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astro 1 unit 1 exam > Unit 2 Exam > Flashcards

Unit 2 Exam Flashcards

1
Q

Planets revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits with the sun as one focus of the ellipse

A

Kepler’s First Law

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2
Q

What best describes the orbit of the Earth around the Sun
A)An ellipse that is close to being circular
B) a perfect circle
C) a very elongated ellipse
D) an oscillation along a line
E) None of the above.

A

A

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3
Q

Which of the following best supports Kepler’s Second Law
A)When a planet is closer to the Sun, its speed is greater than when it is farther away
B) When a planet is closer away from the Sun, its speed is less than when it is farther away
C) Planets move at a constant speed in their orbit around the Sun
D) A Planets speed is directly proportional to its distance from the Sun
E) None of the above.

A

A

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4
Q

How did Kepler himself originally state his second law?
A)The speed of a Planet in its orbit is directly proportional to its distance from the Sun
B) The speed of a Planet in its orbit is inversely proportional to its distance from the Sun
C) All planets move at a constant speed in their orbit around the Sun
D) A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time
E) All of the above

A

D

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5
Q

What was Kepler’s Third Law?
A) The farther away a planet is from the Sun, the shorter the time it takes for it to complete one orbit around the Sun
B) The cube of the time period of the planets orbit is proportional to the square of its average distance from the Sun (P^3 is proportional to a^2)
C) The square of the time period for an orbit of a planet is proportional to cube of its average distance from the Sun(in other words P^2 is proportional to a^3)
D) The time period for an orbit of a planet is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the Sun( in other words P is proportional to a^3)
E) The closer a planet is to the Sun, the longer a time it takes for it to complete one orbit around the Sun

A

C

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6
Q

Saturn is about 10 times as far from the Sun as Earth is (a= 10AU, roughly). About how many times does Earth orbit the Sun in the times it takes Saturn to orbit just once?
A) About 3
B) About 5
C) About 10
D) About 20
E) About 30

A

E

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7
Q

Besides, the discovery that moons orbit Jupiter, what other discovery made by Galileo Galilei, with an early telescope, proved that the Earth is not at the center of the Universe
A) the discovery of Pluto
B) the discovery of Neptune
C) the discovery that the Earth is rotating
D) the phases of Venus
E) the discovery that the Moon orbits the Earth

A

D

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8
Q

We saw that Kepler’s 3rd law states that P^2/a^3= constant. What does P represent in this equation
A) orbital period, in this case how long it takes for a satellite to orbit Jupiter
B) semimajor axis, in this case half the longest axis crossing the ellipse on which a satellite orbits Jupiter
C) pulsing timescale, in this case the length of time the satellite spends behind Jupiter
D) semiminor or axis, in this case half the shortest axis crossing the ellipse in which a satellite orbits Jupiter

A

A

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9
Q

Of the four Galilean moons which is closest to Jupiter?
A) lo
B) Europa
C) Callisto
D) Ganymede

A

A

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10
Q

Which moon of Jupiter is believed to have a liquid ocean beneath a layer of ice?
A) lo
B) Europa
C) Callisto
D) Ganymede

A

B

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11
Q

Which moon of Jupiter is the largest?
A) lo
B) Europa
C) Callisto
D) Ganymede

A

D

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12
Q

Which of the following statements can be said about Venus?
A) Venus had a very slow speed of rotation
B) It is always nighttime on Venus, leaving it very cold on the surface
C) Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth is
D) All of the above are true
E) Only A and C are true

A

E

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13
Q

Which along the following scenarios will be true for someone watching the sky from the Venus surface?
A) The Sun would rise in the east and set in the west
B) The Sun would rise in the west and set in the east
C) The Sun would remain in place, not moving east or west
D) The Sun would always be eclipsed by the planet Mercury
E) None of the above are true

A

B

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14
Q

Craters on Venus:
A) are about the same size and structure to those on Earth, Moon, and Mars
B) are much larger in size than those on Earth, Moon, and Mars
C) are much smaller in size than those on Earth, Moon, and Mars
D) are never apparent because of the large amounts of volcanic activity

A

B

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15
Q

Volcanos on Venus:
A) produce very large lava flows that cover at least 85% of the planet’s surface
B) were never important in the planet’s geological history
C) are not common, with only two apparent on its whole surface
D) are much less active than volcanos on Earth and Mars

