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FINAL FOR ASTRONOMY
astronomy final shelley
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which of the following best explains why we can rule out the idea that planets are usually formed by near-collisions between stars? | Stellar near-collisions are far too rare to explain all the planets now known to orbit nearby stars. |
| According to our modern science, which of the following best explains why the vast majority of the mass of our solar system consists of hydrogen and helium gas? | Hydrogen and helium are the most common elements throughout the universe, because they were the only elements present when the universe was young. |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the central regions of the solar nebula got hotter as the nebula shrank in size? | The law of conservation of energy |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size? | The law of conservation of angular momentum |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following best explains why the solar nebula ended up with a disk shape as it collapsed? | It flattened as a natural consequence of collisions between particles in the nebula. |
| What is the primary basis upon which we divide the ingredients of the solar nebula into four categories (hydrogen/helium; hydrogen compound; rock; metal)? | The temperatures at which various materials will condense from gaseous form to solid form. |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following statements about the growth of terrestrial and jovian planets is not true? | The jovian planets began from planetesimals made only of ice, while the terrestrial planets began from planetesimals made only of rock and metal. |
| Many meteorites appear to have formed very early in the solar system's history. How do these meteorites support our theory about how the terrestrial planets formed? | The meteorites appearance and composition is just what we'd expect if metal and rock condensed and accreted as our theory suggests. |
| According to present understanding, which of the following statements about the solar wind is not true? | It is even stronger today than it was when the Sun was young. |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, how did Earth end up with enough water to make oceans? | The water was brought to the forming Earth by planetesimals that accreted beyond the orbit of Mars. |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following objects now reside quite far from the place where they formed originally? | Oort cloud comets |
| What is the primary reason that astronomers suspect that some jovian moons were captured into their current orbits? | Some moons have orbits that are "backwards" (compared to their planet's rotation) or highly inclined to their planet's equator. |
| Which of the following is not a line of evidence supporting the hypothesis that our Moon formed as a result of a giant impact? | The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater - probably the one made by the giant impact. |
| Why are terrestrial planets denser than jovian planets? | Only dense materials could condense in the inner solar nebula |
| Suppose you find a rock that contains 10 micrograms of radioactive potassium-40,which has a half-life of 1.25 billion years.By measuring the amount of its decay product present in the rock,you conclude that there .How old is the rock? | 3.75 billion years |
| How do scientists determine the age of the solar system? | Radiometric dating of meteorites |
| The region of our solar system between Mercury and Mars has very few asteroids. Based on what you have learned, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars? | There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed. |
| About 2% of our solar nebula consisted of elements besides hydrogen and helium. However Which of the following statements is most likely to have been true about these first-generation star systems? | There were no comets or asteroids in these first-generation star systems. |
| In essence, the nebular theory holds that _________. | our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust |
| According to modern science, what was the approximate chemical composition of the solar nebula? | 98% hydrogen and helium, 2% everything else |
| The terrestrial planets are made almost entirely of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. According to modern science, where did these elements come from? | They were produced by stars that lived and died before our solar system was born. |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, what three major changes occurred in the solar nebula as it shrank in size? | It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk. |
| Which of the following types of material can condense into what we call ice at low temperatures? | hydrogen compounds |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following lists the major ingredients of the solar nebula in order from the most abundant to the least abundant? | hydrogen and helium gas; hydrogen compounds; rock; metal |
| What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula? | It is a circle at a particular distance from the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense |
| What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation? | The growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together |
