Mastering Astronomy study test 1 part 2 Flashcards
Equatorial radius of planets from Greatest to least
Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Earth Venus Mars Mercury Moon Pluto
Make a prediction: If the rise in carbon dioxide concentration continues at its current pace, the concentration in the year 2037 will be about __ parts per million.
A. 330
B. 390
C. 430
D. 510
C. 430
The average temperature over the past 1000 years has been about 15 degrees Celsius. From the graphs, you can conclude that Earth’s average temperature during the past 400,000 years has____.
A. never been as high as it is today
B. varied between about -10C and +4C
C. varied between about 7C and 19C
D. stayed remarkable steady, never varying by more than about 2C
C. varied between about 7C and 19C
On the graphs shown, you can identify an ice age by looking for _____.
A. a trough (bottom dip) on the temperature graph
B. a place on the temperature graph where the temperature curve falls steeply
C. a trough (bottom dip) on the carbon dioxide graph
D. a peak on temperature graph
A. a trough (bottom dip) on the temperature graph
Notice that the peaks and troughs on the temperature graph occur at about the same times as peaks and troughs on the carbon dioxide graph. what can we infer from this fact alone?
A. there is a correlation between the carbon dioxide concentration and the global average temperature
B. Higher carbon dioxide concentrations cause higher global average temperatures
C. The carbon dioxide concentrations is inversely related to the global average temperature.
D. Higher global average temperatures cause higher carbon dioxide concentrations.
A. there is a correlation between the carbon dioxide concentration and the global average temperature
Although the data show only a correlation between the carbon dioxide concentration and the global average temperature, there are other reasons to think that a rise in the carbon dioxide concentration actually causes a rise in the global average temperature. All of the following statements are true. Which statements lend support tot the idea that carbon dioxide is a cause of planetary warming?
A. Models of the greenhouse effect successfully predict the temperatures of Venus and Mars from their atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts.
B. We understand the physical mechanism of the greenhouse effect, through which carbon dioxide can increase a planet’s temperature.
C. Isotope ratios in atmospheric carbon dioxide show that much of the carbon dioxide in Earths atmosphere today comes from the burning of fossil fuels.
D. Models of Earths climate that include recent increase in the carbon dioxide concentration match observed temperature increase better than those that do not include it.
A. Models of the greenhouse effect successfully predict the temperatures of Venus and Mars from their atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts.
B. We understand the physical mechanism of the greenhouse effect, through which carbon dioxide can increase a planet’s temperature.
D Models of Earths climate that include recent increase in the carbon dioxide concentration match observed temperature increase better than those that do not include it. e.
Based on the evidence that atmospheric carbon dioxide is a cause of planetary warming, what aspect of the graphs should most concern us?
A. earths past carbon dioxide concentration rises and falls naturally.
B. earths past temperature rises and falls naturally.
C. the carbon dioxide concentration today is significantly higher than at any time in the past 400,000 years and is rapidly rising.
C. the carbon dioxide concentration today is significantly higher than at any time in the past 400,000 years and is rapidly rising.
The energy that warms earths surface comes primarily in the form of
A. infrared light from the sun B. ultraviolet light from the sun C. heat from earths interior D. visible light from the sun E. heat from the sun
D. visible light from the sun
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, make earth warmer than it would be otherwise because these gases____.
A. absorb infrared light emitted by the surface
B. from clouds that emit thermal radiation
C. reflect visible light coming from the sun
D. absorb visible light coming from the sun
A. absorb infrared light emitted by the surface
According to scientists, the naturally occurring greenhouse effect makes earth about 31C warmer than it would be if there were no greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. How do scientists know what earths temperature would be without greenhouse gases?
A. They assume that this temperature would be about the same as the temperature of Mars, which has much less of an atmosphere than Earth
B. Ancient fossil sallow them to infer Earths temperature at a time before our atmosphere contained greenhouse gases
C. They estimate it by averaging guesses made by many individual scientists
D. They calculate this temperature from earths reflectivity and distance from the sun
D. They calculate this temperature from earths reflectivity and distance from the sun
All of the following statements are true. which one provides strong observational support for the claim that greenhouse gases make a planet warmer than it would be otherwise?
A. Venus has a higher average temperature than mercury
B. earth has a higher average temperature than mars
C. earth is the only planet with an ozone layer in its atmosphere
D. Mercury is much hotter than the moon.
A. Venus has a higher average temperature than mercury
Based solely on an understanding of the greenhouse effect which one of the following statements is true?