A

A

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16
Q

Where do mountains on Earth come from?
A) Rain of debris from meteorites and comets falls in some places more than others, and builds up into mountains
B) The Earth is made up of molten rock and metals, and regions with opposite electrical charged attract each other and form peaks
C) The Earth formed by an irregular processes and that is just the way that it was shaped when the molten rock cooled into place
D) In some locations, plates of rock on the planet’s surface press together and the plates rise together
E) The Moon’s gravity pulls some layers up into mountain ranges

A

D

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17
Q

From what was described, where are aurorae likely to be seen most frequently?
A) Equally likely anywhere on Earth
B) At locations along the equator
C) At locations near the poles
D) They can only be seen from Earth orbit, not on the surface

A

C

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18
Q

What is NOT true about Earth’s atmosphere?
A) It contains 78% nitrogen
B) It shields us from harmful ultra-violet radiation coming from the Sun
C) It protects us from meteors(chucks of rock falling to Earth, known as shooting stars) since they burn up in the atmosphere before reaching Earth
D) It has more Carbon Dioxide than Venus, so it is heated more than Venus by the Greenhouse effect

A

D

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19
Q

What is ozone?
A) A mixture of many chemical elements, including nitrogen, magnesium, carbon, and silicon, that block ultraviolet light
B) single oxygen atoms in the atmosphere (O)
C) two oxygen atoms bonded together into a single molecule(O2)
D) Three oxygen atoms bonded together into a single molecule( O3)
E) Carbon monoxide molecules(CO)

A

D

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20
Q

What would happen if the ozone layer were completely destroyed?
A) X-rays and gamma rays would no longer get through the atmosphere
B) Meteorites would be able to fall through the atmosphere and would destroy life of all types
C) Optical and infrared light would not longer get through the Earth’s atmosphere, and plants couldn’t grow
D) Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun would get through the atmosphere and cause damage to life
E) Radio waves would no longer get through the Earth’s atmosphere and we would have difficulty with communications

A

D

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21
Q

Why is Venus’ day so long?
A) Because Venus’ year is longer than a year on Earth
B) No one knows the reason
C) Venus’ rotation time is very short compared to the time it takes to go once around the Sun
D) Venus’ rotation time is very long compared to the times it takes to go once around the Sun

A

D

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22
Q

The Greenhouse effect:
A) is larger on Venus than on Earth
B) is smaller on Venus than on Earth
C) cannot exist because Venus had no atmosphere
D) is sometimes larger than on Earth and sometimes smaller

A

A

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23
Q

The densities of the four Terrestrial planets are similar to each other. This means:
A) they are approximately the same temperature
B) they have the same surface gravities
C) they have approximately the same radii
D) they have approximately the same mass
E) they are made of similar substances

A

E

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24
Q

A meteor shower can occur when:
A) Earth’s orbit crosses a trail of debris left behind from a comet
B) Earth passes through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
C) many stars pass near the Sun at the same time and shoot through the sky
D) shooting stars reach stable orbits around the Earth and orbit for some time

A

A

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25
Q

Most meteors:
A) are visible every night at around the same time for a couple of years
B) are very small (centimeters) pieces of rock burning in the Earth’s atmosphere
C) appear as streaks of light in the sky when observed from Earth because of the heating from the Sun
D) eventually become comets

A

B

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26
Q

A comet’s nucleus is composed of:
A) dust, dry ice, and water ice
B) iron and silicates
C) just iron
D) gases, including mostly hydrogen and helium

A

A

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27
Q

The material in a meteorite is:
A) mostly gases and vapors from the Sun
B) unknown since scientists have never been able to collect one
C) a few thousand years old
D) roughly as old as the Solar System

A

D

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28
Q

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Jovian planets?
A) They all have many moons
B) They have a higher density than the Terrestrial planets
C) They are larger than terrestrial planets
D) They are farther from the Sun and farther apart from each other

A

B

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29
Q

Which planet has a moon with many sulfur volcanoes?
A) Earth
B) Jupiter
C) Saturn
D) Mars
E) Venus

A

B

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30
Q

Which planets have a rocky, relatively dense composition?
A) Jupiter, Saturn, Earth, and Mars
B) Uranus, Neptune, Earth, and Mars
C) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
D) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

A

D

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31
Q

Which of the following statements is FALSE?
A) Jupiter’s moon lo does not have any volcanic activity
B) All Jovian planets have a ring system
C) The surface of Europa is completely covered by water ice
D) Saturn has one large moon, Titan, which has a substantial atmosphere of its own
E) Water ice predominates on Saturn’s moons

A

A

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32
Q

What properties characterize all the Jovian planets? ( compared to Terrestrial planets)
A) many moons, large size, low densities
B) many moons, large size, high densities
C) few moons, large size, high densities
D) few moons, small size, low densities
E) many moons, small size, high densities

A

A

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33
Q

Which statement about the rotation of the Inner planets is true?
A: Venus rotates in the opposite direction from the three others.
B: All rotate in the same direction.
C: The rotation periods of all of them are the same, i.e. 1 Earth day.
D: All have rotation periods of 365 Earth days.
E: All have rotation periods about equal to their periods to orbit the Sun.