| According to our present theory of solar system formation, why were solid planetesimals able to grow larger in the outer solar system than in the inner solar system? | Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system. |
| According to our basic scenario of solar system formation, why do the jovian planets have numerous large moons? | As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks. |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets? | Leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, where did the comets of the Oort cloud form? | in the region of the jovian planets |
| What do we mean by the period of heavy bombardment in the context of the history of our solar system? | The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed. |
| What is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Moon? | The Moon formed from material blasted out of the Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object. |
| Suppose you start with 1 kilogram of a radioactive substance that has a half-life of 10 years. Which of the following statements will be true after 20 years pass? | You'll have 0.25 kilogram of the radioactive substance remaining. |
| According to modern scientific dating techniques, approximately how old is the solar system? | 4.5 billion years |
| The cores of the terrestrial worlds are made mostly of metal because ______. | metals sunk to the centers a long time ago when the interiors were molten throughout |
| Which of the following is not generally true of all the terrestrial world lithospheres? | The lithosphere is broken into a set of large plates that float upon the softer rock below. |
| Which internal heat source still generates heat within the terrestrial worlds today? | Heat from radioactive decay |
| The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that ________. | a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato |
| Suppose we had a device that allowed us to see Earth's interior. If we looked at a typical region of the mantle, what would we see happening? | not much - on human time scales, the mantle looks like solid rock |
| Recent evidence suggests that Mars once had a global magnetic field. Assuming this is true, which of the following could explain why Mars today lacks a global magnetic field like that of Earth? | Mars's interior has cooled so much its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection. |
| Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a global magnetic field like Earth? | Its rotation is too slow |
| You discover an impact crater that is 10 kilometers across. Which of the following can you conclude? | It was created by the impact of an object about 1 kilometer across |
| Most of the Moon's surface is densely covered with craters, but we find relatively few craters within the lunar maria. What can we conclude? | The maria formed after the heavy bombardment ended |
| Which of the following is the underlying reason why Venus has so little wind erosion? | its slow rotation |
| Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury? | Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experienced some volcanism and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all. |
| Many scientists suspect that Venus has a stronger and thicker lithosphere than Earth. If this is true, which of the following could explain it? | The high surface temperature that has "baked out" all the liquid water from Venus's crust and mantle |
| All the following statements about Venus are true. Which one offers evidence of a global repaving about a billion years ago? | Venus has relatively few impact craters and these craters are distributed fairly evenly over the entire planet |
| What are the two geological features that appear to set Earth apart from all the other terrestrial worlds? | plate tectonics and widespread erosion |
| Why are there fewer large impact craters on the Earth's seafloor than on the continents? | Seafloor crust is younger than continental crust, so it has had less time in which to suffer impacts |
| Why is Earth's continental crust lower in density than seafloor crust? | Continental crust is made as the lowest-density seafloor crust melts and erupts to the surface near subduction zones. |
| Which two factors are most important to the existence of plate tectonics on Earth? | mantle convection and a thin lithosphere |
| What's the fundamental reason that Mars, unlike the Earth, has become virtually geologically dead? | its small size compared to Earth |
| Based on all we know about the terrestrial worlds, what single factor appears to play the most important role in a terrestrial planet's geological destiny? | its size |
| The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the hottest interior? | Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months |
| The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one's surface would you expect to be most crowded with impact craters? | Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days |
| The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the most features of erosion? | Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours |
| Suppose we use a baseball to represent Earth. On this scale, the other terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) would range in size approximately from that of ______. | a golf ball to a baseball |
| From center to surface, which of the following correctly lists the interior layers of a terrestrial world? | Core, mantle, crust. |