A. Humans are causing global warming.
B. global warming poses a grave threat to our future.
C. We should expect an increase in the greenhouse gas concentration to lead to global warming.
D. We do not yet understand the greenhouse effect well enough to make predictions about how it affects our planet.
C. We should expect an increase in the greenhouse gas concentration to lead to global warming.
Mass of planets and Sun from Greatest to least
Sun Jupiter Saturn Neptune Uranus Earth Venus Mars Mercury Moon Pluto
Which of the following represents a case in which you are not accelerating?
A.Driving in a straight line at 60 miles per hour
B.Going from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 10 seconds
C.Driving 60 miles per hour around a curve
D. Slamming on the brakes to come to a stop at a stop sign
A.Driving in a straight line at 60 miles per hour
Suppose you drop a 10 pound
weight and a 5 pound
weight on the Moon, both from the same height at the
same time. What will happen?
A. The 5 pound weight will hit the ground before the 10 pound
weight.
B. Both weights will float freely, since everything is weightless on the Moon.
C. Both will hit the ground at the same time.
D. The 10 pound weight will hit the ground before the 5 pound
weight.
C. Both will hit the ground at the same time.
Why are astronauts weightless in the Space Station?
A. Because the Space Station is moving at constant velocity
B. Because there is no gravity in space
C. Because the Space Station is constantly in free fall
around the Earth
D. Because the Space Station is traveling so fast
C. Because the Space Station is constantly in free fall
A net force acting on an object will always cause a change in the object’s _________.
direction
speed
momentum
mass
momentum
Suppose you are in an elevator that is traveling upward at constant speed. How does your weight compare to
your normal weight on the ground?
You are weightless.
It is greater.
It is less.
It is the same.
It is the same.
The planets never travel in a straight line as they orbit the Sun. According to Newton’s second law of motion, this must mean that _________.
A. a force is acting on the planets
B. The planets will eventually fall into the Sun.
C. The planets have angular momentum.
D. The planets are always accelerating.
A. a force is acting on the planets
Suppose that the Sun shrank in size but that its mass remained the same. What would happen to the orbit of the Earth?
A. The size of Earth’s orbit would shrink, and it would take less than one year to orbit the Sun.
B. Earth’s orbit would expand, and it would take more than one year to orbit the Sun.
C. Earth would change from a bound orbit to an unbound orbit and fly off into interstellar space.
D. Earth’s orbit would be unaffected.
D. Earth’s orbit would be unaffected.
Imagine another solar system, with a star of the same mass as the Sun. Suppose a planet with a mass twice that of Earth (2MEarth) orbits at a distance of 1 AU from the star. What is the orbital period of this planet?
1 year
Imagine another solar system, with a star more massive than the Sun. Suppose a planet with the same mass as Earth orbits at a distance of 1 AU from the star. How would the planet’s year (orbital period) compare to Earth’s year?
The planet’s year would be shorter than Earth’s.
Newton showed that Kepler’s laws are _________.
natural consequences of the law of universal gravitation
Each of the following lists two facts. Which pair of facts can be used with Newton’s version of Kepler’s third law to determine the mass of the Sun?
Earth is 150 million km from the Sun and orbits the Sun in one year.
When space probe Voyager 2 passed by Saturn, its speed increased (but not due to firing its engines). What must have happened?
Saturn must have lost a very tiny bit of its orbital energy.
Which of the following best describes the origin of ocean tides on Earth?
Tides are caused by the difference in the force of gravity exerted by the Moon across the sphere of the Earth.
At which lunar phase(s) are tides most pronounced (for example, the highest high tides)?
At which lunar phase(s) are tides most pronounced (for example, the highest high tides)? Both new and full moons
Which of the following best explains why the Moon’s orbital period and rotation period are the same?
The Moon once rotated faster, but tidal friction slowed the rotation period until it matched the orbital
period.
Suppose the Moon’s orbit were unchanged, but it rotated faster (meaning it did not have synchronous rotation).
Which of the following would be true?
We would no longer always see nearly the same face of the Moon.
Which of the following statements about the force attracting these two galaxies is true? (Galaxys colliding)
It is the same force that causes an apple to fall to the ground.
Suppose you are aboard a rocket that is orbiting Earth in the low, circular orbit shown. If you want to escape from
Earth and head to the Moon or Mars along the “escape” path shown, what do you need to do?
Fire the rocket engine in your direction of travel, so that you gain speed.