A

A

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34
Q

Which of the following is TRUE?
A: The average surface temperature of Venus is about 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
B: Mercury has a very thick atmosphere made mostly of carbon dioxide.
C: The runaway greenhouse effect causes the present temperatures on Mars to
exceed those on Earth.
D: Mercury rotates exactly one and a half times for every one revolution around
the Sun.
E: Venus has no volcanos on its surface.

A

D

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35
Q

Why do the orbits of the planets all lie in nearly the same plane?
A: Collisions between planetesimals destroyed all planets that would have been
elsewhere.
B: The Sun’s gravity forced them into these orbits.
C: The early solar nebula flattened into a disk.
D: The angular momentum of the solar system was kept to a minimum this way.
E: This happened purely by chance.

A

C

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36
Q

Of these choices, which planet has the most moons?
A: Earth
B: Mercury
C: Saturn
D: Mars
E: Venus

A

C

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37
Q

Venus is visible to us:
A: only near sunrise or sunset.
B: only during the several hours around midnight.
C: only in the winter.
D: only in the summer.
E: only during its new phase.

A

A

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38
Q

A planet is in orbit around the Sun. The semimajor axis of the orbit is
5 Astronomical Units (AU).
Use P 2
= a 3 to calculate the period of the orbit in years.
A: 5 years
B: 0.2 years
C: 135 years
D: 125 years
E: 11.2 years

A

E

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39
Q

How do most craters on moons form?
A: by volcanic activity
B: running water
C: by seismic activity (earthquakes)
D: earthquakes
E: impact of asteroids

A

E

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40
Q

Which is largest?
A: Saturn’s moon Mimas
B: Mercury
C: Saturn’s moon Iapetus
D: Pluto
E: Jupiter’s moon Ganymede

A

E

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41
Q

Which planet has a temperature of 800 degrees Fahrenheit on the side facing the
Sun and -290 degrees Fahrenheit on the side opposite the Sun?
A: Mars
B: Venus
C: Earth
D: Jupiter
E: Mercury

A

E

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42
Q

How many Earth years does it take Uranus to orbit the Sun?
A: 84
B: 1
C: 0.48
D: 2.4
E: 0.27

A

A

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43
Q

Meteors are
A: asteroids or comet debris that passes into Earth’s atmosphere and burns up
B: a group of rocky objects between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn
C: comets that are vaporized when they pass very close to the Sun
D: comets that escape the Solar System without being vaporized by the Sun
E: a group of rocky objects between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

A

A

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44
Q

Which feature of Neptune is most responsible for its blue color?
A: methane in its atmosphere
B: auroral activity due to its strong magnetic field
C: excess energy emitted by the interior
D: winds blowing at speeds almost that of sound
E: large oceans covering most of the surface

A

A

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45
Q

Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A: Neither Uranus or Neptune have ring systems.
B: The planet Uranus is blue-green and virtually featureless.
C: There is no evidence to suggest that either Jupiter or Saturn has a liquid
metallic or rocky core beneath its gas layers.
D: The Great Red Spot is a dust storm near the South polar cap of Mars.
E: Jupiter’s solid surface lies just below the cloud layers visible from Earth.

A

B

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46
Q

The surface of Venus is hotter than the surface of Mercury because
A: Venus is closer to the Sun than Mercury.
B: Mercury’s atmosphere prevents radiation from penetrating through to its
surface.
C: of the volcanic activity that occurs on Venus.
D: Venus is more massive and is able to retain a thick atmosphere.
E: Venus is smaller than Mercury so it does not require so much energy to heat
it.

A

D

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47
Q

Which of the following is moving fastest in the orbit?
A: Venus at its perihelion (closest point to Sun)
B: Venus at its aphelion (farthest point from Sun)
C: Mars at its perihelion (closest point to Sun)
D: Mars at its aphelion (farthest point from Sun)
E: Neptune at its aphelion (farthest point from Sun)

A

A

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48
Q

Which of the following is FALSE?
A: Venus has a density of 5.2 grams per cubic centimeter
B: All Terrestrial planets have densities much higher than the density of water
C: Saturn has a density of 4.8 grams per cubic centimeter, similar to metals like
aluminum and iron
D: The density of Jupiter is 1.3 grams per cubic centimeter, similar to the
density of milk.
E: The density of Mercury is greater than the density of Uranus.

