SMT 314 - Introduction to Cosmology » Fall 2020 » Exam 2
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Question #1
What is the Great Red Spot?
A.
a hurricane
B.
a volcanic eruption
C.
an atmospheric disturbance where a comet landed years ago.
D.
a tidal instability
Question #2
At mid-northern latitudes (California), the full moon passes higher in the sky in winter than in summer.
A.
TRUE
B.
FALSE
Question #3
What causes high tides on Earth's beaches?
A.
periodic sloshing of liquid water.
B.
gravitational attraction to astronomical objects
C.
ocean storms & weather
D.
none of these
Question #4
Which part of a comet "points" away from the Sun?
A.
ion tail
B.
coma
C.
nucleus
D.
dust tail
Question #5
Most known comets do not reappear in our sky very often because:
A.
orbits of comets are highly eccentric and their semimajor axes are large
B.
comets burn quite rapidly, using up all their fuel within a few decades
C.
comets are not gravitationally bound to our Solar System
D.
most comets only pass close to the Sun 2 or 3 times, and then they disintegrate
E.
it is impossible to tell when most comets will return close to the Sun
Question #6
What is most unusual about Uranus's rotation?
A.
The rotation axis is almost in line with the solar ecliptic
B.
The planet rotates once every 2/3 revolution about the Sun.
C.
The planet rotates once every 243 days, but the atmosphere rotates faster.
D.
The rotation is counter-clockwise.
Question #7
Exoplanets can sometimes be detected by monitoring the brightness of a star, and seeing the brightness decrease as the planet blocks part of the star's light.
A.
FALSE
B.
TRUE
Question #8
Which one of the following statements about the greenhouse effect, Venus, and Earth is false?
A.
No greenhouse effect currently occurs on Earth, and this is a good thing for humans.
B.
If we dump much more carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, Earth will become hotter because of the greenhouse effect.
C.
An extreme, possible runaway, greenhouse effect occurred on Venus, making its planetary surface the hottest in the Solar System.
D.
Venus's atmosphere is much thicker than that of Earth - but some of Earth's gases are trapped in rocks and oceans.
E.
The greenhouse effect occurs when an atmosphere is transparent to optical or visible light but translucent to infrared light, thus trapping the heat.
Question #9
Comets are made of mostly rocky material from the asteroid belt.
A.
TRUE
B.
FALSE
Question #10
Of the four terrestrial planets, Earth is the only one that now has obvious and on going plate tectonics.
A.
FALSE
B.
TRUE
Question #11
Which celestial body has a retrograde orbit?
A.
Venus
B.
Uranus
C.
Io
D.
Triton
Question #12
Jovian planets have rings because
A.
tidal forces prevent the material in rings from forming into moons
B.
there is too much material to have fit into the ball of each planet
C.
tidal forces cause volcanic eruptions on some moons, and part of this material subsequently escaped the gravity of the moons, forming the rings.
D.
their thick gaseous atmospheres would disintegrate any small rock that enter them
E.
Jovian planets rotate very rapidly, and some material near the equator of these planets was flung outward, forming the rings
Question #13
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 #14
Which part of a comet is always present, even when it is orbiting past Neptune's orbit?
A.
coma
B.
nucleus
C.
dust tail
D.
ion tail
Question #15
Which one of the statements about lunar eclipses is false?
A.
Lunar eclipses are predictable.
B.
At a given time, a total lunar eclipse is visible only from a small part of the Earth's surface.
C.
Lunar eclipses don't occur monthly, because the inclination of the Moon's orbit around the Earth relative to the Earth's orbit around the Sun.
D.
Total lunar eclipses last longer than total solar eclipses
E.
The Moon is still visible during a total lunar eclipse because of light going through the Earth's atmosphere.
Question #16
What are plate tectonics?
A.
continents shifting over a convecting mantle
B.
earthquake map
C.
Earth's mantle consists of stacked rock plates
D.
lava erupts at random
Question #17
Asteroids are:
A.
