NAME: Fall 2014 -- Astronomy 1010: Planetary Astronomy Exam 4 Chapters 9, 10, 11, & 12 Circle your answer clearly AND print the CAPITAL LETTER to the left of the question. There are 37 multiple choice (3 pts. each) and 1 discussion (14 pts. each) question. Good luck. It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him. J.R.R. Tolkien Multiple Choice (3 pts. Each) Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1. Why did the terrestrial planets lose the majority of the gas in their primary atmospheres? a. They were too hot and their escape velocities too low to hold onto them. b. The solar wind was too strong and blew these gasses off the planets. c. Their high surface temperatures made the gas chemically react with the rock. d. The centrifugal force from the planets fast rotation rates made them fly off. e. The initial gases were so heavy when the planet differentiated that they sank to the core. 2. The presence of gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor in a planet s atmosphere is direct evidence of in a planet s history. a. high surface temperatures b. volcanic activity c. cometary impacts d. a lack of asteroid impacts e. the greenhouse effect 3. The main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the terrestrial planets are: a. oxygen and nitrogen b. methane and ozone c. carbon dioxide and water vapor d. hydrogen and helium e. methane and ammonia 4. What makes carbon dioxide a highly effective greenhouse gas? a. It easily absorbs UV radiation. b. It easily absorbs visible light. c. It easily absorbs infrared radiation. d. It easily reacts chemically with rock. e. It easily photodissociates in the upper atmosphere.
5. In the absence of the greenhouse effect, the water on the surface of the Earth would: a. escape into outer space b. remain in liquid form c. vaporize and form clouds in the atmosphere d. freeze e. be absorbed into rocks 6. Like Mars and Venus, Earth originally had a significant amount of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. Where is the majority of the carbon now? a. It has escaped into outer space. b. It is bound up in the plant life on Earth. c. It is bound up in rocks. d. It is dissolved into the oceans. e. It is still in the atmosphere in the form of complex molecules. 7. Heating from causes the top of the Earth s stratosphere to be warmer than the bottom. a. higher-energy particles in the solar wind b. convection c. the ozone layer absorbing UV light d. charged particles trapped by magnetic fields e. the greenhouse effect 8. The shape of the Earth s magnetosphere is modified by: a. the Moon s tidal force b. the solar wind c. Earth s own gravity d. asymmetries in the shape of Earth s core e. Earth s elliptical orbit 9. Auroras are caused by: a. gases fluorescing in the atmosphere due to collisions with solar wind particles b. the magnetosphere of Earth touching its atmosphere c. the ozone layer being destroyed by UV light d. a product of the atmospheric greenhouse effect e. scattering of sunlight from particles in the Earth s stratosphere 10. Earth s sky is blue because: a. blue light from the sun is more readily scattered by molecules in the atmosphere than red light b. of reflected light from the oceans c. red light from the sun is more readily scattered by molecules in the atmosphere than blue light d. molecules that make up the Earth s atmosphere radiate preferentially at blue wavelengths e. the Sun radiates more blue light than other wavelengths
11. The compositions of Uranus and Neptune differ primarily from that of Jupiter and Saturn in that the outer two planets contain more: a. hydrogen b. helium c. water d. carbon dioxide e. iron 12. Why were Adams and Le Verrier acknowledged as the discoverers of the planet Neptune? a. They were the first to see it through a telescope. b. They took time-lapsed photos to show its motion across the sky. c. They predicted its position based on the observed discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. d. They were the directors of the observatory at which it was discovered. e. They paid for the observations that discovered it. 13. Which of these observations would allow you to measure the mass of a planet? a. the planet s orbital period b. the planet s rotational period c. the planet s distance from the Sun d. the orbit of one of that planet s moons e. the planet s temperature 14. How is the atmosphere of Saturn similar to the atmosphere of Earth? a. They are both made of mostly hydrogen and helium. b. They both create magnetic fields. c. They both have jet streams and periods of stormy and calm weather. d. They both rotate in less than 11 hours. e. They both have a seamless transition between gas and liquid. 15. Which of these planets has a composition that is most like the Sun? a. Uranus b. Saturn c. Neptune d. Jupiter e. Earth 16. As a group, the giant planets all rotate terrestrial planets. a. faster than b. slower than c. the same as d. retrograde compared to e. sideways compared to
