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Exploring the Cosmos 1X > Dec 2014 > Flashcards

Dec 2014 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the final stage in planetary formation?

A. Accretion. B. Coalescence. C. Condensation. D. Sublimation

A

B

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2
Q

Which gas if introduced to the sealed container of the Miller-Urey experiment slowly decreased the production of amino acids?

A. Argon. B. Nitrous Oxide. C. Carbon Dioxide. D. Ozone.

A

C

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3
Q

When did the fraction of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere start to rise?

A. 2.5 billion years ago.
B. 250 million years ago. C. 25 million years ago. D. 2.5 million years ago

A

A

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4
Q

If our sun were to become 10% dimmer, the habitable zone of our solar system would

A. No longer exist. B. Remain the same. C. Move closer to the sun. D. Move further from the sun.

A

C

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5
Q

Mars Exploration Rover “Opportunity” made which discovery?

A. The presence of Canals near the Martian polar ice caps. B. Finding the first meteor on another planet’s surface. C. The detection of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere. D. The discovery of the crashed Beagle 2 lander.

A

B

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6
Q

Which of the following statements about Europa is false?

A. Europa lies inside the habitable zone of our solar system. B. Europa’s surface is composed of water and methane ice. C. Europa’s surface is striated by cracks and streaks. D. Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core.

A

A

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7
Q

Which of the following is not a technique used to search for extra solar planets?

A. The Doppler Shift. B. Gravitational Lensing. C. Planetary Transit. D. Gamma Ray Detection

A

D

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8
Q

Which of the following terms does not appear in the Drake Equation?

A. The total number of stars in the galaxy. B. The fraction of stars about which stable planetary orbits can exist. C. The number of planets which emit radio signals. D. The fraction of a planet’s life for which a technological civilisation exists

A

C

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9
Q

What does the Fermi paradox refer to?

A. The lack of sign of alien life in our Universe. B. The frequency of a major meteorite event. C. The presence of bacterial life in high altitude lakes on Earth. D. The lack of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere

A

A

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10
Q

O’Neill colonies are

A. Colonies in space launched from the Moon. B. Colonies on planets remade in Earth’s image. C. Colonies found in acid lakes on Earth. D. Colonies formed around deep sea smokers.

A

A

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11
Q

Leap years are necessary because

A. The Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbit. B. The Moon always presents the same face to the Earth. C. The Earth’s orbital period is not an integer number of days. D. The Moon’s orbital period is not an integer number of weeks

A

C

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12
Q

From Saturn, roughly 10 times further away from the Sun than the Earth, the Sun appears about

A. 10 times fainter. B. 100 times fainter. C. 10 time brighter. D. 100 times brighter.

A

B

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13
Q

In New Orleans (latitude 30oN, longitude 90oW)

A. The Sun crosses the Local Meridian 6 hours before it does so in Greenwich. B. The Sun crosses the Local Meridian 2 hours before it does so in Greenwich. C. The Sun crosses the Local Meridian 2 hours after it does so in Greenwich. D. The Sun crosses the Local Meridian 6 hours after it does so in Greenwich

A

D

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14
Q

The thickness of a finger at arm’s length subtends an angle, in degrees, of about

A. 10. B. 5. C. 2.
D. 1.

A

D

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15
Q

Precession of the Earth’s axis results in

A. Changes in the obliquity of the ecliptic. B. Changes in the altitude of the north celestial pole. C. Different stars being ‘the pole star’ in different eras. D. Sunrise preceding moonrise.

A

C

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16
Q

Annular eclipses of the Sun occur

A. When the earth passes between the Moon and the Sun. B. Annually. C. When the moon passes between the earth and the sun at a relatively large distance from the earth. D. When the moon passes between the earth and the sun at a relatively small distance from the earth.

