Final Exam

Front 1

Which one of the following is NOT a correct description of a pattern of motion shared by the planets in our solar system

Back 1

Most planets rotate in the opposite direction compared to the direction in which they orbit the Sun

Front 2

Which one of the following is NOT an exception to the general patterns seen in the solar system

Back 2

the rings of Saturn

Front 3

Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of the inner (terrestrial) planets

Back 3

They all have substantial atmospheres

Front 4

Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of the outer (jovian) planets

Back 4

They have very few, if any, satellites

Front 5

Which planet has the Highest average surface temperature, and why

Back 5

Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere that traps heat

Front 6

Which one of the following observations BEST indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past

Back 6

There are numerous dried-up riverbeds on Mars

Front 7

Through nuclear fusion, the Sun converts 4 million tons of ___ into energy per second

Back 7

Hydrogen

Front 8

Which one of the following statements is NOT correct (Earth)

Back 8

Earth's atmosphere is mostly oxygen

Front 9

The nebular theory explains ___

Back 9

the formation of the solar system

Front 10

The shrinking solar nebula does three things. Which of the following is NOT one of those things?

Back 10

Generates a huge magnetic field because of the fluid nature of the small rtating particles

Front 11

Two scientists associated with the nebular hypothesis are

Back 11

Kant and Laplace

Front 12

What do meteorites reveal about the solar system

Back 12

Meteorites reveal that the age of the solar system is between 4.55 and 4.60 billion years old

Front 13

The nebular theory of the formation of the solar system successfully predicts all but ONE of the following. Which one does the theory NOT predict

Back 13

The equal number of terrestrial and jovian planets

Front 14

Planetesimal seed formation was due to ___ of solid particles at low temperatures

Back 14

condensation

Front 15

The ___occurs between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where the temperature is less than 150 K

Back 15

frost line

Front 16

The process of growth by colliding and sticking is called

Back 16

accretion

Front 17

The first few hundred million years of the solar system saw a period of

Back 17

heavy bombardment

Front 18

Which lists the major steps of solar system formation in the correct order

Back 18

collapse, condensation, accretion

Front 19

Leftover ice-rich planetesimals are called

Back 19

comets

Front 20

Why didnt a terrestrial planet form at the location of the asteroid belt

Back 20

Jupiter's gravity kept sizable planetesimal from accreting

Front 21

What is the leading theory for the formation of the Moon?

Back 21

The moon formed from the material ejected in a a giant impact (giant impact theory)

Front 22

Radiometric dating has also indicated that the source of the "trigger" to begin our solar system formation came from

Back 22

the explosion of a nearby star (supernova)

Front 23

Which planet is the LEAST dense, such that it would float in a tub of water (if a large enough tub could be found)

Back 23

Saturn

Front 24

Rocks well over 4 billion years old have been found on the Moon. Why are most of the oldest complete rocks found on the Earth only about 3.7-3.8 billion years old?

Back 24

Plate tectonics subducted most of the oldest rocks back into the Earth where they were re-melted and thus lost to us.

Front 25

In August 2006, the IAU defined what makes a planet in our solar system. Which one of the following statements is NOT part of that definition

Back 25

A plaent must be larger in diameter than 1,000 km (621 miles)

Front 26

The Sun's radius is approximately ___ times the radius of the Earth

Back 26

100

Front 27

From our point of view here on Earth, when a planet crosses in front of the Sun or a mooon crosses in front of its plaent, we call that phenomenon a

Back 27

transit

Front 28

The extreme greenhouse effect on Venus occurs because

Back 28

incoming visible light strikes the surface, is absorbed, and radiates as infrared light, which cannot penetrate the dense clouds composed mostly of CO2

Front 29

The Van Allen belts that encircle the Earth are a consequence of Earth's

Back 29

magnetic field

Front 30

Jupiter is a little over ___ AU from the Sun. (hint: Each number below is associated with an actual planet)

Back 30

5

Front 31

Neptune's largest moon, Triton, orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to its other satellites, implying that Triton ___

Back 31

is most likely a Kuiper Belt object that wandered too close to Neptune and was captured by its gravity

Front 32

The largest Kuiper Belt object found so far, 2003 UB313, was given what "proper" name by the IAU in 2006

Back 32

Eris

Front 33

Pluto currently has ___ moons

Back 33

3

Front 34

Finding the ages of rocks using the principles of radioactive decay in isotopes is called

Back 34

radiometric dating

Front 35

The ___ extends outward to between 50,000 and 100,000 AU, may contain 10^12 comets, and is roughly speherical in shape

Back 35

Oort Cloud

Front 36

Elements that make up the planets and us were formed through the process of

Back 36

galactic recycling

Front 37

The shrinking solar nebula flattened into a disk because of

Back 37

collisions between particles in a spinning cloud

Front 38

Rock (silicon-based minerals) condenses at around

Back 38

500-1,300 K

Front 39

At the end of the era of planet formation, the remaining H and He gas was swept away into interstellar space primarliy by the

Back 39

Strong solar wind

Front 40

Angular momentum transfer from the young Sun occurred because of a

Back 40

strong solar wind and strong solar magnetic field

Front 41

After its birth, the young Sun was spinning much ___ than it is now

Back 41

faster

Front 42

___ discovered the two moons of Mars_Phobos and Deimos- in 1877

Back 42

Hall

Front 43

The discovery of the 4.4-billion-year-old zircon on Earth implies that

Back 43

Earth was much cooler earlier than anyone had previously thought