Astronomy Ch. 7 Practice Quiz – Flashcards

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question
Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system?
answer
Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in same direction and roughly the same plane.
question
Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system?
answer
Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not.
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Consider the following statement: "Rocky asteroids are found primarily in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt while icy comets are found primarily in the Oort cloud." What's wrong with this statement?
answer
The Kuiper belt contains icy comets, not rocky asteroids.
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Which of the following is not a real difference between asteroids and comets?
answer
Asteroids orbit the Sun while comets just float randomly around in the Oort cloud.
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The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system?
answer
The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth.
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Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is ______.
answer
much larger
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How is Einstein's famous equation, E=mc2, important in understanding the Sun?
answer
It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy to shine by losing some 4 million tons of mass each day.
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Venus has a higher average surface temperature than Mercury. Why?
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Because its surface is heated by an extreme greenhouse effect.
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In what way is Venus most similar to Earth?
answer
Both planets are nearly the same size.
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Which of the following statements about the object called Eris is not true?
answer
It is thought to be the first example of a new class of object.
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Mars has two moons that are most similar in character to:
answer
small asteroids
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Imagine that an alien spaceship crashed onto Earth. Which statement would most likely be true?
answer
It would crash in the ocean.
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Which planet listed below has the most extreme seasons?
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Uranus
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In what way is Pluto more like a comet than a planet?
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It is made mostly of rock and ice.
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Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters?
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Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet.
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Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars (such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits?
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It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines.
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Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's North Pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?
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All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.
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The terrestrial planets in our solar system are:
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Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
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The jovian planets in our solar system are:
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Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
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When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all the following chemicals except ______.
answer
carbon dioxide
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Which of the following most clearly distinguishes asteroids and comets from planets?
answer
Asteroids and comets are much smaller than planets.
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What is the Kuiper belt?
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A region of the solar system beginning just beyond the orbit of Neptune that contains many icy comets.
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What is the Oort cloud?
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It's not really a cloud at all, but rather refers to the trillion or so comets thought to orbit the Sun at great distances.
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Which of the following statements about our Sun is not true?
answer
The Sun's diameter is about 5 times that of Earth.
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Which of the following is not true of Mercury?
answer
It has been studied closely by more than a dozen NASA spacecraft.
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Which of the following statements about Mars is not true?
answer
We could survive on Mars without spacesuits, as long as we brought oxygen in scuba tanks.
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The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is
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Venus.
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Which jovian planet does not have rings?
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All the jovian planets have rings
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Which moons are sometimes called the Galilean moons?
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The four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
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Which of the following statements about Pluto is not true?
answer
It is the largest and most massive object that is considered to be a dwarf planet.
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The Cassini mission to Saturn consists of:
answer
An orbiter that orbits Saturn and a probe that descended to the surface of Titan.
question
The spacecraft called Curiosity is _____.
answer
a rover on Mars
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