxide

___ c) the mass of Venus is slightly higher

___ d) Venus has a lower magnetic field that disassociates carbon dioxide

15. The surface temperature of Venus is about

___ a) 850 Fahrenheit (730 Kelvin or 230 Celsius)

___ b) 450 Fahrenheit (500 Kelvin or 66 Celsius)

___ c) 150 Fahrenheit (340 Kelvin or 66 Celsius)

16. The Venetian atmosphere consists of mostly carbon dioxide and

___ a) hydrogen

___ b) helium

___ c) sulfuric acid

___ d) nitrogen

___ e) oxygen

17.

Giovanni Schiaparelli 1877

Lowell circa 1914.

These drawings by Schiaparelli and Lowell were ultimately shown to be:

___ a) rilles

___ b) rift valleys

___ c) slip faults

___ d) subduction zones

___ e) optical illusions

18. Antipodal to the Tharsis bulge is

___ a) What Wikipedia contends IS an impact basin

___ b) What Wikipedia contends IS an active volcano

___ c) What Wikipedia contends MIGHT BE an impact basin

___ d) What Wikipedia contends MIGHT BE an active volcano

___ e) the northern lowlands

19.

Martian lobate feature

The lobate feature shown in the figure is evidence of


}

___ a) lava flow

___ b) dust storms

___ c) water flow

___ d) plate tectonics

___ e) wind erosion

20. The Martian dichotomy separates

___ a) the crust from the mantle

___ b) Valles Marineris from Olympus Mons

___ c) the highlands from the lowlands

___ d) the Tharsus buldge from Hellas basin

___ e) the rift valley from the volcanoes

21. According to Wikipedia, ______ was formed due to swelling of the Tharsis bulge which caused the crust to collapse

___ a) the southern lowlands

___ b) the northern lowlands

___ c) Valles Marineris

___ d) Hellas basin

___ e) Elysium

22.

gray hematite

What is this hematite?

___ a) evidence that Mars once had active volcanoes

___ b) evidence that Mars now has active volcanoes

___ c) controversial evidence that Mars once had life

___ d) evidence that Mars once had oceans

___ e) irrefutable evidence that Mars once had life

23. The polar ice caps on Mars are ___

___ a) actually clouds above the surface of Mars

___ b) mostly water

___ c) caused by geysers

___ d) mostly carbon dioxide

___ e) a nearly equal mix of water and carbon dioxide

24. Liquid water cannot exist on Mars due to ___

___ a) high pressure

___ b) low pressure

___ c) high temperature

___ d) the solar wind

___ e) low temperature

25.

magnified Martian meteorite

What is at the center of this magnified image of a Martian meteorite? fragment?

___ a) evidence that Mars now has active volcanoes

___ b) evidence that Mars once had active volcanoes

___ c) controversial evidence that Mars once had life

___ d) irrefutable evidence that Mars once had life

___ e) evidence that Mars once had oceans

26. It is important to distinguish between molecules (collectively) in a gas and one individual molecule. This question is about an individual molecule. For a planet with a given mass, size, and density, which has the greater escape velocity?

___ a) all molecules move at the escape velocity

___ b) the lighter molecule has the greater escape velocity

___ c) no molecules have escape velocity

___ d) the heavier molecule has the greater escape velocity

___ e) all molecules have the same escape velocity

27. It is important to distinguish between molecules (collectively) in a gas and one individual molecule. This question is about a typical molecule in the gas. For a planet with a given mass, size, and density, which type of gas is more likely to escape?

___ a) atoms in a hotter gas is more likely to escape

___ b) all types of gas are equally likely to escape

___ c) atoms in a denser gas are more likely to escape

___ d) atoms in a colder gas are more likely to escape

___ e) atoms in a gas with more atomic mass are more likely to escape

28. Which type of gas is likely to have the faster particles?

___ a) a hot gas with low mass atoms

___ b) a cold gas with low mass atoms

___ c) a hot gas with high mass atoms

___ d) all gasses on a given planet have the same speed

___ e) a cold gas with high mass atoms

29. What is it about the isotopes of Argon-36 and Argon-38 that causes their relative abundance to be so unusual on Mars?

___ a) identical abundance

___ b) different speed

___ c) different chemical properties

___ d) identical mass

___ e) different half-life

30. In the formula, ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }v_{\mathrm {escape} }^{2}=G_{\mathrm {Newton} }{\frac {M_{\mathrm {planet} }m_{\mathrm {atom} }}{r_{\mathrm {planet} }}}$, which of the following is FALSE?