17. The colors of the cloud bands on Jupiter and Saturn are due primarily to differences in their: a. wind speeds b. chemical compositions c. altitudes d. temperatures e. densities 18. The fact that Jupiter s radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm/year results in: a. differential convection that powers Jupiter s Great Red Spot b. Jupiter s rotation rate slowing down with time c. Jupiter s shape being less oblate d. Jupiter radiating more heat than it receives from the Sun e. Jupiter s orbit around the Sun getting smaller 19. What measurement tells us that the interiors of Uranus and Neptune are made of mostly water? a. their mass b. their distance from the sun c. their average densities d. their temperatures e. their colors 20. The strongest magnetic fields in the Solar System are found on which planet? a. Jupiter b. Saturn c. Uranus d. Neptune e. Earth 21. Who first discovered moons around a planet in our Solar System other than the Earth? a. Newton d. Huygens b. Kepler e. Einstein c. Galileo 22. Large regular moons probably formed: a. when passing asteroids were captured by the gravitational field of their planet b. at the same time as their planets and grew by accretion c. after a collision between a planet and a large asteroid fractured off a piece of the planet d. after the period of heavy bombardment in the early Solar System e. after a planet got kicked out of its orbit and was gravitationally captured by another planet
23. Which of the following can be used as an indicator of the age of a moon s surface? a. color of the surface b. crater density c. volcanic activity d. radioactive dating e. all of the above 24. Io has the most volcanic activity in the Solar System because: a. it is continually being bombarded with material in Saturn s E ring b. it is one of the largest moons and its interior is heated by radioactive decays c. of gravitational friction caused by the moon Enceladus d. its interior is tidally heated as it orbits around Jupiter e. the ice on the surface creates a large pressure on the water below 25. Cryovolcanism occurs when: a. molten lava freezes when it reaches the surface because of extremely low temperatures b. volcanoes erupt underwater c. an icy moon has volcanoes emitting molten lava from deep underground d. low-temperature liquids explode through the surface because of increasing pressure underground e. a comet hits an object and causes volcanic eruptions 26. Which of the following moons is thought to have a vast ocean of water beneath its frozen surface? a. Triton b. Europa c. Ganymede d. Io e. Callisto 27. What leads astronomers to believe that many large moons associated with the giant planets have compositions that are roughly half water? a. Spectroscopic analysis indicates the presence of large bodies of water. b. They have average densities midway between water and rock. c. Space probes have drilled into the surfaces of many of the moons and detected water. d. Rocks and other features that form only in the presence of water have been observed. e. Astronomers have observed the gravitational effects of tides on those moons. 28. Two years after first being observed, astronomers reported that Saturn s rings vanished. What happened to them? a. The old ring system dissipated, and since then a new one has formed. b. The orbital plane of the rings was seen edge-on, and the rings were too thin to be visible. c. Most telescopes used hundreds of years ago couldn t adequately resolve the ring system. d. Astronomers were looking at the wrong planet, leading to the chance discovery of Uranus. e. They were hidden behind some of Saturn s many moons.
29. Extremophiles on Earth have been found: a. in the scalding waters of Yellowstone s hot springs b. in the bone-dry oxidizing environment of Chile s Atacama Desert c. in the Dead Sea d. in the deep subsurface ice of the Antarctic ice sheet e. all of the above 30. Through what process do some living organisms find energy to survive deep under the ocean? a. electrolysis b. photosynthesis c. plasmosynthesis d. chemosynthesis e. magnetosynthesis 31. Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet because: a. it has not cleared out other bodies from its orbit b. it is over 1,000 times smaller than the Earth s moon c. it has no moons of its own d. it has a unique chemical composition that is very different from other planets e. it orbits just outside the Solar System 32. Eris, Ceres, and Haumea are examples of: a. asteroids b. dwarf planets c. meteoroids d. comets e. meteor showers 33. Most asteroids are located between the orbits of: a. Earth and Mars b. Mars and Jupiter c. Jupiter and Saturn d. Neptune and Pluto e. the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud 34. Asteroids are primarily composed of: a. hydrogen and helium b. ice and dust c. rock d. iron e. methane
35. Carbonaceous chondrite meteorites are fragments of which type of asteroid? a. A-type b. C-type c. M-type d. Q-type e. S-type 36. Why does the dust tail separate from the ion tail? a. The dust is not ionized, so it is not affected by the solar wind. b. Dust cannot sublimate as ice can, so it cannot form a tail as easily. c. The dust tail forms on the leading side of the nucleus, whereas the gas tail forms on the opposite side. d. Dust particles are more massive than ions, so their accelerations are less. e. The dust tail has the opposite charge as the ion tail. 37. A large meteor shower will often occur once a year because: a. Earth typically has one large volcanic eruption every year b. the Earth s orbit passes through the Apollo asteroid belt c. the Sun goes through a yearly solar cycle d. Jupiter routinely disturbs the orbits of asteroids in the Jovian belt e. the Earth passes through the debris left behind by a specific comet
Short Answer (14 pts.) In the stratosphere of the Earth s atmosphere, how does the temperature vary increasing altitude? What causes this variation?