AS101 Module 3

The rotation (daily spin) of the planets are:
A) All in the same direction (clockwise as seen from above the system)
B) All in the same direction (except from Mercury)
C) All in the same direction (with the exception of Venus and Uranus)
D) All in the same direction (except from Venus and Neptune)
E) All in the same direction (counter clockwise as seen from above the system)

C

When we examine the types of planets making up the solar system we notice the following:
A) all planets making up the solar system are like Pluto
B) there seems to be no general category of planets; each is unique and there are very few similarities among them.
C) there are three types of planets: terrestrial, Jovian, and small snowballs
D) there are two types of planets: terrestrial and Jovian
E) there is just one type of planet: round, small, and rocky

D

What is the origin of the atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, and sodium in the perspiration that exits your body during this astronomy test?
A) They were all fused deep inside Earth
B) All of these elements were synthesized inside stars more than 4.6 billion years ago.
C) The hydrogen nuclei were produced a few minutes after the Big Bang event 13.8 billion years ago; the oxygen and sodium nuclei were synthesized inside stars more than 4.6 billion years ago.
D) All of these elements were produced in the first few minutes after the Big Bang event.
E) They were synthesized during the early stages of the Sun' s formation and spewed out from the Sun through the solar wind and our planet, Earth, simply intercepted them.

C

Which of the following statements is not an observed pattern of motion in our solar system?
A) Most planets orbit at the same speed
B) Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit.
C) Most planetary orbits lie nearly in the same plane.
D) Almost all moons orbit their planet in the same direction as the planet's rotation.
E) All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction.

A

What is the range in size for asteroids?
A) 1km to 1000km
B) 1 meter to 1000km
C) 1 meter to 10km
D) 100 meters to 100km

B

Which of the following is not characteristic of the Jovian planets?
A) Despite their thick atmospheres they all have solid surfaces on which to land a spacecraft.
B) They are all spaced farther apart than the terrestrial planets.
C) They all have more than 10 moons.
D) They are all larger than any of the terrestrial planets.
D) They all have lower densities than Venus and Earth.

A

We have determined the age of the solar system through:
A) the analysis of the sand on various beaches around the Earth
B) the study of rocks and the determination of their composition
C) All of A, B, C, and D
D) taking measurements of tree rings
E) radioactive dating

E

Which of the following characteristics of the Jovian planets are correct?
A) Varying sizes, Jupiter is one size, Neptune about half as big and Mercury is quite small.
B) Relatively large, low density objects with solid surfaces
C) They are closer to the Sun than the terrestrial planets; that's why we can't see them at night
D) Both A and B are correct.
E) None of A, B, or C are correct.

E

Where are most of the known asteroids found?
A) Oort Cloud
B) between Jupiter and Saturn
C) in the Kuiper Belt
D) between Mars and Jupiter
E) between Mercury and Venus

D

Which of the following statements about comets is false?
A) Halley's Comet has an elliptical orbit returning to the inner solar system every 76 years.
B) Comet tails consist of two parts, a plasma tail and a dust tail
C) Most comets come from either the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud.
D) Cometary orbits can be elliptical, parabolic, and hyperbolic.
E) The nucleus of a comet is quite large, about 100km across.

E

Which of the following characteristics of the terrestrial planets are correct?
A) Relatively small, low density bodies with solid surfaces on which to walk
B) Relatively small, high density objects with solid surfaces on which to walk.
C) Varying sizes; Earth is one size, but large Jupiter is also terrestrial and you can walk on its surface
D) They are all closer to the Sun than the Jovian planets but their densities are quite varied with one being less dense than water.
E) All of A, B, C, D, are correct

D

Atmospheres formed around some terrestrial planets because
A) outgassing through volcanic activity plus a strong enough gravity kept the gas from escaping into space
B) their gravity was great enough to capture atoms and molecules floating around in the solar nebula
C) Radioactivity from surface rocks produced oxygen and carbon dioxide in sufficient quantities to build up an atmosphere.
D) human activity produces carbon dioxide and plants produce oxygen which are the main constituents of an atmosphere.

A

What is the galactic recycling process?

When stars die some of their mass is ejected and used to form new stars

Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?
A) Shock wave from a nearby supernova heated the gas.
B) Nuclear fusión occurring in the core of the protosun produced energy that heated the nebula.
C) As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to kinetic energy and then into thermal energy.
D) Radiation from other nearby stars that had formed earlier heated the nebula.