A

C

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49
Q

Which of the following is the cause of aurora?
A: collisions of plates on Earth that float on the surface of denser fluid below
B: Greenhouse gases that trap infrared radiation inside an atmosphere
C: The ozone layer that prevents UV radiation from entering an atmosphere
D: Rapid spinning of a planet that mixes up its magnetic field lines
E: Solar wind particles that hit the atmosphere of a planet

A

E

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50
Q

Which of the following objects have a dark/black sky even in the daytime?
A: both Venus and Mars
B: both Mercury and Mars
C: both the Moon and Earth
D: both the Moon and Mercury
E: both Earth and Titan

A

D

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51
Q

Which of the following is the largest distance?
A: the distance from Jupiter to Saturn
B: the distance from the Sun to the Earth
C: the distance from the Earth to the Moon
D: the distance from Earth to Mars
E: the distance from Mercury to Venus

A

A

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52
Q

Which of the following statement is TRUE?
A: Io, Earth, and Triton have active volcanoes.
B: Mercury and the Moon have thick atmospheres.
C: Mars has more moons than Neptune does.
D: The Great Red Spot is a hurricane on Uranus, one hundred times the size of
the Earth.
E: Methane gives Jupiter its reddish/orange color.

A

A

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53
Q

Which of the following is NOT required in order to classify a Solar System object as
a planet (instead of a dwarf planet)?
A: It must not be a moon around another object.
B: It must be massive enough to be nearly round.
C: It must orbit the Sun.
D: It must clear the region around its orbit.
E: It must be larger than all of the moons in the Solar System?

A

E

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54
Q

Which of the following planets rotates the slowest?
A: Jupiter
B: Saturn
C: Neptune
D: Venus
E: Uranus

A

D

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55
Q

Which planet looks the most like the Moon?
A: Mercury
B: Venus
C: Neptune
D: Uranus
E: Mars

A

A

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56
Q

If you know the orbital period and the semimajor axis of the orbit of one of Saturn’s
moons, what could you determine?
A: Saturn’s radius
B: Saturn’s density
C: the Sun’s radius
D: Saturn’s mass
E: the distance from Saturn to the Sun

A

D

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57
Q

Which is NOT a characteristic of a comet?
A: tails point away from the Sun
B: tails become more prominent when comet is close to the Sun
C: highly elliptical orbit
D: most orbit the Sun in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
E: they move slowly across the sky

A

D

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58
Q

What is the distance between the Earth and the Sun?

A

1 Astronomical Unit

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59
Q

Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model of the universe, replacing the geocentric model. Heliocentric means whereas geocentric means?

A

Sun-centered
Earth-centered

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60
Q

A planet orbits the Sun at a distance of 5 AU. How long is its orbital period?
What planet is this in the picture below?
A: 5 years
B: 11.2 years
C: 15.2 years
D: 25 years
E: 125 years

A

B

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61
Q

A planet takes 3 years to orbit the Sun. How far from the Sun does it orbit?
A: 1 AU
B: 2.08 AU
C: 3.08 AU
D: 9 AU
E: 9.7 AU

A

B

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62
Q

Mercury has a … mass and … gravity than Earth. It is similar in mass and radius to …

A

smaller
less
Mars

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63
Q

Temperatures on Mercury are extremely … on the day side and extremely … on the night side

A

high
low

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64
Q

Mercury’s lack of an … disrupts its ability to distribute heat evenly around the planet (retain heat on the night side) and also causing the sky to appear black(being able to see in to deep space) even in the daytime - except for the exact position of the Sun

A

atmosphere

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65
Q

Mercury has … craters like the …

A

many
Moon

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66
Q

Mercury has a few permanently-shadowed craters near the … that is… enough all the time to as to hold persistent … deposits; shadows in other craters may be …, even on the hot/daytime side

A

poles
cold
ice
cold

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67
Q

Mercury rotates very … (… Earth days to rotate) and has a … year (… Earth days to orbit the Sun)

A

slowly, 59
short, 88

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68
Q

Mercury’s average density is … grams per cubic centimeter, similar to … and …

A

5
metals and rocks

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69
Q

What is the closet planet to the Earth?