| What do we mean when we say that the terrestrial worlds underwent differentiation? | When their interiors were molten, denser materials sank toward their centers and lighter materials rose toward their surfaces. |
| A terrestrial world's lithosphere is ________. | a layer of relatively strong, rigid rock, encompassing the crust and part of the mantle |
| The major processes that heat the interiors of the terrestrial worlds are: | 1) Heat deposited as the planets were built from planetesimals; (2) heat deposited as the planets underwent differentiation; (3) heat released by radioactive decay |
| Which of the following is an example of convection? | Warm air expanding and rising while cooler air contracts and fall |
| What are the basic requirements for a terrestrial world to have a global magnetic field? | A core layer of molten, convecting material and sufficiently rapid rotation |
| In general, which things below are affected by a magnetic field? | Charged particles or magnetized materials (such as iron). |
| The processes responsible for virtually all surface geology are _________. | impact cratering, volcanisms, tectonics, and erosion |
| Which of the following best describes the lunar maria? | relatively smooth, flat plains on the Moon |
| In the context of planetary geology, what do we mean by outgassing? | the release by volcanism of gases that had been trapped in a planetary interior |
| Which of the following is not an example of tectonics? | The gradual disappearance of a crater rim as a result of wind and rain. |
| Why does the Moon have a layer of "powdery soil" on its surface? | It is the result of countless tiny impacts by small particles striking the Moon |
| What observational evidence supports the idea that Mercury once shrank by some 20 kilometers in radius? | the presence of many long, tall cliffs |
| Olympus Mons is ______. | a huge shield volcano on Mars |
| Which of the following does not provide evidence that Mars once had abundant liquid water on its surface? | the presence of canali, discovered in the late 1800s by Giovanni Schiaparelli and mapped by Percival Lowell. |
| Based on its surface features, the most important event on Venus in the past billion years or so was _______. | a global "repaving" that erased essentially all the surface features that had existed earlier |
| On average, how fast do the plates move on the Earth? | a few centimeters per year |
| How does seafloor crust differ from continental crust? | Seafloor crust is thinner, younger, and higher in density. |
| In the context of plate tectonics, what is a subduction zone? | A place where a seafloor plate is sliding under a continental plate |
| Which of the following places is the result of volcanoes erupting over a hot spot in the mantle? | Hawaii |
| Which of the following general statements about Earth's atmosphere is not true? | The sea level temperature depends primarily on the total amount of gas in our atmosphere |
| Suppose that Earth's ice caps melted, but everything else about the Earth's surface and atmosphere stayed the same. What would happen to Earth's average surface temperature? | The surface temperature would increase. |
| Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works? | A planet's surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as infrared light. Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower atmosphere. |
| All the statements below are true. Which one gives the primary reason why the surface of Venus today is some 450C hotter than the surface of Earth? | Venus has a much stronger greenhouse effect than Earth. |
| Which of the following statements about Earth's troposphere is not generally true? | It is the layer of the atmosphere in which ozone absorbs dangerous ultraviolet light from the Sun |
| In very general terms, how do the temperature structures of the atmospheres of Venus and Mars differ from that of Earth? | They lack ultraviolet-absorbing stratospheres. |
| Does Venus have auroras around its poles, like the Earth? Why or why not? | No, because it lacks a global magnetic field. |
| All the following statements are true. Which one explains why convection can occur in the troposphere but not in the stratosphere? | Temperature declines with altitude in the troposphere but increases with altitude in the stratosphere. |
| Which of the following is not caused by the Coriolis effect on Earth? | Water going down a drain swirls in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres |
| Why is the Coriolis effect so weak on Venus? | Because Venus rotates so slowly. |
| All of the following have occurred over long periods of time on Earth. Which one is not thought to have played a major role in long-term changes in Earth's climate? | A gradual rise in the atmospheric content of oxygen. |
| Why do we think that Venus has so much more atmospheric gas than Earth? | Most of the gases that have been released from volcanoes on Earth later returned to the surface. |
| Why is thermal escape of atmospheric gas much easier from the Moon than from Earth? | Because the Moon's gravity is so much weaker than Earth's. |
| How is it possible that the Moon might have some water ice today? | Ice brought by comet impacts may be frozen in craters near the Moon's poles. |
| All the following statements about Mars are true. Which one might have led to a significant loss of atmospheric gas to space? | Mars lost any global magnetic field that it may once have had. |
| What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure? | The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence of flowing water in the past. |
