Astro Review – Flashcards
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Which of the following sentences is NOT true about science?
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. Science only progresses by following the scientific method.
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About how old is the earth?
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4.8 billion years old
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Which of the following is one of Kepler's laws?
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. All of these are Kepler's laws.
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Order the following parts of our cosmic address from the most local to the most distant
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clemson, earth, solar system, milky way galaxy, local group, local supercluster, universe
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If the Earth was not tilted, then
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there would be no seasons
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Copernicus was the first person to propose a heliocentric model of the universe (T or f)
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false
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Which of the following was not a major advantage of Copernicus's Sun-centered model over the Ptolemaic model?
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It made significantly better predictions of planetary positions in our sky.
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n class you have used order of magnitude estimates to get the circumference of the earth, grains of sand on the beach, and number of hotdogs eaten at MLB games each season. Now I want you to estimate the number of piano tuners in Chicago. To get full credit you will need to state each fact you need in order to calculate the answer, how those facts should be combined to get the answer, provide reasonable estimates for each of those facts, and get the answer correct to within a factor of 10. (N.B. You may assume that there are 9million people in Chicago and that it takes two hours to tune a piano).
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1million need to get tuned in a year. there are 50.*40=2000 hrs in a work year and it takes 2hrs to tune one. So a tuner can tune 1000/yr. That means you need about 1000 tuners.
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Select the principle reasons ancient societies have universally studied the sky.
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navigation, agriculture, migration
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Which of the following are not subfields of astronomy?
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astrosociology
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In Australia it is usually warmer around the time of the winter solstice than it is around the time of the summer solstice.
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true
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If a planet has a highly eccentric orbit, we mean that
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we mean that part of the orbit is much closer to the star than other parts.
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What is a theory?
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An explanatory framework.
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The season's on Earth are caused by its elliptical orbit.
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False
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Scientific progress ceased between the time Ptolemy and Copernicus
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false
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On a cosmic calendar scale that compresses the age of the universe to one year, human civilization is only a few seconds old.
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true
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If the milky way galaxy were the size of death valley (the football stadium), the averae space between stars would be about
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thickness of a blade of grass
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How old is the universe?
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14 billion years old
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Solar eclipses can only occur at
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new moon
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Why do we have seasons on earth?
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As Earth goes around the Sun and Earth's axis remains pointed toward Polaris, the Northern and Southern hemispheres alternately receive more and less direct sunlight.
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Which of the following best describes the modern definition of an asterism?
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A pattern of bright stars in the sky
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The following is a list of scientific statements about the universe. Select all of the statements that should be characterized as observations
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All of the planets orbit in the same plane and in the same direction around the Sun. The temperature of the sun is 5800 K. The eccentricity of Mars is 0.08. The mass of Jupiter is 2x1027 kg
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Astronomy like Chemistry is an experimental science
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false
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What do astronomers mean when they say that the universe is expanding?
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The average distance between galaxies is increasing with time.
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Lower energy light has a higher frequency than higher energy light.
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false
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Rank order the following forms of light from shortest wavelength to longest wavelength.
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gamma rays X rays ultraviolet visible light infrared light radio waves
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Why aren't you glowing?
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I am glowing, but I am only bright at infrared wavelengths that are invisible
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Which of the following is NOT one of Newton's laws of motion?
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Mass/Energy must be conserved
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Suppose you heat up an oven to 400o F and boil a pot of water at 212oF. Which of the following explains why you would be burned by sticking your hand briefly in the pot of boiling water but not by sticking your hand briefly in the oven
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The energy density of the boiling water is higher than the air in the oven.
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Why does the tiger paw look orange?
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reflects orange light
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Speed and velocity are the same thing
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false
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Which of the following statements best describes the two principal advantages of telescopes over eyes?
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Telescopes can collect far more light with far better angular resolution
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I am moving away from a source of light. Which of the following statements is true?
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The photons striking me will have a longer wavelength than if I were standing still.
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Rank order the following forms of light from highest frequency to lowest frequency
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gamma rays X rays ultraviolet visible light infrared light radio waves
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Every thing looks red through a transparent red piece of glass (a red filter) because
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the red glass transmits red light.
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The largest effective interferometric radio telescope is nearly the size of the Earth.
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true
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All electromagnetic radiation moves at exactly the same speed.
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true
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You are currently emitting electromagnetic radiation.
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true
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Higher energy light is bluer than lower energy light
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true
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Hot gas observed against a cool continuum will result in
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emmision lines
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I am moving toward a source of light. Which of the following statements is true?
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The energy of the photons striking me is higher than if I was standing still.
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Radio waves travel at the speed of light.
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true
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Rank order the following forms of light from highest energy to lowest energy.
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gamma rays . X rays ultraviolet visible light infrared light . radio waves
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How will spectral lines be affected by the rotation of a star?
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The lines will be broadened.
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The Europeans are designing a 100m telescope. How much larger is the light gathering power of this telescope than the 10m Keck telescope?
