Assignment 5 Multiple Choice Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. What is the single most important reason that astronomers have learned more about our planetary system in the last 30 years than all of history before then. a. astronomers today are a lot smarter than astronomers were earlier b. the Hubble Space Telescope c. we have been able to send spacecraft to visit many planets and satellites d. radio telescope arrays allow astronomers to make out details on the planets that they have never been able to see before e. the planets (moving in their slow orbits around the Sun) happen to be closer to the Earth in the last 30 years than at any previous time in human history 2. Usually, the most distant planet from the Sun in the solar system is: a. Mercury b. Pluto c. Venus d. Neptune e. none of the above 3. Which planet in the solar system has not been examined up close by spacecraft? a. Earth b. Neptune c. Pluto d. Saturn e. you can't fool me, spacecraft have now visited all the planets 4. In the far future, a visiting tourist from another planetary system asks to see the most massive object in our solar system. Where would you take him/her/it? a. the Sun b. Saturn c. the asteroid belt d. Comet Halley e. Neptune 5. All the planets (without exception) a. have solid surfaces b. have thick atmospheres c. have satellites orbiting around them d. revolve (orbit) around the Sun in the same direction e. rotate on their axes in the same direction that they revolve around the Sun
6. Which of the following is NOT a correct way that jovian (giant) planets differ from the terrestrial planets in the solar system? a. jovians have more mass than the terrestrials b. jovians are further from the Sun than terrestrials c. jovians are made of lighter elements on average than terrestrials d. jovians have rings while terrestrials do not e. jovians (being larger) rotate significantly more slowly than terrestrials 7. Which of the following is NOT a terrestrial planet? a. Mars b. Earth c. Jupiter d. Venus e. Mercury 8. You are the captain of an interplanetary tour ship and a wealthy tourist from Texas asks you to take him to see only the "largest darn planets" in the solar system. Which of the following would you NOT include in your tour? a. Mercury b. Jupiter c. Saturn d. Neptune e. Uranus 9. All except one of the planets orbit in the same plane (and are thus easier to reach by spacecraft). The exception (which typically is located above or below this plane) is: a. Mercury b. Venus c. Earth d. Pluto e. you can't fool me, ALL the planets orbit in the same plane in our solar system 10. Which of the following characteristics do all four terrestrial planets have in common? a. they all have one or more moons b. they all have liquid water on their surfaces c. they all rotate in 24 hours or less d. they all have thick atmospheres e. they all have solid surfaces with signs of geological activity on them 11. Of the following planets, which one does NOT have satellites (moons)? a. Mars b. Venus c. Earth d. Jupiter e. you can't fool me, all the planets have satellites
12. The small rocky and metallic bodies (most of which orbit between Jupiter and Mars) are called: a. comets b. satellites c. Titius Bode objects d. asteroids e. silicates 13. During the process of differentiation, a. satellites separate from the parent planets and go into their own orbits b. the faster planets move further out from the Sun c. heavier materials sink to the centers of molten planets d. the atmosphere of a planet changes from oxidized to reduced e. the surface of a planet changes to resemble Bayonne, New Jersey 14. The small bodies in the solar system composed mainly of ices (frozen gases) that usually orbit far from the Sun are called: a. snowroids b. comets c. asteroids d. satellites e. jovians 15. A planets whose composition resembles that of our Sun is: a. Earth b. Mercury c. Jupiter d. Pluto e. you can't fool me, the planets are all made of materials quite different from those in the Sun 16. A future interplanetary tourist whose parents kept him too warm as a baby asks for your help to find a "really cold place" in the solar system. Which of the following would be the best place to take him? a. the Earth's polar regions b. the moons of Neptune c. the moons of Mars (which are captured asteroids) d. the frozen surface of Halley's Comet when it is closest to the Earth in its orbit e. the deep atmosphere of Jupiter 17. On which of the planets (other than Earth) could a human being step out of a spacecraft and survive without any protective gear (special suit, oxygen tanks, etc)? a. Venus b. Mars c. Jupiter d. Neptune e. you can't fool me; there is no other planet on which we could survive unprotected