A

C

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17
Q

Planets differ from stars in that

A. Planets twinkle and move against the star background. B. Planets do not twinkle and do not move against the star background. C. Planets do not twinkle and move against the star background. D. Planets shine due to their high temperature

A

C

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18
Q

On a celestial sphere the Zenith is

A. Separated from the celestial pole by 90 degrees latitude. B. Directly overhead. C. The highest point reached by the Sun. D. On the celestial equator and the meridian

A

B

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19
Q

The sidereal (stellar) day is

A. Longer than the solar day. B. Shorter than the solar day. C. Longer/shorter than the solar day in summer/winter. D. The length of a day on the Moon

A

B

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20
Q

The Copernican System was in part rejected by Tycho Brahe because

A. Stars did not show the parallax expected from Earth motion round the Sun. B. Venus did not show a complete range of phases. C. Planets should not exhibit retrograde motion. D. The Moon shows phases.

A

A

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21
Q

When astronomers speak about “dwarf planets” in the solar system, they refer to:

A. The small terrestrial planets – as opposed to the “gas giants”.
B. The most important moons of the solar system. C. The likely end state of the terrestrial planets – once they have completely cooled. D. Nearly spherical celestial bodies in orbit around the Sun and which have not cleared their orbits from other planets.

A

D

22
Q

If the diameter of the Earth was 1, what would approximately be the diameters of Jupiter and of the Sun, respectively?

A. 1 and 100. B. 10 and 100. C. 10 and 1000. D. 100 and 1000.

A

B

23
Q

When clearing the young solar system from debris of its formation, gravity played a key role by A. Forcing the orbits of the planets to be at positions free of the presence of large debris. B. Forming new planets from a number of smaller aggregates. C. Ejecting large bodies toward the Sun, the edges of the solar system, or other planets. D. Removing or dispersing gas and dust remaining between the planets.

A

C

24
Q

Which of these statements about the magnetosphere of the Earth is incorrect?

A. The magnetosphere shields the Earth from the solar wind. B. The magnetosphere is under the ozone layer. C. The magnetosphere is compressed on the side of the Earth facing the Sun. D. The magnetosphere is a consequence of the large-scale magnetic field created by the dynamo effect in the Earth’s liquid core

A

B

25
Q

Earth is thought to have a liquid core because

A. The liquid core acts as the source for the lava given out by volcanoes. B. The presence of a liquid core explains the motions of tectonic plates on Earth’s surface. C. The presence of a liquid core is consistent with patterns of propagation of seismic waves. D. A liquid core is necessary to explain the presence of the ozone layer

A

C

26
Q

The maria on the Moon are thought to have been created by A. Tidal forces from the Earth deforming the shape of the Moon. B. A liquid core which would provide lava given out by volcanoes. C. The landing sites of exploration rovers. D. The lava flows resulting from fractures in the mantle following impacts by large comets

A

D

27
Q

One early indication that Mercury does not have an atmosphere comes from the observation that

A. Light from distant stars passing behind Mercury is blocked out by it abruptly. B. Mercury’s surface is heavily cratered. C. Mercury is not volcanically active. D. Mercury is too close to the Sun

A

A

28
Q

How many known moons does Venus have?

A. Zero. B. One (Charon). C. Two (Phobos and Deimos). D. Four (Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Titan).

A

A

29
Q

The average distance of Mars from the Sun is about

A. 0.5 AU. B. 1 AU. C. 1.5 AU. D. 3 AU

A

C

30
Q

The major constituent of Mars’ atmosphere is:

A. Dinitrogen N2 . B. Carbon Dioxide CO2 . C. Argon Ar. D. Water H2O.

A

B

31
Q

There are no visible impact craters on the surface of Jupiter. This is because

A. Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere obscures the view of its surface. B. Jupiter does not have a solid surface. C. Jupiter’s gravitational field is strong enough to break up any approaching asteroids before impact. D. The thick atmosphere of Jupiter “burns up” any approaching asteroids

A

B

32
Q

Comparing these Jovian planets, which has the longest “year”?