___ a) the formula is valid for all launch angles

___ b) the formula is valid only if the particle is launched from the surface of planet of radius r_planet

___ c) v_escape is independent of m_atom

___ d) the particle is assumed to have been launched vertically

___ e) the formula can be used to estimate how fast an atom must move before exiting the planet

31. What statement is FALSE about ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }\langle v_{\mathrm {atom} }^{2}\rangle _{ave}={\frac {1}{2}}k_{\mathrm {B} }T$?

___ a) Temperature is measured in Centigrades

___ b) Temperature is measured in Kelvins

___ c) This equation does not involve the size or mass of the planet.

___ d) The kinetic energy is directly proportional to temperature.

___ e) The average speed of a low mass particle is higher than the average speed of a high mass particle

32. ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }\langle v_{\mathrm {atom} }^{2}\rangle _{ave}={\frac {1}{2}}k_{\mathrm {B} }T$, where T is temperature on the Kelvin scale. This formula describes:

___ a) The speed of a typical atom, where m is the mass of the atom.

___ b) The speed of a typical atom, where m is the mass of the planet.

___ c) The speed an atom needs to orbit the planet, where m is the mass of the atom.

___ d) The the speed an atom needs to escape the planet, where m is the mass planet.

___ e) The speed an atom needs to escape the planet, where m is the mass of the atom.

33. How does the density of a Galilean moon depend on its distance from Jupiter?

___ a) the density of the moons is unknown

___ b) the less dense moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

___ c) all the moons have nearly the same density

___ d) the more dense moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

___ e) the most dense moon is neither the closest nor the most distant

34. How does the mass of a Galilean moon depend on its distance from the central body?

___ a) the more massive moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

___ b) the less massive moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

___ c) the most massive moon is neither the closest nor the most distant

___ d) all the moons have nearly the same mass

___ e) the mass of the moons is unknown

35. Does Jupiter's moon Io have craters?

___ a) no, the surface is too new

___ b) yes, about half from impacts and the others from volcanoes

___ c) yes, from volcanoes

___ d) no, the surface is too old

___ e) yes, from impacts

36. The mechanism that heats the cores of the Galilean moons is

___ a) radioactive decay of heavy elements

___ b) radiation from the Sun and from Jupiter

___ c) tides from Jupiter

___ d) radiation from the Sun

___ e) tides from the other moons and Jupiter

37. Immediately after publication of Newton's laws of physics (Principia), it was possible to "calculate" the mass of Jupiter. What important caveat applied to this calculation?

___ a) The different moons yielded vastly different values for the mass of Jupiter.

___ b) The different moons yielded slightly different values for the mass of Jupiter.

___ c) tides from the other moons and Jupiter.

___ d) Only the mass of Jupiter relative to that of the Sun could be determined.

___ e) They needed to wait over a decade for Jupiter to make approximately one revolution around the Sun.

38. Ganymede, Europa, and Io have ratios in __________ that are 1:2:4.

___ a) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

___ b) density

___ c) Argon isotope abundance

___ d) orbital period

___ e) rotational period

39. Which of Jupiter's moons has an anhydrous core?

___ a) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

___ b) Ganymede

___ c) Ganymede

___ d) Io

___ e) Europa

40. The 1982 Voyager flyby of Miranda (a moon of Uranus) established that _____

___ a) Miranda has geysers.

___ b) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

___ c) inspired a theory a previous incarnation was destroyed by a collision

___ d) Miranda has the largest active volcano in the solar system

___ e) Miranda probably has an iron core

41. It has been suggested that Miranda's "racetrack"

___ a) is associated with tidal heating

___ b) is a series of rifts created by an upwelling of warm ice

___ c) is an impact crater

___ d) is antipodal to an impact crater

___ e) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

42. According to Wikipedia, the largest lakes on Titan are probably fed by

___ a) geysers

___ b) liquid water rain

___ c) methane rain

___ d) underground aquifers

___ e) rivers from the highlands

43.

The bright spot on Saturn's moon Titan is

___ a) a volcano

___ b) aurora borealis (northern lights)

___ c) solar wind particles striking the atmosphere

___ d) lightening

___ e) a lake

44. One "year" on Saturn's largest moon Titan lasts

___ a) 3 hours

___ b) 300 days

___ c) 3 years

___ d) 30 years

___ e) 30 hours

45.