18. On which planet (besides the Earth) do we still see a high level of geological activity on the surface today? a. Jupiter b. Mercury c. Neptune d. Venus e. none of the above 19. The rate at which a collection of the same radioactive atoms will decay depends on: a. the amount of radio radiation falling on the material b. the amount of light falling on the material c. the temperature of the material d. the size of the planet or moon on which the material is located e. only on internal processes within the atoms; nothing external matters 20. In a bad late night science fiction film, a villain is using a large collection of radioactive atoms as energy for a weapon to threaten the good guys. The atoms have a half life of 1 hour. The villain has 4 kilograms of the radioactive material now, and he needs a minimum of 1 kg. for his weapon to work. After how much time will the weapon no longer be a threat? a. just a little after 1 hr b. just a little after 2 hrs c. just a little after 4 hours d. just a little after 16 hours e. can't be determined from the information given 21. Radioactive dating techniques have revealed that our Earth and Moon are approximately how old? a. about 6,000 years b. about 2 million years c. about 100 million years d. about 4.5 billion years e. you can't fool me, we have no way of measuring ages as old as the Earth's 22. Our best evidence and theoretical calculations indicate that the solar system began with a giant spinning system of gas and dust called: a. the Titius Bode cloud b. the solar nebula c. a planetesimal d. the asteroid belt e. the beltway 23. The material that would eventually make all the major bodies in our solar system first gathered together as smaller pieces which astronomers call: a. planetesimals b. nebuloids c. satellites d. differentiated objects e. jovians
24. One piece of evidence that can help astronomers sort out how the planets in our solar system formed is a. discovering other galaxies of stars beyond the Milky Way b. counting the number of moons around each planet in our own solar system c. finding circumstellar disks of material around nearby stars d. counting the craters on the surface of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune e. measuring variations in the amount of snowfall in northern Canada during this century 25. The inner planets are made mostly of rock and metal because: a. lighter materials cannot orbit the Sun; they would fall in immediately b. the Sun is made mostly of rock and metal and the inner planets are closest to the Sun c. it was so hot where the inner planets formed that the lighter materials evaporated d. Jupiter's large gravity immediately attracted all the lighter materials, and so there were few light atoms left by the time the inner planets were ready to form e. this is an unsolved problem in astronomy 26. Every extrasolar planet detected to date has been found indirectly, by observing the planet s gravitational pull on the star it orbits. The planet is indirectly detected using a. Kepler s third law. b. conservation of angular momentum. c. the Doppler effect. d. Newton s first law of motion. e. Newton s third law of motion. 27. An important way that scientists have been able to study the interior of the Earth is by: a. studying the exterior, which is made of exactly the same material b. digging deep trenches at the bottom of the ocean, which is a lot closer to the planet's center c. using spacecraft that can detect radio waves coming from the center d. measuring how seismic waves are transmitted through the Earth e. there is no way we can study's the Earth's deep interior at the present time 28. Which part of the Earth has the greatest density? a. oceanic crust b. continental crust c. mantle d. core e. Bayonne, New Jersey 29. The region around the Earth where charged particles are trapped and spiral around is called: a. the magnetosphere b. the atmosphere c. the ozone layer d. the mantle e. the spirosphere
30. According to the theory of plate tectonics, a. the continents are moving but the ocean floor is not, leading to great friction b. the rubbing of the waters of the Earth across its crust is speeding up its rotation c. the liquid metal inside the Earth is developing plates of solid metallic material, which contribute to the Earth's magnetic field d. earthquakes are caused by huge waves that come up from inside the molten core of the Earth e. slow motions within the mantle of the Earth slowly move large sections of the crust around 31. A spot where magma rises to the surface can be seen as a a. volcano b. fault c. subduction zone d. continental plate e. swamp 32. The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is a. oxygen b. ozone c. water vapor d. argon e. nitrogen 33. The average temperature on planet Earth is higher than you would expect just from the heating of sunlight alone. What is the explanation for this? a. solid material hitting the Earth from space heats it up b. carbon dioxide (and other gases) in the atmosphere cause a greenhouse effect c. the rubbing of the continental plates warms up the Earth's surface d. the heat given off by living things makes our planet warmer e. we have no explanation for this higher temperature and that has scientists worried 34. In what way is the Moon similar to the Earth? a. roughly the same size b. similar atmosphere c. same gravity on the surface d. takes the same time to rotate on its axis e. none of the above 35. The first human being to step out onto the surface of another world was: a. Luke Skywalker b. Jack Schmitt c. James Van Allen d. Neil Armstrong e. Yuri Gagarin