A

Venus

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70
Q

What planet is visible in the western sky in the evenings near the Sun, and in the eastern sky just before sunrise; looks like a very bright star

A

Venus

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71
Q

Venus is slightly … than Earth

A

smaller (mass is 82% and radius is 95% that of Earth)

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72
Q

Venus’ rotation is in the … direction to its orbit around the Sun

A

opposite(clockwise when viewed from above)

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73
Q

Venus has a rotational period … than its year ( … days vs … Earth day year)

A

longer (243 days vs 225 Earth day year)

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74
Q

Venus’ long rotational period and shorter year leads to a day/night cycle of about … Earth days. Also, the Sun travels … to … across the sky

A

117
west to east (backwards)

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75
Q

Venus has a … atmosphere with … acid clouds ( mostly …) of gases produced by … outgassing, but not dissolved in ocean like on Earth

A

dense
sulfuric acid
carbon dioxide
volcanic

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76
Q

Venus has a very … surface, because of large amounts of … gases in its atmosphere

A

hot ( > 700 K hotter than Mercury)
greenhouse

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77
Q

The Density of Venus is similar to Mercury at … grams per cubic centimeter made of … and …

A

5.2
metals/rock

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78
Q

Venus has active …, with huge … and …, some large craters, but small meteors burn up in the thick atmosphere before they can impact to leave small craters

A

volcanoes, lava flows and channels

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79
Q

Earth has a fairly … atmosphere, mostly composed of … and … molecules causing the sky to appear bright during the daytime

A

thick
nitrogen and oxygen

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80
Q

What is caused by solar wind particles that hit atmospheric gas and lead to emission of different colors’; they are prominent near the north and south poles of Earth?

A

Aurora

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81
Q

What are rocky plates on the surface of Earth that float on denser but more-fluid rocky material, and move around - leading to continental drift, … caused by collisions of these; sliding past each other causes faults, quakes?

A

plate tectonics
mountains

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82
Q

The ozone layer is how many oxygen atoms bonded together in the stratosphere at 6-30 miles above the surface?

A

3

83
Q

The ozone layer protects Earth from … … …; can be destroyed by certain gases produced by human activity

A

solar UV radiation

84
Q

What is it called when energy from the Sun heats Earth when Earth’s atmosphere recaptures the heat and redistributes it back on Earth.

A

“Greenhouse Effect”

85
Q

Order of the planet going outward

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

86
Q

This contains several dwarf planets like Pluto and numerous short-period comets, and is outside of the eight planets

A

Kuiper Belt

87
Q

What is outside of the eight planets and the Kuiper Belt that contains a large number of long-period comets and a large number of other small, icy objects

A

diffuse Oort cloud

88
Q

Object that is grayish in color, has numerous craters, but does not have prominent maria

A

Mercury

89
Q

Object that is bright, yellowish, and cloud-covered(no sharp features visible), not a gas giant because it does not have rings

A

Venus

90
Q

Object that has blue seas, green and tan landmasses, bright patchy white clouds

A

Earth

91
Q

Object that is grayish and cratered, and with distinctive large dark maria, the remains of old lava flows that covered large patches of its surface

A

Luna(Earths moon)

92
Q

Object that is the color of rust, has whitish ice caps at its poles, many craters, some prominent old volcanoes, some large valleys, but no significant surface water

A

Mars(“The Red Planet”)

93
Q

Object that is distinctly non-spherical, dull gray and pitted with craters

A

Vesta(an asteroid)

94
Q

Object with distinctive stormy stripes, cloud bands in different colors(red or brown or white or blue-ish), has the Great Red Spot in its southern hemisphere

A

Jupiter

95
Q

An object that is closet to Jupiter has active sulfur volcanoes caused by “tidal heating” from Jupiter, which lends to its yellow color with black specks

A

Jupiter’s moon, Lo

96
Q

An object with a pale tan/white color covered in fine cracks, very smooth-looking compared to other cratered objects, ice movement wiped the craters out; liquid water ocean below icy crust

A

Jupiter’s moon, Europa

97
Q

An object with an odd marbled look, alternating dark and light areas, and some bright white spots highlighting recent cratering events, the largest moon in the Solar System(larger than Mercury), icy crust

A

Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede

98
Q

An object that is generally darker and more cratered(many young craters) the largest crater is surrounded by what resembles frozen water ripples(ice body melted from large impact, then re-froze), farthest out of the four large Galilean moons