Any astronomical object.
B.
Meteorites falling on a radiant from the Perseid star cluster.
C.
Objects smaller than comets; most between Mars and Jupiter.
D.
Groupings of stars in the sky that are smaller than constellations.
Question #18
Which one of the following statements about the Jovian planets is false?
A.
They generally have the thickest atmospheres of all the planets in the Solar System
B.
They are the largest of all planets in the Solar System, with diameters up to nearly 1/10 the diameter of the Sun.
C.
They are the most massive of all the planets in the Solar System since they are mainly composed of heavy elements like iron.
D.
Despite their size, they rotate about their axis very rapidly, in fewer than 24 hours.
E.
They have many moons, probably due to their large gravitational fields.
Question #19
Which planet's orbit is elliptical enough that the seasons are not equal in length?
A.
Earth
B.
Venus
C.
Mars
D.
Uranus
Question #20
Rocky Planets have a higher proportion of heavier elements, like iron and nickel, and minerals than the Gas Giants.
A.
FALSE
B.
TRUE
Question #21
Which is a large moon of Jupiter?
A.
Luna
B.
Phobos
C.
Triton
D.
Ariel
E.
Io
Question #22
What is the dominant atmospheric gas of Jupiter?
A.
helium
B.
hydrogen
C.
nitrogen
D.
ammonia
E.
methane
Question #23
Which planet has the hottest surface temperature due to the predominantly carbon dioxide atmosphere and the "greenhouse" effect?
A.
Mars
B.
Jupiter
C.
Mercury
D.
Uranus
E.
Venus
Question #24
The currently accepted theory is that Earth's Moon was formed from:
A.
early solar system gas & dust
B.
a captured comet
C.
Sun ejecta
D.
a collision with a rogue planet
E.
a chunk broke off of the Earth
Question #25
Place celestial objects in order of increasing orbital period
A.
Kuiper Belt,Mercury,Earth,MarsVenus,Jupiter,Uranus,Neptune,Saturn,Asteroid Belt
B.
Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Asteroid Belt,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,Kuiper Belt
C.
Neptune,Saturn,Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Uranus,Kuiper Belt,Asteroid Belt
D.
Mercury,Asteroid Belt,Venus,Earth,Mars,Kuiper Belt,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,
Question #26
Place in order, from earliest to latest (oldest to youngest):
A.
Formation of the protosun,Formation of the Jovian Planets,Formation of the Terrestrial Planets,Ignition of the Sun,Late Heavy Bombardment
B.
Ignition of the Sun,Formation of the protosun,Formation of the Jovian Planets,Formation of the Terrestrial Planets,Late Heavy Bombardment
C.
Formation of the Jovian Planets,Formation of the Terrestrial Planets,Formation of the protosun,Ignition of the Sun,Late Heavy Bombardment
D.
Formation of the protosun,Ignition of the Sun,Formation of the Jovian Planets,Formation of the Terrestrial Planets,Late Heavy Bombardment
Question #27
The retrograde motion of Pluto can be attributed to the relatively high eccentricity of its orbit around the Sun, as compared normal planets.
A.
FALSE
B.
TRUE
Question #28
Which one of the following statements about the Earth-Moon system is true?
A.
By observing the Moon long enough from Earth, night after night, we are able to draw a map of its entire surface.
B.
The orbital period of the Moon around the Earth and the rotation period of the Moon around its axis are equal.
C.
High tide occurs on the side of the Earth nearest to the Moon, while low tide occurs on the opposite side of the Earth.
D.
The same half of the Moon's surface is perpetually dark (craters on that side never see sunlight), leading us to call it the "dark side of the Moon."
E.
At any given location on Earth, there are two high tides each day - one caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun, and the other by the gravitational pull of the Moon.
Question #29
Astronomers have observed that the Moon is more heavily cratered than the Earth. This is primarily because:
A.
the Moon is more distant than the Earth, causing incoming rocks to hit it first.