The photographs compare

___ a) summer windstorms and winter doldrums

___ b) Titan and Earth

___ c) winter windstorms and summer doldrums

___ d) wet and dry seasons

___ e) northern and southern hemispheres

46. The liquid water ocean of Saturn's largest moon Titan,

___ a) is less than one meter in depth

___ b) is known to contain life

___ c) explains how the elevation of a smooth planet seems to rise and fall

___ d) Two other answers are correct

___ e) is postulated to cover 15-30% of its surface

47.

The black spot in this image of Jupiter is

___ a) a solar eclipse

___ b) the shadow of a moon

___ c) a magnetic storm

___ d) an electric storm

___ e) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

48. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

___ a) The Great Red Spot is a storm that has raged for over 300 years

___ b) Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the Sun

___ c) Jupiter has a system of rings

___ d) Jupiter has four large moons and many smaller ones

___ e) Jupiter is the largest known planet

49. What is the mechanism that heats the interior of Jupiter?

___ a) radioactivity

___ b) rain

___ c) tides

___ d) magnetism

___ e) electricity

50. Why is Jupiter an oblate spheroid?

___ a) rotation about axis

___ b) revolution around Sun

___ c) tides from the Jupiter's moons

___ d) tides from other gas planets

___ e) tides from the Sun

51. What statement best describes the Wikipedia's explanation of the helium (He) content of Jupiter's upper atmosphere (relative to the hydrogen (H) content)?

___ a) Jupiter's atmosphere has only 80% as much helium because the He fell to the core.

___ b) Jupiter's atmosphere has only 80% as much helium because the He escaped into space.

___ c) Jupiter's atmosphere has 80% more He because Jupiter's hydrogen escaped into space.

___ d) Jupiter's atmosphere has 80% more He because Jupiter's hydrogen fell to the core.

___ e) Jupiter and the Sun have nearly the same ratio of He to H.

52. Where is the Sun-Jupiter barycenter?

___ a) Just above the Sun's surface

___ b) The question remains unresolved

___ c) At the center of Jupiter

___ d) At the center of the Sun

___ e) Just above Jupiter's surface

53. The barycenter of two otherwise isolated celestial bodies is?

___ a) a place where two bodies exert equal and opposite gravitational forces

___ b) the focal point of two elliptical orbital paths

___ c) both of these are true

54. Knowing the barycenter of two stars is useful because it tells us the total mass

___ a) TRUE

___ b) FALSE

55. Knowing the barycenter of two stars is useful because it tells us the ratio of the two masses

___ a) TRUE

___ b) FALSE

56. Although there is some doubt as to who discovered Jupiter's great red spot, it is generally credited to

___ a) Galileo in 1605

___ b) Cassini in 1665

___ c) Messier in 1771

___ d) Tycho in

___ e) Newton in 1668

57. The bands in the atmosphere of Jupiter are associated with a patter of alternating wind velocities that are

___ a) easterly and westerly

___ b) updrafts and downdrafts

___ c) both of these

58. As one descends down to Jupiter's core, the temperature

___ a) decreases

___ b) increases

___ c) stays about the same

59. Which of the following is NOT used to measure the mass of a planet

___ a) the motion of a neighboring planet

___ b) all of these have been used

___ c) the rotation of the planet about its axis

___ d) the motion of an artificial satellite

___ e) the motion of a moon

60. What is unusual about calculations of the mass of Pluto made in the early part of the 20th century?

___ a) The estimates were high. Pluto was less massive than they calculated

___ b) It was the first time a planet's period of orbit around the sun was used to calculate the planet's mass

___ c) The estimates were correct to within less than 10%

___ d) It was the first time a moon was used to calculate the mass of a planet

___ e) The estimates were too low. Pluto was actually more massive than they thought.

61. Why was the discovery of Pluto peculiar?

___ a) It was discovered by a calculation based on flawed assumptions

___ b) It was the first time a planet's period of orbit around the sun was used to calculate the planet's mass

___ c) It was seen by Galileo, who thought it was a star

___ d) It was seen by Halley, who was looking for comets

___ e) It was discovered during a survey looking for stars

62. Which of the following is NOT used to measure the mass of a planet

___ a) all of these have been used

___ b) the motion of an artificial satellite

___ c) the motion of a neighboring planet

___ d) the motion of a moon

63. Which statement describes the relation between Pluto and Neptune

___ a) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit an the two bodies will eventually collide

___ b) Pluto's orbit lies outside Neptune's orbit

___ c) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit but they don't collide because of an orbital resonance between the two

