6-8 Astronomy – Flashcards
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The synodic period of Venus is the time it takes for: a. Venus to complete a full rotation on its axis. b. Venus to complete a full orbit around the Sun. c. Earth to complete a full orbit around the Sun. d. Earth to go from opposition to conjunction, relative to Venus. e. Venus to complete a full cycle of phases.
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e
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Which of the following characterizes a shield volcano? a. It cannot grow very large, for it has a very short span of eruption. b. It forms along a plate boundary. c. It is dormant. d. It sits above a hot spot in the planet's mantle. e. It can erupt only briefly before being dragged off the hot spot.
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d
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Which statement is true of Venus' surface? a. It has remained unchanged for billions of years. b. There are no shield volcanoes. c. Atmospheric pressure is very low. d. There is an extensive hydrosphere. e. There are two continent sized uplands.
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e
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Venus has a feature named Aphrodite Terra. What is this feature? a. a very large volcano b. a large basin similar to the maria on the Moon c. a continental-sized plateau d. a large impact crater e. a great rift valley like Valles Marineris on Mars
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c
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Maxwell Mons on Venus is a huge: a. ocean basin larger than the Pacific Ocean. b. impact crater larger than Texas. c. tectonic mountain chain, like the Himalayas. d. shield volcano. e. rift valley.
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d
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What percentage of the surface of Venus could be characterized as continental-sized highlands? a. 45% b. 75% c. less than 10% d. 100% e. about 30%, like the Earth
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c
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The largest volcanic structures on Venus are called: a. shield volcanoes. b. crater cones. c. calderas. d. coronae. e. cinder cones.
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d
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A characteristic of shield volcanoes is the formation of a crater at the summit which occurs when: a. the lava withdraws and the surface collapses. b. the lava flows melt through the thin crust of the peak. c. the underlying hot spot suddenly turns on. d. the volcano erupts explosively. e. the volcano is impacted by a large meteorite.
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a
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Volcanic activity on Venus is thought to be: a. less frequent and less violent than volcanic activity on Earth. b. the same as volcanic activity on Earth. c. more frequent, but less violent than volcanic activity on Earth. d. more frequent and more violent than volcanic activity on Earth. e. less frequent, but more violent than volcanic activity on Earth.
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e
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Compared with the Earth's orbit, the orbit of Mars a. is smaller. b. is less eccentric. c. has the same eccentricity. d. is more eccentric.
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d
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What causes the changing dark and light features visible on the Martian surface from Earth? a. highly cratered and eroded areas that are frequently covered and uncovered by dust b. seasonal growth of vegetation c. huge storms like those on Jupiter with winds that often reach speeds of hundreds of kilometers per hour d. the flooding of the network of canals from seasonal polar ice melting e. lava fields, similar to those found on the Moon
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a
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The most striking valley in the solar system is: The most striking valley in the solar system is: a. Gwenivere on Venus. b. the Grand Canyon in Arizona. c. Valhalla on Callisto. d. Valles Marineris on Mars. e. the Discovery Scarp of Mercury.
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d
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Which of the following characterizes a shield volcano? a. It will be smaller than cinder cones like Maxwell Mons on Venus. b. It erupts only briefly before subsiding forever. c.It is formed by moving tectonic plates. d. It sits above a hot spot in the planet's mantle. e. It cannot grow very large, for the plates are constantly moving.
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d
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What is thought to be the reason that there are no small impact craters on Mars? a. The wind blows small dust particles, eroding the surface of Mars, erasing small impact craters faster than they can form. b. Like Venus, Mars' atmosphere is too thick and these meteorites do not survive to make impacts on the surface. c. The surface of Mars is too young to have impact craters. d. Due to the gravitational pull of Mars' moons, most small meteoroids are deflected and never make it to the surface. e. None of the above. Mars has lots of small impact craters.
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a
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If water caused the huge outflow channels on Mars, what was the most likely process that formed them? a. heat from the impact of the large asteroid that made Hellas b. rainfall from the hydrosphere c. catastrophic but rare flooding d. large comets that struck Mars e. annual melting of the seasonal ice caps
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c
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Evidence of liquid water in Mars' distant past suggests that it had a substantial atmosphere compared to what it has presently. What happened to its water vapor? a. Its atmosphere was mostly hydrogen and helium. Mars' gravity is too weak to hold them. b. It has now all been lost in space, including the carbon dioxide and water vapor. c.Mars initially had such a large Greenhouse Effect that the atmosphere became quite hot and slowly escaped. d. The water vapor has frozen out into the polar ice caps and permafrost as Mars has cooled. e. The carbon dioxide in its atmosphere dissolved in the water and combined with surface rocks.