A

Jupiter’s moon, Callisto

99
Q

An object with a Large ring system, central object is tan-colored and has long-stretched cloud bands, but less color contrast between them than on Jupiter

A

Saturn

100
Q

An object that is a saturated orange color, complete cloud cover; cannot see sharp surface features, no rings

A

Saturn’s moon, Titan

101
Q

An object with a distinctive deep blue-green color, generally few visible cloud features, a wide ring system, but individual rings are very dark and thin, with clear gaps between them, tipped nearly on its side

A

Uranus

102
Q

An object that is dull and gray, few large craters and instead of an oddly-jumbled striped look, as if it had broken up and been sloppily reassembled at some point, kind of wrinkled look

A

Uranus’ moon, Miranda

103
Q

An object with a dark and deep blue color, few visible dark storm and cloud features, smaller ring system than Uranus with just a few thin dark rings

A

Neptune

104
Q

An object that is similar to Miranda with an odd mix of different colors and textures over patches of its surface, looks more “bumpy” instead of cratered like other moons

A

Neptune’s moon, Triton

105
Q

An object that is a tiny “icy dwarf”, that orbits the center of gravity of its system with the proportionally-large moon, Charon

A

Pluto

106
Q

When was the Solar System formed?

A

4.5 billion years ago

107
Q

What started the Solar System?

A

Cloud of gas and dust, collapsed due to its own gravity

108
Q

What are comets made of?

A

Ice(water and dry ice) and dust, remnants of Solar System formation

109
Q

True of False: Comets produce light of their own

A

False, they shine by reflected sunlight

110
Q

Describe the orbit of comets

A

A highly-elliptical orbit that takes them far from the Sun, spending most of their time in the outer reaches of the Solar System, zipping by the inner Solar System and travel back out very quickly

111
Q

How would you describe the speed of a comet from the perspective on Earth?

A

They travel slowly across the sky

111
Q

A famous short-period comet that returns every 76 years- last visit to the inner Solar System was in 1986; the next return will be in 2061

A

Halley’s Comet

111
Q

Short period comets have periods of…

A

less than 200 years

111
Q

Long-period comets have periods that can be … years and come from the …, as much as 50,000 AU from the Sun

A

1,000s
Oort cloud

112
Q

Asteroids are remnants of the Solar Systems formation. What are they made of?

A

Rocks left over when the planets formed

113
Q

Where are most asteroids located?

A

In the “Asteroid Belt” between Mars and Jupiter

114
Q

What are the major types of asteroids?

A

carbon-rich, metallic, and silicate(stony)

115
Q

How large of comets?

A

A few kilometers in size

116
Q

Describe the orbit of asteroids.

A

slightly elliptical and move very slowly across the sky to a viewer on Earth

117
Q

How are we able to see asteroids?

A

reflected sunlight; they do not shine visibly on their own

118
Q

What is the average size of an asteroid.

A

most are less than 1 kilometer in size, but some are bigger

119
Q

When do asteroids lead to meteors?

A

When they intersect Earth’s orbit

120
Q

How are meteors created?

A

Tiny dust particles or grains (less than a centimeter in size) rapidly burn up in Earth’s atmosphere; pieces of Solar System debris

121
Q

How do meteors move in the sky?

A

They streak across the sky very quickly (“shooting/falling stars”) at up to a hundred thousand kilometers per hour

122
Q

very bright meteor due to larger-than-usual chunk of debris

A

a “fireball”

123
Q

a piece of meteor that survives atmospheric entry, hits Earth’s surface

A

a “meteorite”

124
Q

Besides meteors that occur when an asteroid crosses Earth’s orbit, how else can they occur?

A

When Earth passes through a cloud of debris left behind by a comet passing through the inner Solar System

125
Q

Halley’s Comet is responsible for what annual meteor shower?

A

Orionids

126
Q

True or False: Asteroid collisions are more common now than in the younger Solar System

A

False

127
Q

65 million years ago a large meteor collision with Earth contributed to the extinction of what species? What was the greater cause of extinction in comparison to the initial impact itself?

A

dinosaurs (“K/T event”)
dust and smoke in the atmosphere

127
Q

How large does Jupiter’s mass compare to Earth? Radius?

A

300 times the mass of Earth
11 times the radius of Earth

128
Q

The density of Jupiter is … grams per cubic centimeter (about as dense as …)

A

1.3
milk

129
Q

True or False: Jupiter has a small ring system

A

True

130
Q

What is Jupiter made mostly of?

