Unit 4 Practice Questions

Question 1

What do astronomers think is the origin of the many irregular moons around the outer planets (irregular meaning they are orbiting backwards and/or have eccentric orbits)?

Answer 1

These moons were likely formed elsewhere and captured by the giant planets

Question 2

Which of the following ways that jovian (giant) planets differ from the terrestrial planets is NOT CORRECT?

Answer 2

jovians (being larger) rotate significantly more slowly than terrestrials

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a way that the moon Titan probably resembles the Earth?

Answer 3

at its surface the temperature and pressure are just right for water to exist in all three phases (gas, liquid, and ice)

Question 4

The four large moons of Jupiter were first discovered by:

Answer 4

Galileo with his early telescope

Question 5

VMS Eve and VSS Unity flew 6 passengers into orbit in

Answer 5

July 2021

Question 6

Which of the following statements about our Moon is FALSE?

Answer 6

on Earth, we can see all its sides in the course of a month as it goes around us

Question 7

Which of the following statements about the planet Venus is true?

Answer 7

It has a thick layer of clouds containing sulfuric acid droplets

Question 8

The Galileo spacecraft measured that the moon Ganymede had a magnetic field, indicating that its interior was at least partly melted and warm. What do scientists think is the most likely reason for this?

Answer 8

Ganymede is heated by tidal forces from Jupiter

Question 9

The jovian (gas or ice giant) planet that has the longest year (period of revolution) is:

Answer 9

Neptune

Question 10

The process by which Venus became so much hotter than the Earth is called:

Answer 10

the runaway greenhouse effect

Question 11

The rings of the outer planets consist of

Answer 11

billions of chunks (of various sizes) that all orbit the equator of each planet

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the key reasons that so many spacecraft from Earth have visited Venus and Mars?

Answer 12

their atmospheres are very similar to the Earth in terms of their chemical make-up

Question 13

The first human being to step out onto the surface of another world was

Answer 13

Neil Armstrong

Question 14

We believe the maria on the Earth’s Moon are:

Answer 14

ancient impact craters in which lava beds welled up from inside the Moon

Question 15

Which of the following statements about the geysers on the moon Triton is true?

Answer 15

they involve plumes of nitrogen on the sunlit side of Triton

Question 16

The rate at which a collection of the same radioactive atoms will decay depends on:

Answer 16

only on internal processes within the atoms; nothing external matters

Question 17

The James Webb Space Telescopes has imaged very young galaxies perhaps as young as

Answer 17

600 million years after the Big Bang.

Question 18

What formation or formations are evidence that the planet Mercury may have shrunk (gotten a bit smaller) as it cooled?

Answer 18

the long scarps or cliffs

Question 19

Which of the following statements about temperature changes on Mercury is correct?

Answer 19

the difference in temperature between Mercury’s daylight side and its night side is the greatest difference of any planet in the solar system

Question 20

What is one way that astronomers have actually gotten an idea of the age of the surfaces of terrestrial planets other than the Earth?

Answer 20

counting craters

Question 21

Which statement is _CORRECT _regarding early universe galaxy formation?

Answer 21

Galaxies much smaller than the Milky Way with predominantly blue stars were expected to be present in the early universe.

Question 22

The planet closest to the Sun in the solar system is:

Answer 22

Mercury

Question 23

The planet that orbits “on its side” (i.E. has its rotation axis perpendicular to the plane of its orbit) is:

Answer 23

Uranus

Question 24

During the process of differentiation,

Answer 24

heavier materials sink to the centers of molten planets

Question 25

Astronomers estimate that the plains of Venus are only about 500 to 600 million years olD. How do they estimate dates like this?

Answer 25

by counting the craters visible on the surface and comparing crater counts to other worlds

Question 26

A planet in our solar system whose composition resembles that of our Sun is:

Answer 26

Jupiter

Question 27

What method was used to discover Pluto in 1929-1930?

Answer 27

take pairs of photographs several days apart and “blink” them

Question 28

According to the giant impact hypothesis about the formation of the Moon, why did the Earth not break apart into many pieces when the giant impact happened?

Answer 28

the impactor was about the size of Mars or smaller, so it ejected material from the Earth but did not break it

Question 29

The lakes found in the north polar region of Titan are filled with liquid

Answer 29

methane

Question 30

What is the most important implication arising from the Hayabusa2 mission?

Answer 30

Prebiotic organic compounds have survived the very harsh environment of Ryugu.

Question 31

In its overall composition, the Moon roughly resembles:

Answer 31

the Earth’s crust and mantle

Question 32

These days the theory of the Earth’s Moon’s origin that best fits with the facts we have about the Moon is:

Answer 32

a large object hit the Earth and the collision produced a filament of material that condensed to make the Moon

Question 33

Which statement concerning the Hayabusa2 mission is CORRECT?

Answer 33

The spacecraft visited the near Earth asteroid Ryugu and deployed numerous additional payloads to investigate the object.

Question 34

Which of the following spacecraft is NOT leaving the solar system?

Answer 34

Galileo

Question 35

The element that can act like a metal when it is under tremendous pressure and is probably responsible for Jupiter and Saturn’s magnetism is:

Answer 35

hydrogen