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d
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Why is Mars red? a. Sulfuric acid rain etched a reddish color into iron-rich surface rocks. b. Dust storms on the planet have blasted the planet so fiercely that the rocks have reddened. c. Mercuric oxide is abundant and has a red tint. d. The iron in the surface rocks have been oxidized over time. e. The ancient volcanoes poured out vast plains of molten sulfur, much as on Io, which has now solidified and preserved the reddish color.
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d
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Evidence for a permafrost layer of ice just a few meters below the surface of Mars include: a. river channels and flood plains that look identical to such features on Earth. b. carbonate rock layers that are in low abundance. c. outflow channels and ancient river deltas. d. "fluidized ejecta" craters. e. "hydrated" chemical compounds found on surface rocks.
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d
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The main constituent of the Martian atmosphere is: a. helium. b. hydrogen. c. methane. d. carbon dioxide. e. nitrogen.
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d
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One of the most unexpected aspects of Mars' atmosphere is: a. that it is cloudless. b. that it is 95% carbon dioxide. c. that its troposphere changes altitude. d. that it contains water vapor clouds. e. that it has such a low density.
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c
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How does the density of Jupiter compare to the terrestrial planets? a. Its density is slightly less than Mercury, but more than Mars. b. It is denser than the Moon, but less dense than any of the others. c. Its density is about the same as Mars. d. It is denser than all the terrestrial planets combined. e. Its density is less than any terrestrial.
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e
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The main constituent of Jupiter's atmosphere is a. hydrogen. b. carbon dioxide. c. helium. d. ammonia.
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a
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The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their: a. large mass. b. ring systems. c. many moons. d. rapid rotation. e. strong magnetic fields.
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a
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The belts of Jupiter are best described as : a. regions of upward moving material and high pressure. b. regions of upward moving material and low pressure. c. regions of downward moving material and low pressure. d. regions of downward moving material and high pressure. e.turbulent regions with no organized circulation pattern.
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c
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Together, which two gases make up 99% of Jupiter's atmosphere? a. Ammonia and Methane b. Hydrogen and Ammonia c. Hydrogen and Helium d. Water Vapor and Methane e. Helium and Ammonia
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c
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How does the heat Jupiter radiates compare to the energy it receives from the Sun? a. They are equal, as you would expect for a highly reflective planet. b. Jupiter is a red dwarf, about a tenth the Sun's luminosity. c. Jupiter is a brown dwarf, about a hundred times less luminous than the Sun. d. Jupiter's dark belts absorb most of the solar radiation, so it is cooler in the infrared. e. Jupiter radiates back into space about twice the energy it gets from the Sun.
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e
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What is thought to lie at the center of Jupiter? a. a solid core of crystalline helium b. a fusion core like the Sun's, with hydrogen being turned into helium c. a massive core of rocky materials with some iron mixed in d. a hot sea of liquid metallic hydrogen e. gaseous hydrogen and helium, for Jupiter is not differentiated like Earth
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c
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Which of the following statements about the inner core of Jupiter is true? a. It is made of metallic hydrogen. b. It is large compared to the size of Earth, and it is rocky. c. It is small compared to the size of Earth, and it is icy. d. Jupiter doesn't have a dense inner core. e. It is about the same size as Earth, and it is liquid.
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b
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Io's surface appears very smooth because it a. is continually resurfaced by volcanic actiavity. b. has been shielded by Jupiter from meteorite impacts. c. is liquid. d. is covered with ice.
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a
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The Galilean moons of Jupiter are sometimes described as a miniature inner solar system because a. the moons have generally "terrestrial" composition. b. the moons all move on circular, synchronous orbits. c. there are the same number of Galilean moons as there are terrestrial planets. d. the moons' densities decrease with increasing distance from Jupiter.
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d
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What is the source of Io's volcanic activity? a. Excess heat emitted from Jupiter b. Radioactive decay of elements c. Impacts from meteorites d. Tidal heating
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d
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Which of the four Galilean moons is NOT differentiated? a. Io b. Ganymede c. Europa d. Callisto e. None of the above. All the moons are differentiated.
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d
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Of the Galilean satellites, which has the oldest, most heavily cratered surface? a. Europa b. Io c. Titan d. Callisto e. Ganymede
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d
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The surface of which jovian moon most resembles the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean? a. Amalthea b. Io c. Ganymede d. Europa e. Callisto
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d
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Saturn's rings are edge-on and vanish when it is at: a. equinox. b. greatest elongation. c. opposition. d. conjunction with the Sun. e. solstice.
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a
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The reason Saturn lost very little of its original atmosphere is due to its: a. many moons. b. strong magnetic field. c. ring system. d. large mass. e. rapid rotation.
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d
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The atmosphere of Saturn is composed mostly of: a. nitrogen and oxygen. b. hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. c. methane and ammonia. d. hydrogen and helium. e. carbon dioxide and ethane.