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100 times greater
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The spectrum of a blackbody depends on
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The temperature of the source
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Which of the following is an example in which you are traveling at constant speed but not at constant velocity?
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Driving around in a circle at exactly 100mph.
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The dark bands in the solar spectrum are due to
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Chemical composition of cool gas against the hot continuum of the Sun's photosphere.
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How often should you bring your clicker to class?
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Every class period
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The principle advantage of the Hubble Space Telescope over ground based telescopes is that it is closer to the stars.
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false
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Which of the following is not a conserved quantity?
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radiation
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Radiative energy is the
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. energy carried by light.
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Your weight is the same on Earth as it is on the moon.
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false
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The spectra of most galaxies shows redshifts which means that they are moving away from us.
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true
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Currently, the largest optical telescopes have a diameter of about
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10m
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Under what circumstances can differentiation occur in a planet?
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b and c
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Comets are dirty snowballs.
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true
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The irregular satellites are left over debris from planet building that have been captured by planets.
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true
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The age of our solar system is approximately
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4.6 billion years
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Why are there very few asteroids beyond Jupiter's orbit?
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Ice could form in the outer solar system.
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Saturn is the only planet in the solar system with rings.
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false
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Which object has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
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Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
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Which of the following has not been detected around other stars in the Galaxy?
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All of these have been observed
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If Earth didn't have an atmosphere, what would happen to its temperature?
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It would go down a lot (more than 10°C).
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What's the leading theory for the origin of the Moon?
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It formed from the material ejected from the Earth in a giant impact.
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Which of the following planets has the least substantial atmosphere?
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mercury
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Why do smaller planets cool faster than larger planets?
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Smaller size means a smaller ratio of volume to surface area
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What would happen to Earth's temperature if Earth were more reflective?
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. It would go down
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Which moon has the most volcanic activity?
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Io
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Which of the following statements is not an observed pattern of motion in our solar system?
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Most planets orbit at the same speed.
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Order the following objects from nearest (1) to furtherest (10) from the Sun.
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Mercury Venus Earth . Mars Asteroid Belt . Jupiter Saturn . Uranus Neptune . Kuiper Belt
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Planets detected via the transit technique have been mostly
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a wide range of masses, in edge-on orbits.
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The Doppler technique for planet detection has found Earth-like planets around nearby Sun-like stars.
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false
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The detection of hot Jupiters shows that the nebular theory was all wrong.
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false
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Which of the following methods has led to the most discoveries of massive planets orbiting near their parent stars?
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detecting the gravitational effect of an orbiting planet by looking for the Doppler shifts in the star's spectrum
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Which of the following is not evidence supporting the giant impact theory for the formation of the Moon?
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Scientists have found several meteorites that appear to be the remains of the object that caused the giant impact.
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Which two properties are most important in determining the surface temperature of a planet?
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. distance from the Sun and atmosphere
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Stellar jets carry angular momentum out of star disk system keeping the star from spinning too fast.
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true
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Why don't terrestrial planets have Hydrogen gas in their atmosphere?
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the escape velocity is lower than the average velocity of the hydrogen
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Which of these facts is not explained by the Nebular Theory?
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The number of planets of each type (four terrestrial and four jovian planets).
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On average, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system - even hotter than Mercury.
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true
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The first planets around other Sun-like stars were discovered
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about 20 years
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Which moon has a warm liquid water layer underneath its ice crust?
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europa
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Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today?
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radioactivity
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The Kelper satellite has detected transiting planets around ~1% of the stars in its field of view. This tells that
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Virtually all stars have planets.
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The weather on Mars is much different today than in the distant past.
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true
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Jupiter is denser than Saturn
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true
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How would the solar system be different if the solar nebula had cooled, with a temperature half its actual value.
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Jovian planets would have formed closer to the Sun.
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Uranus is turned on its side.
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true
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The best definition of a theory is
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the conceptual framework scientists use to make sense of data, observed regularities, and new predictions.
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Zodiacal dust is material left over from the planet formation process
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false
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What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?
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. A long-lived, high-pressure storm twice the size of Earth.
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Venus has plate tectonics.
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false
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Jupiter and Saturn have metallic hydrogen layer
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true
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The age of our solar system is approximately
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4.6 billion years
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Which moon has a thick atmosphere?
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titan
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Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest
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Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
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Planets detected via the Doppler technique have been mostly
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jupiter mass, in very close orbits
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Pluto is a planet
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false
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According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?
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The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
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The sky is blue because
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molecules scatter blue light more effectively than red light
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Carbon is removed from Earth's biosphere by subduction.
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true
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Why does Venus have such a great difference in temperature between its "no atmosphere" temperature and its actual temperature?
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It has a large amount of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere.
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Fermi's paradox
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asks where all the aliens are if intelligent life in the universe is common.
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Which explanation for the belt seems the most plausible?
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The belt is where all the asteroids happened to survive.
