PHY 1455 Exam 2

Which layer of the Earth produces electric currents from its magnetic field?

Core

What is the average speed that Earth orbits at?

67,000 mph

What type of planet is Earth?

Terrestrial

T/F The Earth is the only planet in the solar system that has water

False

What is the name of the phenomenon where the Earth's magnetic poles reverse?

Geomagnetic reversal

What is Earth's Atmosphere comprised of?

78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, .9% Argon, .03% Carbon Dioxide

T/F Earth has the strongest magnetic field of the terrestrial planets

True

Which is the largest terrestrial planet?

Earth

How much of the earth is covered in water?

71%

What is the purpose of earths magnetosphere?

To deflect solar winds away from earth

What is the average density of the Earth

5500KG/M3

How many years does it take for Jupiter to complete its full orbit around the Sun?

12 Years

What is Jupiter mostly composed of?

Hydrogen

What is the source of Jupiter's excess energy?

Gravitational energy from its formation

This planet's pressure is 50 million times Earth's

Jupiter

How many Galilean moons are there?

4

Which of the following spacecraft went into orbit around Jupiter for years, and evendropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere?

Galileo

How many rings does Jupiter have?

4

What is the great red spot on Jupiter's surface?

A hurricane on Jupiter that is stable and always present

Which Jupiter moon contains no ice?

Io

Little is known of Jupiter's interior, but it is presumed to have a deep layer of ___________and ____________

metallic hydrogen and a dense core

Why does Jupiter receive its band like upper cloud layers?

It's fast rotation produces currents

What year did NASA launch their first Robotic rover to Mars?

1996

How many moons does Mars have?

2

Why is Mars’ surface red?

The soil has iron oxide

What is the most abundant substance in the atmosphere of Mars?

Carbon Dioxide

T/F Mars has seasons very similar to Earth due to its tilt

True

What is the major different between Mars's northern and southern hemisphere?

Northern hemisphere is made up of rolling volcanic plains and the southern hemisphereconsists of heavily cratered highlands lying several kilometers above the level of thelowland north

Which prominent volcano on Mars is the tallest volcano in the solar system?

Olympus Mons

Which terrestrial planet is furthest from the sun?

Mars

What can be found between Mars and Jupiter?

The Asteroid Belt

Which planet has the largest mountain in the solar system?

Mars

Mars has two small, irregularly shaped moons. What are the names of these moons?

Phobos and Deimos

How long is the period of a day on Mars?

24.6 hours

Which Planet has a radius of 1/2 of the Earth and cools more efficiently than Earth?

Mars

What is the average temperature on Mars?

-20 degrees Celsius

Where is most of the water present on Mars located?

In a permafrost below the surface

Mars' pressure is about _____ of the Earth's

1/150 of Earth's

What two features were seen by the Viking orbiters, revealing that liquid water onceexisted on Mars?

Runoff channels and outflow channels

Why do we think Mars has significantly less metal in its core than Earth?

All of the above are evidence

Mars is subject to what type of weather?

Dust storms

What caused the scarps found on Mercury?

Cooling of the planet and shrinking of the crust

How hot can Mercury get?

800 Degrees

How long is Mercury's orbit?

87.97 days

Which of the following is a surface feature of Mercury?

Caloris Basin

What is currently orbiting Mercury?

Messenger

What is the surface like in Mercury's intercrater plains?

Smooth and rolling hills

What type of geological feature is the Caloris Basin on Mercury?

Impact crater

What caused the craters on Mercury's surface?

Meteoritic bombardment

What is the best way to describe Mercury's surface temperature?

It changes constantly day and night

What is the surface of Mercury made up of?

Rock and Metal

What is the average temperature of Mercury?

440K

Mercury's type of unusual motion is called what?

Resonance Rotation

Mercury's atmosphere is primarily made up of what element?

It has no atmosphere

What type of magnetic field does Mercury have?

Weak

T/F The Moon's mass is roughly 1.2 percent the mass of the Earth

True

What is the diameter of the moon?

One fourth of the Earth's

What are the dark, smooth, basalts on the Moon's surface called?

Maria

What is the Moon's most prominent affect on Earth?

All of the above

What causes the craters on the moon?

Rocks and comets striking the surface

Which of the following causes the moon's orbit to speed up?

Tidal Interactions

How much sunlight bounces off of the Moon?

7%

Which of the following is true?

Thinner on the Earth side

What is the unusual movement of the moon?

Synchronized Rotation

What is different about the moons core compared to the earths core?

The moon has a cooler core

What is the moons atmosphere made up of?

No atmosphere

The moon has what fraction of Earth's gravity?

1/6

What does the surface of Venus consist of?

Smooth Volcanic Planes

Why is Venus so hot?

The thick atmosphere traps heat and creates a runaway greenhouse effect

What planet is so similar to Earth that they can be considered sister planets?

Venus

What is the surface of Venus like?

Rocky and covered with craters, mountains, and volcanoes

How long does it take Venus to rotate once?

243 Earth Days

What is Venus' atmosphere primarily made of?

Carbon Dioxide

Why doesn't Venus have a strong magnetic field?

It's slow overall rotation

What is the hottest planet in our solar system?

Venus

T/F Venus' surface is hidden by a thick cloud layer of salicylic acid

False

Venus has how many moons?

0

Which surface feature of Venus contains Maxwell Montes, its largest mountain?

Isthar Terra

All but one of the following have been observed on Venus, providing evidence of volcanic activity there. Which one has NOT been observed?

Actively erupting volcanoes

What is Venus' largest highlands called?

Aphrodite Terra

How much greater is Venus' air pressure than Earth's?

About 90 times greater

T/F Venus spins slowly counterclockwise and is the sister planet to Mercury

False

Venus exhibits what kind of motion?

Very slow retrograde

Venus' probe is named

Magellan

What is the frozen portion of a comet

Nucleus

The term exoplanet describes which of the following?

A planet that orbits a star outside the solar system

Asteroid compositions are inferred from the measurement of the following parts of the spectrum EXCEPT which part

Radio

Which object is referred to as a "dirty snowball"?

Comet

T/F Density tells you more about the planet than any other thing

True

A comet's tail is longest when?

As the comet gets closer to the sun

The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of…

Mars and Jupiter

How many exoplanets do we know of?

Over 5000

Which spacecraft landed on an asteroid, collected a sample, and returned to Earth?

Hayabusa 2

How can we tell if there are Exoplanets around Stars?

Through the transit spectroscopy

What is the primary composition of most asteroids in our solar system?

Rock and metal

Haley's comet completes its orbit once every ______ years

76

What is the terrestrial object Bennu?

An asteroid formed around the same time as Earth

When was Pluto demoted to a dwarf planet

2006

What is the biggest Dwarf Planet in the Solar System

Eris

Pluto is the size of which two states?

Oklahoma and Texas