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d
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Scientists believe that large storms on Saturn are: a. rooted deep in the atmosphere. b. only found at the equator. c. tied to Saturn's rings. d. in the high altitude ammonia clouds. e. in Saturn's troposphere.
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a
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Saturn's bands, oval storm systems, and turbulent flow patterns are powered by: a. convective motion and rapid rotation. b. a liquid metallic hydrogen interior. c. the tides of Titan. d. the Greenhouse Effect. e. the fusion in Saturn's core.
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a
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Why does Saturn radiate even more excess energy than Jupiter? a. Saturn can fuse hydrogen into helium in its core, like the Sun. b. Saturn is still radiating heat left over from its formation. c. Saturn's thick cloud layer contributes to a larger Greenhouse Effect. d. Helium rain gives off heat as it differentiates toward Saturn's center. e. Saturn's atmosphere contains much methane, creating a large Greenhouse Effect.
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d
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The Roche limit is the point at which: a. the internal forces that hold an object together weaken so that the object falls apart. b. a moon orbiting a planet experiences synchronous rotation. c. the mass of an object classifies it as a moon. d. the external tidal forces on an object become greater than the internal forces that hold it together. e. the external tidal forces on an object are strong enough to be felt by the object.
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d
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A moon placed at a planet's Roche limit will a. flatten into a disk. b. develop a magnetic field. c. change color. d. break into smaller pieces.
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d
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Shepherd satellites are defined as: a. a type of moon that orbits another moon. b. satellites in the coma of a comet. c. moons that follow the exact orbit of another, larger, moon. d. moons that confine a narrow ring. e. moons that orbit inside the system of rings.
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d
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The shepherd moons keep the ring particles in their rings by: a. both attracting and repelling the ring particles, causing them to speed up or slow down. b. attracting the ring particles, causing them to speed up or slow down. c. repelling the ring particles, causing them to speed up or slow down. d. repelling the ring particles, causing them to slow down. e. attracting the ring particles, causing them speed up.
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b
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Saturn's moon Iapetus has a surface that shows which of the following features? a. Evidence of flowing water b. Sulfur volcanoes c. An extremely large crater d. A thick atmosphere e. Two-tone markings
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e
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Mimas is a moon of Saturn with which of the following characteristics? a. Sulfur volcanoes and a plasma torus due to tidal heating b. A heavy set of ridges due to cooling and resulting surface compression c. Dark and light areas from collection of dust on its leading edge as it travels through space d. A very large impact crater and a role in maintaining one of Saturn's rings e. Flow features caused by surface remelting and internal tectonic forces
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d
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Which of the following statements is NOT true about Saturn's moon Titan? a. It has a surface atmospheric pressure higher than Earth's. b. It is the largest of Saturn's moons. c. It is a little larger than Mercury and Callisto and a bit smaller than Ganymede. d. Its surface temperature is about the same as that of Earth. e. It has an ultraviolet-absorbing layer of photochemical haze.
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d
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The moons Telesto and Calypso, orbiting at the Lagrangian points of Saturn and the moon Tethys, a. orbit closer to Saturn than does Tethys. b. always stay the same distance apart. c. orbit twice as far from Saturn as does Tethys. d. always stay between Saturn and the Sun.
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b
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A tidally locked moon of Saturn a. maintains a constant distance from all the other moons. b. always stays above the same point on the planet's surface. c. does not rotate. d. always presents the same face to the planet
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d
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What evidence suggests that Enceladus has ongoing geological activity? a. Enceladus is located within Saturn's Roche limit, and ready to blow up. b. Lack of impact craters on much of its surface, evidence of ice flows from possible volcanic activity, and geysers that supply material for the E-ring. c. Enceladus undergoes severe tidal stresses from its resonance with Titan. d. Voyager 1 showed sulfur eruptions all over its pizza-pie colored surface. e. Voyager 2 photographed liquid nitrogen geysers 10 kilometers tall.
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b
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The atmosphere of Titan is composed mostly of: a. carbon dioxide. b. oxygen. c. nitrogen. d. hydrogen. e. methane.
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c
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How many medium-sized moons does Saturn have? a. 18 b. 1 c. 9 d. 6 e. too many to count
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d
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The Cassini spacecraft found evidence that the E Ring is related to Enceladus through: a. the gravitational interactions by Enceladus on the particles in the E Ring. b. the impact history of Enceladus-a major impact caused parts of the moon to be ejected from the surface and cross the Roche Limit to become the E Ring. c. a continual supply of icy particles spewed via volcanism on Enceladus. d. their common origin: both the E Ring and Enceladus have a common "ancestral" comet parent. e. the deposition of gases from Enceladus on the particles of the E Ring making them more reflective as the gas condenses on the particles.
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c
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Which Saturnian moon has the leading hemisphere black as tar, the back side icy white? a. Enceladus b. Iapetus c. Mimas d. Titan e. Rhea
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b