36. Which theory of the Moon's origin is the one that current thinking among astronomers (and the evidence) favor: a. the fission theory b. the sister theory c. the capture theory d. the giant impact theory e. the green cheese theory 37. These days the theory of the Earth's Moon's origin that best fits with the facts we have about the Moon is: a. the Moon came out of the Earth b. the Moon was formed in the same area and at the same time as the Earth c. the Moon was formed elsewhere and was later captured by the Earth d. a large chunk hit the Earth and produced a filament of material that condensed to make the Moon e. the Moon was the gift of the Green Cheese Producers on Mars 38. The most likely models of the planet Mercury indicate that more than half the planet may be composed of: a. water b. metals c. ammonia and methane ice d. very light and porous rocks e. mercury 39. The same gas makes up most of the atmosphere of Mars and Venus. This gas is: a. water vapor b. nitrogen c. ozone d. ammonia gas e. carbon dioxide 40. Which of the following is NOT a way that Venus resembles the Earth? a. its size (diameter) b. its overall density c. the surface gravity (how much we would weigh there) d. the thickness and pressure of its atmosphere e. you can't fool me; Venus resembles Earth in all of the above ways 41. The process by which Venus became so much hotter than the Earth is called: a. radioactivity b. ozone depletion c. the runaway greenhouse effect d. tectonic displacement e. the twisted sister effect
42. What makes many astronomers believe that Mars once had rivers and running water? a. there is a grand canyon system about 2,500 mi long on its surface (all made by running water) b. the volcanoes show evidence of huge waterfalls coming from their highest points and running down c. images from orbiting spacecraft reveal ancient channels that resemble dried up river beds on Earth d. giant basins (like Hellas) are filled with frozen water that was once probably a sea e. you can't fool me, there is no evidence at all that Mars ever had any water 43. The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is a. Earth b. Mars c. Venus d. Jupiter e. Neptune 44. A planet that orbits "on its side" (i.e. has its rotation axis perpendicular to the plane of its orbit) is: a. Uranus b. Neptune c. Earth d. Jupiter e. Saturn 45. The element that can act like a metal when it is under tremendous pressure and is probably responsible for Jupiter's magnetism is: a. gold b. helium c. hydrogen d. water e. vanallenium 46. The Red Spot of Jupiter is: a. variable in size b. a high pressure storm system in the atmosphere c. made of a reddish colored material (but we don't know what gives it the reddish color) d. long lived (observed since the 1600's) e. all of the above 47. The bluish color that makes the atmosphere of Neptune so beautiful to the human eye is caused by the interaction of sunlight with what gas? a. carbon dioxide b. oxygen c. argon d. methane e. helium
48. Which of the jovian planets does NOT have any satellites? a. Jupiter b. Saturn c. Uranus d. Neptune e. you can't fool me, all the jovian planets are accompanied by satellites 49. The rings of the outer planets consist of a. sheets of ice that stretch in round planes millions of miles wide around each planet b. billions of small particles (of various sizes) that all orbit the equator of each planet c. many large moons, about the size of Jupiter's moon Io, all crowded together d. only subatomic charged particles, all kept in line by each planet's magnetic field e. millions of alien spacecraft, some of which occasionally make it to the Earth and pick up humans for medical experiments 50. Comets get significantly brighter in our skies as they approach the Sun because a. they reflect more sunlight as they get closer to the source of light b. they get bigger as the ice evaporates c. they get closer to the Earth than when they were outside the orbit of Mars d. they move faster and faster e. more than one of the above
Assignment 5 Answer Section MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. ANS: C 3. ANS: C 5. ANS: D 7. ANS: C 9. ANS: D 11. ANS: B 13. ANS: C 15. ANS: C 17. ANS: E 19. ANS: E 21. ANS: D 23. ANS: A 25. ANS: C 27. ANS: D 29. ANS: A 31. ANS: A 33. ANS: B
35. ANS: D 37. ANS: D 39. ANS: E 41. ANS: C 43. ANS: D 45. ANS: C 47. ANS: D 49. ANS: B