SMT 314 - Introduction to Cosmology » Fall 2020 » HW9

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Question #1
At the present time, most of the known exoplanets or exoplanet candidates have been found by using
A.   the transit method
B.   the Doppler-wobble method
C.   direct imaging
D.   astrometric measurements
E.   gravitational microlensing
Question #2
Suppose exoplanets Vladamir and Alexandra both orbit the same star. The orbital period of exoplanet Vladimir is eight times longer than that of exoplanet Alexandra. Compared with exoplanet Alexandra, exoplanet Vladimir is _________ its star.
A.   the same distance to
B.   farther from
C.   closer to
D.   now way to tell with available data
Question #3
Why do our planets all orbit about the star in the same plane?
A.   The planets accreted from a disk of gas and dust orbiting the star.
B.   The spin axes of the star and planets always point in the same direction.
C.   Planets are attracted to each other.
D.   Everything must have the same spin.
Question #4
The Jovian planets are large compared with the terrestrial planets, because the giant planets
A.   obtained and retained more gas and ice because of their large distance from the Sun
B.   have many moons
C.   have higher densities
D.   formed by the same process as the Sun and are considered to be miniature stars
E.   did not suffer as many major, destructive collisions as the terrestrial planets (like Earth, when the Moon formed).
Question #5
What are Goldilocks planets?
A.   planets with a rocky surface
B.   planets 1 AU from their star
C.   planets that could have liquid water
D.   none of these choices
E.   all of these choices
F.   planets with an oxygen atmosphere
Question #6
Most exoplanets have already been found with the astrometric method, in which a star's measured position in the sky moves back and forth very slightly.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #7
The period Doppler-shift method (aka Doppler-Wobble or Radial Velocity Methods) is biased toward finding planets whose orbital plane is along the line of sight, rather than closer to the plane of the sky (aka the polar view).
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #8
The ___________ satellite found a huge number of transiting exoplanet candidates.
A.   Io
B.   Callisto
C.   Kuiper
D.   Kepler
Question #9
Theories of the formation of the Solar System suggest that planets formed through the accumulation of ______________, much smaller bodies.
A.   planetesimals 
B.   meteoroids
C.   asteroids
D.   protoplanets
Question #10
A spinning, collapsing cloud of gas and dust (solar nebula) forms a disk because of
A.   gravitational microlensing
B.   terrestrial planets
C.   exoplanet
D.   angular momentum
Question #11
It is currently thought that most of the water on Earth is from asteroids that fell to Earth, during the
A.   ignition of the Sun
B.   late heavy bombardment
C.   formation of the Jovian Planets
D.   formation of the protosun

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