| Which of the following best explain what we think happened to outgassed water vapor on Venus? | Ultraviolet light split the water molecules, and the hydrogen then escaped to space. |
| What would happen to Earth if we somehow moved our planet to the orbit of Venus? | Earth would suffer a runaway greenhouse effect and become as hot or hotter than Venus. |
| Deuterium is much more abundant on Venus than Earth. What do we think this fact tells us about Venus? | That it has lost a tremendous amount of water as a result of molecules being split by ultraviolet light and the hydrogen escaping to space. |
| Why does Earth have so little carbon dioxide in its atmosphere compared to Venus? | Earth has just as much carbon dioxide as Venus, but most of it is locked up in carbonate rocks rather than being free in the atmosphere. |
| Which characteristic of Earth explains why we have an ultraviolet-absorbing stratosphere? | the existence of photosynthetic life |
| Which two factors are critical to the existence of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle on Earth? | plate tectonics and liquid water oceans |
| Suppose Earth were to cool down a little. How would the carbon dioxide cycle tend to restore temperatures to normal? | Cooler temperatures lead to slower formation of carbonate minerals in the ocean, so carbon dioxide released by volcanism builds up in the atmosphere and strengthens the greenhouse effect |
| According to current science, why didn't oxygen begin to accumulate in the atmosphere for more than a billion years after life appeared on the Earth? | Oxygen released by life was removed from the atmosphere by chemical reactions with surface rocks until the surface rock could absorb no more |
| Earth has been gradually warming over the past few decades. Based on a great deal of evidence, scientists believe that this warming is caused by _____. | human activities that are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere |
| Which of the following correctly lists the terrestrial worlds in order from the thickest atmosphere to the thinnest atmosphere? (Note: Mercury and the Moon are considered together in this question.) | Venus, Earth, Mars, Moon/Mercury |
| Which planet(s) have an atmosphere that consists mostly of carbon dioxide? | Venus and Mars |
| Suppose we represent Earth with a basketball. On this scale, most of the air in Earth's atmosphere would fit in a layer that is _________. | about the thickness of a sheet of paper |
| Why does atmospheric pressure decrease as you go higher in altitude on Earth? | The weight of the atmosphere above you decreases with altitude. |
| In the context of a planetary atmosphere, what is a bar? | A unit of pressure roughly equal to the atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth |
| Which of the following is the most basic definition of a greenhouse gas? | a gas that absorbs infrared light |
| Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas? | oxygen (O2) |
| Suppose that Earth's atmosphere had no greenhouse gases. Then Earth's average surface temperature would be _______. | well below the freezing point of water |
| Which of the following correctly lists the layers of Earth's atmosphere from the ground upward? | troposphere, stratosphere, thermosphere, exosphere |
| Why is the sky blue (on Earth)? | Because molecules scatter blue light more effectively than red light |
| Which of the following general statements about light and Earth's atmosphere is not true? | Visible light from the Sun is absorbed in the exosphere. |
| What is a magnetosphere? | a region of space around a planet in which the planet's magnetic field can trap charged particles |
| What is the difference between weather and climate? | Weather refers to short-term changes in wind, rain, and temperature, while climate refers to the long-term average of weather. |
| Which of the following describes a primary role of global circulation cells in a planet's atmosphere? | They transport heat from the equator toward the poles |
| What important change in the Sun over the past four billion years is thought to be very important to understanding the climates of Venus, Earth, and Mars? | a gradual brightening with time |
| Which of the following best describes the nature and origin of the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury? | They have thin exospheres only, with gas coming from impacts of subatomic particles and photons. |
| Which of the following is not a characteristic of the seasons on Mars? | As on Earth, the seasons are caused primarily by axis tilt and orbital distance has virtually no effect. |
| Why is Mars red? | Chemical reactions between surface rock and atmospheric oxygen literally rusted the surface. |
| What do we mean by a runaway greenhouse effect? | a greenhouse effect that keeps getting stronger until all of a planet's greenhouse gases are in its atmosphere |
| Based on everything we have learned about Venus and Mars, what is the most surprising aspect of Earth's climate history? | The fact that the temperature of our planet has remained relatively steady throughout our planet's history. |
| Which of the following statements about ozone (in Earth's stratosphere) is not true: | The presence of ozone was crucial to the origin of life some 4 billion years ago. |
| How did molecular oxygen (O2) get into Earth's atmosphere? | It was released by life through the process of photosynthesis. |