___ d) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit but they avoid each other because Pluto's mass is too small

Key to AstroTest3_Study-v1s1

1.

incomplete rim

The incomplete rims seen in the figure are caused by:

- a) low surface gravity

+ b) vulcanism

- c) meteorite erosion

- d) rilles

- e) micrometeorite erosion

2. Rilles are caused by

- a) water

- b) impacts

- c) meteorites

+ d) lava

- e) meteors

3. In the Wikipedia excerpt on "Planetary Astronomy" the mechanism by which a meander grows over time was discussed. Which of the the following is best describes why meanders grow? (Pick only one best answer)

- a) wind erosion

- b) combination of erosion and underlying bedrock strength

- c) combination of deposition and underlying bedrock strength

+ d) a combination of deposition and erosion

- e) occasional periods of intense flooding

4. When imaged in visible light Venus appears like ______ rather than ______.

- a) Mars ... Venus

+ b) a gas dwarf ... a rocky planet

- c) an asteroid ... a terrestrial planet

- d) Venus ... Mars

5. The clouds on Venus are made of

- a) water

- b) nitrogen

- c) carbon dioxide

- d) steam

+ e) sulfuric acid

6. The geology of Venus is predominantly

- a) Picrite

- b) Andesite

+ c) Basalt

7. Basalt is what type of rock?

- a) Sedimentary

+ b) Igneous

- c) Metamorphic

8. The rocks on Venus are mostly

- a) associated with plate tectonics

- b) from the seabed of a now non-existent ocean

+ c) from volcanoes

9. The rocky surface of the planet Venus can be detected when Venus is observed using infrared astronomy.

- a) TRUE

+ b) FALSE

10. When Venus is viewed in the ultraviolet, its color appears brownish.

- a) TRUE

+ b) FALSE

11. Moldavite is a mineral that may be associated with what radiation astronomy phenomenon?

- a) predicting when currently dormant volcanoes will erupt

+ b) meteorite impacts and fireballs

- c) lightening strikes

- d) evidence that Venus was once a comet

12. According to Wikipedia, a "mineral" is a naturally occurring solid that

- a) has useful value

- b) is heterogeneous

- c) does not contain carbon

+ d) is by a chemical formula

- e) contains carbon

13. Which types of radiation astronomy directly observe the rocky-object surface of Venus?

- a) visual astronomy

+ b) radio astronomy

- c) ultraviolet astronomy

- d) X-ray astronomy

- e) infrared astronomy

14. One reason that Venus's atmosphere has more carbon dioxide than Earth's is that

- a) Venus is exposed to a stronger solar wind strips away the other gasses

+ b) Venus was too hot for oceans that could absorb the carbon dioxide

- c) the mass of Venus is slightly higher

- d) Venus has a lower magnetic field that disassociates carbon dioxide

15. The surface temperature of Venus is about

+ a) 850 Fahrenheit (730 Kelvin or 230 Celsius)

+ b) 450 Fahrenheit (500 Kelvin or 66 Celsius)

+ c) 150 Fahrenheit (340 Kelvin or 66 Celsius)

16. The Venetian atmosphere consists of mostly carbon dioxide and

- a) hydrogen

- b) helium

- c) sulfuric acid

+ d) nitrogen

- e) oxygen

17.

Giovanni Schiaparelli 1877

Lowell circa 1914.

These drawings by Schiaparelli and Lowell were ultimately shown to be:

- a) rilles

- b) rift valleys

- c) slip faults

- d) subduction zones

+ e) optical illusions

18. Antipodal to the Tharsis bulge is

+ a) What Wikipedia contends IS an impact basin

- b) What Wikipedia contends IS an active volcano

- c) What Wikipedia contends MIGHT BE an impact basin

- d) What Wikipedia contends MIGHT BE an active volcano

- e) the northern lowlands

19.