C

The first solid grains or flakes formed in our solar system by the process of _______, the addition of material to an object an atom or molecule at a time.
A) Condensation
B) Hydration
C) Accretion
D) Vapourization
E) Sublimation

A

The nebular theory of the formation of the solar system successfully predicts all but one of the following. Which one does the theory not predict?
A) The compositional differences between terrestrial and Jovian planets.
B) Planets orbit around the Sun in nearly circular orbits in a flattened disk.
C) The equal number of terrestrial and Jovian planets.
D) Asteroids, Kuiper-belt objects and comets.
E) The craters on the Moon.

C

Which of the following is most likely to describe a comet, but not an asteroid?
A) There really is no difference between a comet and an asteroid
B) Comets are mainly composed of ice and snow with some dust and rocky bits
C) Comets reside with similar bodies in a sparsely populated belt
D) Comets are partially but not totally composed of rocks and metals.

B

What is differentiation in planetary geology?
A) any process by which a planet's surface evolves differently from another planet's surface
B) the process by which gravity separates materials according to density
C) any process by which one part of a planet's surface evolves differently from another part of the same planet's surface.
D) any process by which a planet evolves differently from its moons
E) the process by which different types of minerals form a conglomerate rock

B

Protoplanets grow into planetesimals by which process?
A) Colliding with other protoplanets.
B) Gravitationally pulling in other protoplanets.
C) Attracting other planetesimals with the same charge.
D) A combination of A and B
E) A combination of A, B and C.

D

About how much of the solar nebula consisted of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium?
A) 2% by mass
B) 10% by mass
C) 98% by mass
D) 50% by mass
E) 25% by mass

A

How were the moons of the Jovian planets most likely formed?
A) Most likely by gravitationally attracting asteroids as a protoplanet might form.
B) They were all formed in the Asteroid Belt between Venus and Jupiter and through BB they got distributed among the Jovian planets.
C) Early in their formation the planets spun wildly and flung off chunks of themselves which coalesced as moons.
D) probably through the same process as the planets themselves formed.
E) Most of the solar system's moons initially formed around Jupiter which were then ejected by Jupiter toward other planets which eventually captured them.

D

What type of exoplanet would you expect to cause the largest Doppler shift in the spectrum of its star?
A) A low-mass planet that is far from its sun
B) A low-mass planet that is close to its sun
C) A massive planet that is close to its sun
D) An average-mass planet that is at an average distance from its sun
E) A massive planet that is far from its sun

C

What is Fomalhaut b?
A) It was the first exoplanet observed by the direct detection method orbiting the star known as Fomalhaut.
B) Fomalhaut b, or Fomalhaut beta, is a constellation in the southern sky, readily visible from Australia.
C) It is an asterism in the constellation Pisces
D) It was the second exoplanet discovered by the direct detection method; the first exoplanet discovered is known as Fomalhaut a.

A

Which of the following space telescope missions was dedicated entirely to discovering exoplanets?
A) Apollo
B) Spitzer
C) Cassini
D) Kepler
E) Hubble

D

Why is it easier to find exoplanets that are much more massive than the Earth?
A) Because the solar nebula theory predicts more massive exoplanets should exist
B) Because they are mainly found around dimmer stars
C) Because there aren't any exoplanets with masses lower than Earth
D) Because their transits and tugging on their stars are easier to detect
E) Because massive exoplanets orbit more slowly

D

What is the name of the exoplanet that has been found that is closest to our solar system?
A) Kepler 56c
B) Alpha Centauri Bb
C) Fomalhaut b
D) Rigel
E) Sirius

B

What is Alpha Centauri Bb?
A) Its the name of the very first exoplanet discovered by the spacecraft Kepler.
B) Its the name of the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus.
C) Its the name of the closest exoplanet to our solar system found orbiting the main star in the Alpha Centauri system.
D) Its the name of an exoplanet that has just been discovered in the Whirlpool galaxy.

C

What is an extrasolar planet?
A) A planet that is found orbiting another planet outside our solar system.
B) A planet that is extra large compared to what we would expect.
C) A planet that is larger than the Sun
D) A planet that is considered an "extra" in that it was not needed for the formation of its solar system.
E) A planet that orbits a star that is not our Sun

E

What is so special about a star known as 51 Pegasi?
A) It is a pulsar with planets orbiting around it
B) It is the first main sequence star (stars like our Sun) found to have a planet orbiting it.
C) It was the first star found with multiple planets orbiting it.
D) It was the first star found with a planet orbiting it that is known to support intelligent life.
E) It is the largest known white dwarf star

B

Which of the following three factors would affect the size of a star's Doppler shift caused by an exoplanet?
A) The planet's mass
B) The size of the planet's orbit
C) The planet's composition
D) Only A and B
E) All of A, B, and C

D