| What is the importance of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle? | It regulates the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere, keeping temperatures moderate. |
| In the context of Earth's climate history, what do we mean by snowball Earth? | It refers to a very deep ice age that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. |
| Which of the following is not an expected consequence of global warming? | The entire Earth will warm up by the same amount. |
| Which of the following is not a general characteristic of the four jovian planets in our solar system? | They are higher in average density than are the terrestrial planets. |
| Which of the following best describes the internal layering of Jupiter, from the center outward? | Core of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds; thick layer of metallic hydrogen; layer of liquid hydrogen; layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layer. |
| The energy in the atmospheres of most of the jovian planets comes ___________, | both the Sun and their interiors, in roughly equal proportions |
| Which of the following statements comparing the jovian interiors is not thought to be true? | They all have the same exact set of internal layers, those these layers differ in size. |
| Overall, Jupiter's composition is most like that of ______. | The SUN |
| Jupiter's colors come in part from its three layers of clouds. Which of the following is not the primary constituent of one of Jupiter's cloud layers? | clouds of sulfuric acid |
| How do typical wind speeds in Jupiter's atmosphere compare to typical wind speeds on Earth? | They are much faster than hurricane winds on Earth. |
| What is the Great Red Spot? | a long-lived, high-pressure storm on Jupiter |
| What atmospheric constituent is responsible for the blue color of Uranus and Neptune? | METHANE |
| How does the strength of Jupiter's magnetic field compare to that of Earth's magnetic field? | Jupiter's magnetic field is about 20,000 times as strong as Earth's |
| Which of the following statements about the moons of the jovian planets is not true? | Most of the moons are large enough to be spherical in shape, but a few have the more potato-like shapes of asteroids |
| Which statement about Io is true? | It is the most volcanically active body in our solar system. |
| Which moon has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen? | TITAN |
| The Huygens probe took numerous pictures as it descended to Titan's surface in 2005. What did the pictures show? | features or erosion, including what appeared to be dry river valleys and lakebeds |
| Which moon is considered likely to have a deep, subsurface ocean of liquid water? | Europa |
| Which large jovian moon is thought to have been captured into its present orbit? | Triton |
| Suppose you could float in space just a few meters above Saturn's rings. What would you see as you looked down on the rings? | countless icy particles, ranging in size from dust grains to large boulders |
| Which statement about planetary rings is not true? | Saturn's rings formed along with its moons 4.6 billion years ago. |
| Which of the following gases is not a significant ingredient of the jovian planet atmospheres? | carbon dioxide |
| Jupiter and the other jovian planets are sometimes called "gas giants." In what sense is this term misleading? | They actually contain relatively little material in a gaseous state. |
| According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn? | Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula. |
| Which of the following most likely explains why Jupiter's interior releases so much heat? | Jupiter is contracting very gradually. |
| What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass? | Its density would increase but its diameter would barely change. |
| Which planet may have helium rain in its interior, and what does this rain do? | Saturn, where it generates heat as it falls downward. |
| Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds? | The three layers represent clouds made of gases that condense at different temperatures. |
| Which of the following best why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn? | The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker clouds |
| Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains why? | Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense. |
| Which jovian planet should have the most extreme seasonal changes? | Uranus |
| Why is the radiation so intense in the region that traces Io's orbit around Jupiter (the Io torus)? | The region is full of gases that become ionized after they are released from volcanoes on Io. |
| Which of the following best explains why many jovian moons have been more geologically active than the Moon or Mercury? | Jovian moons are made mostly of ice that can melt or deform at lower temperatures than can the rock and metal that make up the Moon and Mercury. |
| All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io? | Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical orbit, due to orbital resonances with other satellites |
| Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Europa may have a subsurface ocean? | Astronomers have detected small lakes of liquid water on Europa's surface. |
| Which of the following is most unlikely to be found on Titan? | lakes of liquid water in the warmer equatorial regions |