Martian lobate feature

The lobate feature shown in the figure is evidence of


}

+ a) lava flow

- b) dust storms

- c) water flow

- d) plate tectonics

- e) wind erosion

20. The Martian dichotomy separates

- a) the crust from the mantle

- b) Valles Marineris from Olympus Mons

+ c) the highlands from the lowlands

- d) the Tharsus buldge from Hellas basin

- e) the rift valley from the volcanoes

21. According to Wikipedia, ______ was formed due to swelling of the Tharsis bulge which caused the crust to collapse

- a) the southern lowlands

- b) the northern lowlands

+ c) Valles Marineris

- d) Hellas basin

- e) Elysium

22.

gray hematite

What is this hematite?

- a) evidence that Mars once had active volcanoes

- b) evidence that Mars now has active volcanoes

- c) controversial evidence that Mars once had life

+ d) evidence that Mars once had oceans

- e) irrefutable evidence that Mars once had life

23. The polar ice caps on Mars are ___

- a) actually clouds above the surface of Mars

+ b) mostly water

- c) caused by geysers

- d) mostly carbon dioxide

- e) a nearly equal mix of water and carbon dioxide

24. Liquid water cannot exist on Mars due to ___

- a) high pressure

+ b) low pressure

- c) high temperature

- d) the solar wind

- e) low temperature

25.

magnified Martian meteorite

What is at the center of this magnified image of a Martian meteorite? fragment?

- a) evidence that Mars now has active volcanoes

- b) evidence that Mars once had active volcanoes

+ c) controversial evidence that Mars once had life

- d) irrefutable evidence that Mars once had life

- e) evidence that Mars once had oceans

26. It is important to distinguish between molecules (collectively) in a gas and one individual molecule. This question is about an individual molecule. For a planet with a given mass, size, and density, which has the greater escape velocity?

- a) all molecules move at the escape velocity

- b) the lighter molecule has the greater escape velocity

- c) no molecules have escape velocity

- d) the heavier molecule has the greater escape velocity

+ e) all molecules have the same escape velocity

27. It is important to distinguish between molecules (collectively) in a gas and one individual molecule. This question is about a typical molecule in the gas. For a planet with a given mass, size, and density, which type of gas is more likely to escape?

+ a) atoms in a hotter gas is more likely to escape

- b) all types of gas are equally likely to escape

- c) atoms in a denser gas are more likely to escape

- d) atoms in a colder gas are more likely to escape

- e) atoms in a gas with more atomic mass are more likely to escape

28. Which type of gas is likely to have the faster particles?

+ a) a hot gas with low mass atoms

- b) a cold gas with low mass atoms

- c) a hot gas with high mass atoms

- d) all gasses on a given planet have the same speed

- e) a cold gas with high mass atoms

29. What is it about the isotopes of Argon-36 and Argon-38 that causes their relative abundance to be so unusual on Mars?

- a) identical abundance

+ b) different speed

- c) different chemical properties

- d) identical mass

- e) different half-life

30. In the formula, ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }v_{\mathrm {escape} }^{2}=G_{\mathrm {Newton} }{\frac {M_{\mathrm {planet} }m_{\mathrm {atom} }}{r_{\mathrm {planet} }}}$, which of the following is FALSE?

+ a) the formula is valid for all launch angles

- b) the formula is valid only if the particle is launched from the surface of planet of radius r_planet

- c) v_escape is independent of m_atom

- d) the particle is assumed to have been launched vertically

- e) the formula can be used to estimate how fast an atom must move before exiting the planet

31. What statement is FALSE about ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }\langle v_{\mathrm {atom} }^{2}\rangle _{ave}={\frac {1}{2}}k_{\mathrm {B} }T$?

+ a) Temperature is measured in Centigrades

- b) Temperature is measured in Kelvins

- c) This equation does not involve the size or mass of the planet.

- d) The kinetic energy is directly proportional to temperature.

- e) The average speed of a low mass particle is higher than the average speed of a high mass particle

32. ${\frac {1}{2}}m_{\mathrm {atom} }\langle v_{\mathrm {atom} }^{2}\rangle _{ave}={\frac {1}{2}}k_{\mathrm {B} }T$, where T is temperature on the Kelvin scale. This formula describes:

+ a) The speed of a typical atom, where m is the mass of the atom.

- b) The speed of a typical atom, where m is the mass of the planet.

- c) The speed an atom needs to orbit the planet, where m is the mass of the atom.

- d) The the speed an atom needs to escape the planet, where m is the mass planet.