A

Hydrogen and Helium(with ammonia, methane, and water vapor present leading to Jupiter’s stripey, swirling appearance)

131
Q

A giant storm larger than Earth that has lasted for at least 300 years on Jupiter with wind speeds up to 360 km/hr

A

the “Great Red Spot”

132
Q

Jupiter rotates … (once every … …) which stretches the clouds into long bands

A

rapidly
10 hours

133
Q

How long does it take Jupiter to orbit the Sun

A

12 Earth years

134
Q

True of False: Interior temperatures and pressures get very low, deep inside Jupiter’s gaseous body

A

False; they get very high, hydrogen gets compressed into a liquid-metallic form, and its center is likely to have a rocky/metallic core

135
Q

Magnetic fields on Jupiter are … … … than Earth’s due to the rotating liquid-metallic-region; interaction between this magnetic field, the solar wind, and Jupiter’s atmosphere leads to aurora, like we see on Earth

A

10 times stronger

136
Q

Methane converting o carbon soot, and high pressures inside Jupiter can compress that into what? Leading to “?” in Jupiter’s atmosphere

A

Diamonds
Diamond rain

137
Q

What were the 3 speculative creatures that were proposed to live in Jupiter’s atmosphere called?

A

sinkers, floaters, and hunters

138
Q

How many moons does Jupiter have?

A

More than 50 moons

139
Q

Why was it important to discover Jupiter’s four largest moons were orbiting Jupiter?

A

Helped demonstrate that Earth is not the center of Universe

140
Q

The four largest moons of Jupiter are called the “?”

A

Galilean moons because they were discovered by Galileo

141
Q

Galileo discovered Saturn’s rings(although he did not know what they were, at the time), what are the rings composed of?

A

incredibly thin, made of trillions of individual dusty water-ice crystals, of various sizes

141
Q

How many moons does Saturn have? Which is the largest?

A

more than 50
Titan (Second-largest moon in the Solar System)

142
Q

How does Saturn’s mass and diameter compared to Earth?

A

Mass is about 100 x larger
Diameter is about 10x larger

143
Q

What is Saturn’s density? Which is less than …?

A

0.7 grams per cubic centimeter
water

144
Q

True or False: Saturn and Earth have similar tilts

A

True

145
Q

Like Jupiter, Saturn is mostly made of … and …, clouds are arranged into … and …, but temperatures are … than on Jupiter

A

hydrogen and helium
belts and zones
cooler

146
Q

Titan has a very thick nitrogen-rich atmosphere like the young …, but perhaps too … for life.

A

Earth
cold

147
Q

What is the third-largest planet?

A

Uranus

148
Q

What is the orbital period of Uranus?

A

84 Earth years

149
Q

What is Uranus’ atmosphere made up of?

A

made of hydrogen and helium gas, with some methane too that gives it the blue-green color

150
Q

What is the core of Uranus like?

A

liquid, icy core surrounded by a smaller rocky core

151
Q

What does the axis of Uranus look like?

A

Nearly in plane of orbit around Sun (“Rolling on its side”)

152
Q

Why is Uranus axis on its side? What does this lead to?

A

Caused by collision early in its history
leads to continual near-darkness or light for 42 Earth years in a row, at its poles

153
Q

True or False: Uranus does not have rings

A

False; Uranus has many thin, faint, dark rings made of carbon “soot”

154
Q

How many moons does Uranus have? Which is one of the larger moons that are heavily cratered, with weird valleys and cliffs; appearance caused by the upwelling of ice?

A

27 known moons
Miranda

155
Q

What planet is similar to Uranus, but a deeper blue color, with an atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, and methane

A

Neptune

156
Q

What is the core of Neptune like?

A

solid core the size of the earth, surrounded by a mantle of semi-fluid ice

157
Q

Rapid winds and large storm/vortices on Neptune cause …?

A

Great Dark Spots (big storms that can come and go over the timescale of a decade)

158
Q

True or False: Neptune has a ring structure, faint and dark; made of slumps of dust

A

True

159
Q

How many moons does Neptune have? Which is the largest?

A

14
Triton (made of nitrogen and methane; rocky composition; reflective icy surface; ice volcanoes with liquid nitrogen, dust, or methane coming out of them)

160
Q

The unusual orbit of Triton suggests it may be captured by the …

A

Kuiper Belt

161
Q

How long is Pluto’s orbital period?

A

248 Earth- year

162
Q

How is Pluto’s orbital period different than the other 8 planets?