| Why do astronomers believe that Triton is a captured moon? | Triton orbits Neptune in a direction opposite that of Neptune's rotation. |
| Which statement about Saturn's rings is not true? | he rings must look much the same today as they did shortly after Saturn formed. |
| What drives the motion of the tectonic plates on Earth? | convection cells in the mantle |
| The terrestrial planet cores contain mostly metal because | metals sank to the center during a time when the interiors were molten throughout. |
| How did the lunar maria form? | Large impacts fractured the Moon's lithosphere, allowing lava to fill the impact basins. |
| The geysers and hot springs of Yellowstone National Park result from | plumes of hot mantle rising in a hot spot within a plate |
| Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today? | radioactivity |
| Mars has virtually no magnetic field. | TRUE |
| What is differentiation in planetary geology? | the process by which gravity separates materials according to density |
| The lithosphere of a planet is the layer that consists of | the rigid rocky material of the crust and uppermost portion of the mantle |
| Why does Earth have the strongest magnetic field among the terrestrial worlds? | It is the only one that has both a partially molten metallic core and reasonably rapid rotation |
| Which of the following describes erosion? | the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather |
| Why does Mars have more extreme seasons than Earth? | because it has a more eccentric orbit in addition to its tilt |
| Why doesn't Venus have seasons like Mars and Earth do? | Its rotation axis is not tilted. |
| Why is Mars red? | Its surface rocks were rusted by oxygen |
| Sunsets are red because | sunlight must pass through more atmosphere then, and the atmosphere scatters even more light at bluer wavelengths, transmitting mostly red light. |
| Earth's stratosphere is heated primarily by which process? | Ozone is broken apart by ultraviolet radiation. |
| The ionosphere is a layer of ionized gas that is | within the thermosphere. |
| Why does Mercury have such a great change in temperature between its day and night? | It has a slow rotation. |
| How does the greenhouse effect work? | Greenhouse gases transmit visible light, allowing it to heat the surface, but then absorb infrared light from Earth, trapping the heat near the surface |
| What is the troposphere? | The lowest layer in the atmosphere. |
| Ultraviolet light is absorbed in the | Stratosphere |
| Which of the following statements about the greenhouse effect is true? | all of the above are true. |
| Why do Uranus and Neptune have blue methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not? | Methane does not condense into ice in the warmer atmospheric temperatures of Jupiter and Saturn. |
| What causes synchronous rotation? | A massive planet exerts a tidal force on a moon that causes the moon to align itself such that its tidal bulges always point toward and away from the planet. |
| What is the Cassini division of Saturn's rings? | a large gap, visible from Earth, produced by an orbital resonance with the moon Mimas |
| Why do the jovian planet interiors differ? | Accretion took longer further from the Sun, so the more distant planets formed their cores later and captured less gas from the solar nebula than the closer jovian planets |
| Which of the following is not due to tidal forces? | the retrograde orbit of Triton (a moon of Neptune) |
| What is differential rotation? | rotation where a body rotates faster or slower at its equator than it does at its poles |
| How does Jupiter's core compare to Earth's? | It is about the same size but is 10 times more massive. |
| What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot? | a long-lived, high-pressure storm |
| A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65 probably originated in the Kuiper belt. | False |
| A typical shooting star in a meteor shower is caused by a ________ entering Earth's atmosphere. | pea-size particle from a comet |
| When do comets generally begin to form a tail? | Inside of Jupiter's orbit. |
| What do asteroids and comets have in common? | Most are unchanged since their formation in the solar nebula |
| What is a meteorite? | a fragment of an asteroid from the solar system that has fallen to Earth's surface |
| What is Charon? | Pluto's Moon |
| What is astrometry? | measuring the positions of stars on the sky |
| By itself, the Doppler technique provides a measure of a planet's | all of the above |
| The size and shape of a planet's orbit can be determined by | The doppler technique |
| ased on its surface temperature of 5,800 K, what color are most of the photons that leave the Sun's surface? | Green |
| What are coronal holes? | areas of the corona where magnetic field lines project into space, allowing charged particles to escape the Sun, becoming part of the solar wind |
| The Sun generates energy primarily by nuclear fission. | FALSE |
| What is granulation in the Sun? | the bubbling pattern on the photosphere produced by the underlying convection |
| What is absolutely necessary for living organisms to survive? | Energy |
| The rise of life on the planet Earth some 4 billion years ago was made possible, in part, by the plentiful oxygen in Earth's early atmosphere. | False |
| The earliest evidence for life on Earth dates to | about 3.8 billion years ago. |
| When did the extinction of the dinosaurs occur? | 65 million years ago |
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