- e) The speed an atom needs to escape the planet, where m is the mass of the atom.

33. How does the density of a Galilean moon depend on its distance from Jupiter?

- a) the density of the moons is unknown

- b) the less dense moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

- c) all the moons have nearly the same density

+ d) the more dense moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

- e) the most dense moon is neither the closest nor the most distant

34. How does the mass of a Galilean moon depend on its distance from the central body?

- a) the more massive moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

- b) the less massive moon is closer to Jupiter (always)

+ c) the most massive moon is neither the closest nor the most distant

- d) all the moons have nearly the same mass

- e) the mass of the moons is unknown

35. Does Jupiter's moon Io have craters?

- a) no, the surface is too new

- b) yes, about half from impacts and the others from volcanoes

+ c) yes, from volcanoes

- d) no, the surface is too old

- e) yes, from impacts

36. The mechanism that heats the cores of the Galilean moons is

- a) radioactive decay of heavy elements

- b) radiation from the Sun and from Jupiter

- c) tides from Jupiter

- d) radiation from the Sun

+ e) tides from the other moons and Jupiter

37. Immediately after publication of Newton's laws of physics (Principia), it was possible to "calculate" the mass of Jupiter. What important caveat applied to this calculation?

- a) The different moons yielded vastly different values for the mass of Jupiter.

- b) The different moons yielded slightly different values for the mass of Jupiter.

- c) tides from the other moons and Jupiter.

+ d) Only the mass of Jupiter relative to that of the Sun could be determined.

- e) They needed to wait over a decade for Jupiter to make approximately one revolution around the Sun.

38. Ganymede, Europa, and Io have ratios in __________ that are 1:2:4.

+ a) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

- b) density

- c) Argon isotope abundance

- d) orbital period

- e) rotational period

39. Which of Jupiter's moons has an anhydrous core?

- a) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

- b) Ganymede

- c) Ganymede

+ d) Io

- e) Europa

40. The 1982 Voyager flyby of Miranda (a moon of Uranus) established that _____

- a) Miranda has geysers.

- b) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

+ c) inspired a theory a previous incarnation was destroyed by a collision

- d) Miranda has the largest active volcano in the solar system

- e) Miranda probably has an iron core

41. It has been suggested that Miranda's "racetrack"

- a) is associated with tidal heating

- b) is a series of rifts created by an upwelling of warm ice

- c) is an impact crater

- d) is antipodal to an impact crater

+ e) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

42. According to Wikipedia, the largest lakes on Titan are probably fed by

- a) geysers

- b) liquid water rain

- c) methane rain

+ d) underground aquifers

- e) rivers from the highlands

43.

The bright spot on Saturn's moon Titan is

- a) a volcano

- b) aurora borealis (northern lights)

- c) solar wind particles striking the atmosphere

- d) lightening

+ e) a lake

44. One "year" on Saturn's largest moon Titan lasts

- a) 3 hours

- b) 300 days

- c) 3 years

+ d) 30 years

- e) 30 hours

45.

The photographs compare

- a) summer windstorms and winter doldrums

+ b) Titan and Earth

- c) winter windstorms and summer doldrums

- d) wet and dry seasons

- e) northern and southern hemispheres

46. The liquid water ocean of Saturn's largest moon Titan,

- a) is less than one meter in depth

- b) is known to contain life

+ c) explains how the elevation of a smooth planet seems to rise and fall

- d) Two other answers are correct

- e) is postulated to cover 15-30% of its surface

47.

The black spot in this image of Jupiter is

- a) a solar eclipse

- b) the shadow of a moon

- c) a magnetic storm

- d) an electric storm

+ e) Two other answers are correct (making this the only true answer).

48. Which of the following statements is FALSE?

- a) The Great Red Spot is a storm that has raged for over 300 years

- b) Jupiter emits more energy than it receives from the Sun

- c) Jupiter has a system of rings

- d) Jupiter has four large moons and many smaller ones

+ e) Jupiter is the largest known planet

49. What is the mechanism that heats the interior of Jupiter?

- a) radioactivity

+ b) rain

- c) tides

- d) magnetism

- e) electricity

50. Why is Jupiter an oblate spheroid?

+ a) rotation about axis

- b) revolution around Sun

- c) tides from the Jupiter's moons

- d) tides from other gas planets

- e) tides from the Sun

51. What statement best describes the Wikipedia's explanation of the helium (He) content of Jupiter's upper atmosphere (relative to the hydrogen (H) content)?