A. Uranus. B. Saturn. C. Jupiter. D. Neptune.

A

D

33
Q

Comparing these Jovian planets, which has the longest “day”?

A. Uranus. B. Saturn. C. Jupiter. D. Neptune

A

A

34
Q

The main belt of asteroids is located between

A. The Earth and the Sun. B. The Earth and Mars. C. Mars and Jupiter. D. Jupiter and Saturn

A

C

35
Q

[Statement:] The Lagrange points are stable orbital positions for small objects around two larger objects. This is because [Reason:] at these points the larger objects exert no gravitational force on the small objects.

A. Statement is True, Reason is True; Reason is a correct explanation for Statement. B. Statement is True, Reason is True; Reason is NOT a correct explanation for Statement. C. Statement is True, Reason is False. D. Statement is False, Reason is True

A

C

36
Q

Which of the following objects usually have the most eccentric orbits?

A. Asteroids. B. Comets. C. Meteors. D. Planets.

A

B

37
Q

.Which moon is the largest compared to the object it is orbiting around?

A. Ganymede and Jupiter. B. Triton and Neptune. C. Charon and Pluto. D. Miranda and Uranus

A

C

38
Q

The Roche Limit is

A: the limit of the gravitational influence of a planet. B: the furthest point where an object can still be considered as orbiting a planet. C: the closest point to a planet before orbiting objects will fall into the planet. D: the closest point to a planet a moon, held in orbit by self-gravitation, can be

A

D

39
Q

The moons of the Jovian planets can experience significant “tidal heating”, Io being a prime example. What characteristic of Io makes “tidal heating” significant?

A. Io is of a spherical shape. B. Io has liquid on its surface. C. Io has a highly elliptical orbit. D. There are other moons close by Io

A

C

40
Q

Which of the following is NOT a necessary condition for the planetary dynamo effect?

A. Moderately rapid rotation. B. Convection in the interior. C. Solid magnetised core material. D. Fluid, electrically conducting interior.

A

C

41
Q

The average density of the sun is similar to the terrestrial densities of

A. Air. B. Water. C. Lead. D. Mercury.

A

B

42
Q
  1. Which type of electromagnetic radiation can penetrate the earth’s atmosphere

A. X-rays. B. Gamma-rays. C. Extreme ultraviolet. D. Radio.

A

D

43
Q

The wavelength at which black body radiation reaches its maximum intensity is

A. Inversely proportional to the temperature. B. Directly proportional to the temperature. C. Proportional to the fourth power of the temperature. D. Independent of the temperature

A

A

44
Q

The strongest lines in the sun’s visible spectrum belong to

A. The Lyman series of hydrogen. B. The Balmer series of hydrogen. C. The Paschen series of hydrogen. D. None of the above.

A

D

45
Q

The “colour” of hydrogen lines closest to the Balmer limit is

A. Red. B. Green. C. Blue. D. Ultraviolet.

A

D

46
Q

The early measurements of neutrinos from the sun found consistently

A. Exactly what had been anticipated. B. Three times the expected flux. C. One third of the expected flux. D. A complete absence of neutrinos.

A

C

47
Q

If all nuclear reactions were to cease within the sun, order of magnitude energy considerations suggest that the sun’s luminosity would significantly decrease

A. Within one week. B. In about eleven years. C. In about 50 million years. D. In about 10 billion years

A

C

48
Q

The sun is a main sequence star of spectral type

A. A0. B. G2. C. K4. D. M5

A

B

49
Q

The first sunspots in a new sunspot cycle tend to appear

A. Close to the sun’s north and south poles. B. At latitudes of about 30 degrees north and south. C. Very close to the sun’s equator. D. On the sun’s east and west limbs

A

B

50
Q

The solar corona can only be seen in white light from ground level at the time of a total solar eclipse. This is because it is fainter than the photosphere by a factor of approximately

A. A hundred. B. A thousand. C. A million. D. A billion.

A

C

Exploring the Cosmos 1X (9 decks)

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