A

more highly elliptical, not in the same plane, briefly intersects the orbit of Neptune, icy ball of rock

163
Q

Pluto is very … compared to the planets, Earth’s Moon is … times as massive

A

small
7

164
Q

How many moons does Pluto have? Which is the largest?

A

5
Charon(over half diameter of Pluto)

165
Q

Why is Pluto not considered a “planet” anymore, because

A

(1) other similar objects were found farther from the Sun
(2) not like other outer planets/small; referred to as an “ice dwarf”, which are very abundant beyond the orbit of Neptune

166
Q

What is the disk-shaped region beyond Neptune, ranges 30-55 AU?

A

Kuiper belt

167
Q

What are the inner four Terrestrial (“Earth-like”/ rocky) planets

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars

168
Q

What are the outer four Jovian(“Jupiter-like”/gas giant) planets

A

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

169
Q

What group of planets are Earth-sized, or smaller, have long days(often much longer than an Earth day); slow rotation, short years, are close to the sun, pretty close to each other, have high densities, variable, but generally warner temperatures, no rings, and few or no moons?

A

Terrestrial (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)

170
Q

What group of planets are much larger than Earth-sized, have a short day(much less than an Earth day), long year, very far from the Sun, spaced very far apart, low densities, very cold temperatures, all have rings, and many moons

A

Jovian(“Gas Giants”) (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Neptune)

171
Q

What planet is the exception related to distance from the sun and temperature due to an especially strong greenhouse effect?

A

Venus

172
Q

What is it called when humans produce large amounts of greenhouse gases, leading to extra heating, beyond stabilized longer-term temperatures?

A

Global warming

173
Q

Light-colored features, heavily cratered, high peaks; geologically older; highlands uplifted from impacts in the early solar system are called …?

A

terra

174
Q

Dark-colored features , less cratered, valleys; geologically younger; filled by lava 1 to 4 billion years ago are called …?

A

maria

175
Q

What is the powdery dust and rocky debris that covers the Moon called? (Broken up by small meteorites hitting the Moon continuously)

A

Regolith

176
Q

Gouged-out areas from explosions, asteroids, or comets that hit the moon are called?

A

Impact craters

177
Q

The Moon rotates on its own axis with exactly the same … that it takes to travel once around the Earth; consequentially, the same side of the Moon always faces Earth; what is this known as?

A

period
“Tidal locking”

178
Q

True or False: The Moon lacks as much high-density material such as iron- no large iron core

A

True

179
Q

The moon is … diameter of Earth

A

1/4

180
Q

The Moons daytime sky is dark which means …?

A

It has no atmosphere

181
Q

Surface gravity is … times stronger on Earth than on the Moon.

A

6

182
Q

How was the Moon formed?

A

From a giant impact of a large object with Earth

183
Q

How do Mar’s days and nights compare in length to those on Earth?

A

They are similar

184
Q

Mars is about … Earth’s diameter and … Earth’s mass

A

1/2
1/10

185
Q

Greater than … spacecraft have visited Mars; rovers explored surface

A

12

186
Q

No thick atmosphere, but only a thin one on Mar’s causes its … sky; mostly made of … …; only modest Greenhouse effect because the atmosphere is so thin

A

orangish
carbon dioxide

187
Q

What is the average surface temperature of Mars?

A

-65 degrees celcius

188
Q

What gives the surface rocks on Mars their red color?

A

Iron Oxide (“rust”)

189
Q

What are Mar’s moons called?

A

Phobos and Deimos

190
Q

A large volcano on Mars is … times higher than Earth’s highest mountain. (dormant volcanos)

A

3

191
Q

The deepest canyon in the Solar System, on Mars, it about … times the size of the “Grand Canyon” on Earth

A

300

192
Q

True or False: water once existed on the surface of Mars but it is not flowing regularly there at present

A

True

193
Q

Water ice locked beneath Martian soil is called?

A

permafrosts

194
Q

True or False: Dust storms are uncommon on Mars, occasionally making it hard to see surface features

A

False

195
Q

Which planets have dense atmospheres?

A

Gas Giants( Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)

196
Q

Which planets have no atmosphere?

A

Mercury is the only planet without an atmosphere

197
Q

Which planets has thin atmospheres?

A

The Terrestrial planets except Mercury (Mars, Earth, Venus)

198
Q

Which planets have the “greenhouse effect”?

A

Earth and Gas Giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)

199
Q

Which planets have strong and weak surface gravities?

A

The Gas Giants have stronger surface gravities than the Terrestrial planets

astro 1 unit 1 exam (5 decks)

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