+ a) Jupiter's atmosphere has only 80% as much helium because the He fell to the core.

- b) Jupiter's atmosphere has only 80% as much helium because the He escaped into space.

- c) Jupiter's atmosphere has 80% more He because Jupiter's hydrogen escaped into space.

- d) Jupiter's atmosphere has 80% more He because Jupiter's hydrogen fell to the core.

- e) Jupiter and the Sun have nearly the same ratio of He to H.

52. Where is the Sun-Jupiter barycenter?

+ a) Just above the Sun's surface

- b) The question remains unresolved

- c) At the center of Jupiter

- d) At the center of the Sun

- e) Just above Jupiter's surface

53. The barycenter of two otherwise isolated celestial bodies is?

- a) a place where two bodies exert equal and opposite gravitational forces

+ b) the focal point of two elliptical orbital paths

- c) both of these are true

54. Knowing the barycenter of two stars is useful because it tells us the total mass

- a) TRUE

+ b) FALSE

55. Knowing the barycenter of two stars is useful because it tells us the ratio of the two masses

+ a) TRUE

- b) FALSE

56. Although there is some doubt as to who discovered Jupiter's great red spot, it is generally credited to

- a) Galileo in 1605

+ b) Cassini in 1665

- c) Messier in 1771

- d) Tycho in

- e) Newton in 1668

57. The bands in the atmosphere of Jupiter are associated with a patter of alternating wind velocities that are

- a) easterly and westerly

- b) updrafts and downdrafts

+ c) both of these

58. As one descends down to Jupiter's core, the temperature

- a) decreases

+ b) increases

- c) stays about the same

59. Which of the following is NOT used to measure the mass of a planet

- a) the motion of a neighboring planet

- b) all of these have been used

+ c) the rotation of the planet about its axis

- d) the motion of an artificial satellite

- e) the motion of a moon

60. What is unusual about calculations of the mass of Pluto made in the early part of the 20th century?

+ a) The estimates were high. Pluto was less massive than they calculated

- b) It was the first time a planet's period of orbit around the sun was used to calculate the planet's mass

- c) The estimates were correct to within less than 10%

- d) It was the first time a moon was used to calculate the mass of a planet

- e) The estimates were too low. Pluto was actually more massive than they thought.

61. Why was the discovery of Pluto peculiar?

+ a) It was discovered by a calculation based on flawed assumptions

- b) It was the first time a planet's period of orbit around the sun was used to calculate the planet's mass

- c) It was seen by Galileo, who thought it was a star

- d) It was seen by Halley, who was looking for comets

- e) It was discovered during a survey looking for stars

62. Which of the following is NOT used to measure the mass of a planet

+ a) all of these have been used

- b) the motion of an artificial satellite

- c) the motion of a neighboring planet

- d) the motion of a moon

63. Which statement describes the relation between Pluto and Neptune

- a) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit an the two bodies will eventually collide

- b) Pluto's orbit lies outside Neptune's orbit

+ c) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit but they don't collide because of an orbital resonance between the two

- d) Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's orbit but they avoid each other because Pluto's mass is too small

Attribution (for quiz questions) under CC-by-SA license

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Planetary_science_questions&oldid=1298071

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Venus/Quiz&oldid=1388298
http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Quizbank/Contributed_questions&oldid=1388791

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Mars/questions&oldid=1327222

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Why_planets_lose_their_atmospheres/questions&oldid=1204943

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Galilean_moons_of_Jupiter/questions&oldid=1293955

https//en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Miranda_and_Titan/questions&oldid=1293943

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Jupiter/questions&oldid=1388646

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Pluto_and_planetary_mass_quiz&oldid=1388652

Study guide

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Planetary_science&oldid=1204930

Venus
w:Atmosphere of Venus
w:Venus

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Mars&oldid=1327223

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Why_planets_lose_their_atmospheres&oldid=1388258

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Galilean_moons_of_Jupiter&oldid=1326527

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Miranda_and_Titan&oldid=1204929

http://en.wikiversity.org/w/index.php?title=Astronomy_college_course/Jupiter&oldid=1204919
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jupiter&oldid=664015766
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atmosphere_of_Jupiter&oldid=664309417

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pluto&oldid=664428172