B.
the Moon experiences almost no erosion compared to the Earth, causing craters to remain much longer.
C.
the Moon has been around longer than the Earth and has been exposed to more periods of meteor bombardment.
D.
the Moon is much more deficient in iron relative to the Earth, causing craters to form more easily.
E.
the Moon experiences frequent volcanic eruptions that cause craters.
Question #30
What moon has a higher air pressure than Earth?
A.
Io
B.
Titan
C.
Europa
D.
Callisto
Question #31
At the present time, most of the known exoplanets or exoplanet candidates have been found by using
A.
gravitational microlensing
B.
the transit method
C.
direct imaging
D.
astrometric measurements
E.
the Doppler-wobble method
Question #32
Where are most asteroids located?
A.
randomly distributed throughout the solar system.
B.
among comets in the Oort cloud, beyond Neptune.
C.
tidally-disrupted icy rock debris between Mars and Jupiter.
D.
between the Sun and Mars.
Question #33
Why is Pluto no longer classified as a planet like the eight closer planets?
A.
It's orbit is not clear of other orbiting objects.
B.
It doesn't revolve about the Sun like planets.
C.
It fell into Neptune when their orbits crossed.
D.
If it was a distant planet, it would be a gas giant planet.
Question #34
Which terrestrial planet(s) has(have) substantial magnetic field(s).
A.
Venus
B.
Earth
C.
Mars
D.
Mercury
Question #35
Which celestial body has a retrograde rotation?
A.
Venus
B.
Triton
C.
Uranus
D.
Io
Question #36
Suppose exoplanets Luke and Leia both orbit the same star. The orbital period of exoplanet Luke is five times longer than that of exoplanet Leia. Compared with exoplanet Luke, exoplanet Leia is _________ to its star.
A.
closer
B.
now way to tell with available data
C.
farther
D.
the same distance
Question #37
Which one of the following statements about the giant planets in our Solar System is true?
A.
Of the four giant planets, only Saturn and Uranus have rings.
B.
Neptune and Uranus appear greenish blue because they are covered by a liquid water ocean
C.
Jupiter's volume is roughly 10 times Earth's volume
D.
The giant planets consist mostly of hydrogen and helium,
E.
Saturn's rings rotate as a solid body, like a bicycle wheel and its spokes; all particles have the same orbital period.
Question #38
Rings can only form on the outside of the Roche limit.
A.
TRUE
B.
FALSE
Question #39
From Earth, Mercury and Venus are only visible around dawn and dusk.
A.
TRUE
B.
FALSE
Question #40
Earth's Moon is _____________ Earth.
A.
older than
B.
the same age as
C.
younger than
Question #41
What are Goldilocks planets?
A.
planets with a rocky surface
B.
planets that could have liquid water
C.
planets 1 AU from their star
D.
all of these choices
E.
planets with an oxygen atmosphere
F.
none of these choices
Question #42
The rotation periods of the giant planets are all:
A.
many Earth days
B.
less than an hour
C.
less than an Earth day
D.
longer than an Earth day
Question #43
Through a telescope on Earth, we can sometimes see Jupiter and Saturn in their crescent phases, just as the Moon is sometimes a crescent.
A.
FALSE
B.
TRUE
Question #44
Which two planets have enough methane in their atmospheres to change the color of their atmospheres to a bluish/greenish color?,,
A.
Jupiter
B.
Uranus
C.
Saturn
D.
Neptune
Question #45
The retrograde motion of Venus across the sky:
A.
Is caused by the change in perspective as Venus catches up with, and passes, Earth while both planets orbit the Sun
B.
Was used by Galileo to explain the complete set of phases of Venus that he observed through his telescope
C.
Is caused by the gravitational tug of other planets on Venus
D.
Is caused by the motion of Venus along an epicycle whose center orbits the Sun
E.
Is caused by the "backward" rotation of Venus about its own axis
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