AST 101 Unit 4 Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025-2026
Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the ways the jovian planets differ from
the terrestrial planets?
a. the jovians are larger
b. all the jovians have satellites around them and none of the terrestrials do
c. the jovians are made mostly of liquid and gas
d. the jovians are typically colder and further from the Sun
e. the jovians have rings while the terrestrials do not - Answers b. all the jovians have satellites
around them and none of the terrestrials do
By far the most abundant element in the giant (jovian) planets is:
a. helium
b. hydrogen
c. oxygen
d. nitrogen
e. silicon - Answers b. hydrogen
Which of the following does the composition of a planet like Jupiter resemble:
a. the Sun
b. the Moon
c. the Earth
d. Mars
e. the asteroids - Answers a. the Sun
Much of what we have learned about the jovian planets and their satellites has come from the
work of two spacecraft called:
a. Viking
b. Magellan
c. Voyager
d. Mariner
,e. Enterprise - Answers c. Voyager
The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is
a. Earth
b. Mars
c. Venus
d. Jupiter
e. Neptune - Answers d. Jupiter
Which of the following is NOT a way that Jupiter differs from terrestrial planets?
a. its average density is lower
b. it is farther away from the Sun
c. it includes much more gas and liquid
d. it is larger in diameter
e. its surface has many more craters from early collisions - Answers e. its surface has many
more craters from early collisions
The first spacecraft to explore the environment of the planet Jupiter was called
a. Viking
b. Mariner
c. Apollo
d. Voyager
e. Pioneer - Answers e. Pioneer
What allowed the Voyager 2 spacecraft to make a "tour" of all four of the jovian planets in the
late 1970's and the 1980's?
a. NASA had developed a completely new kind of rocket that could send the craft from planet to
planet
b. the four planets were approximately aligned on one side of the Sun and we used the gravity of
each planet to speed up the spacecraft to get to the next one in its path
c. the spacecraft stopped off to collect fuel on the satellites of each planet before proceeding to
,the next one
d. we used laser beams to propel the spacecraft into the outer solar system, where sunlight is
dim
e. you can't fool me, no spacecraft has ever explored four different planets - Answers b. the four
planets were approximately aligned on one side of the Sun and we used the gravity of each
planet to speed up the spacecraft to get to the next one in its path
The first spacecraft which did not merely fly by a jovian (or giant) planet, but actually went into
orbit around it for an extended period of time was
a. Galileo
b. Einstein
c. Voyager
d. the Hubble Space Telescope
e. Cassini - Answers a. Galileo
Which of the following spacecraft is NOT leaving the solar system?
a. Pioneer 10
b. Pioneer 11
c. Galileo
d. Voyager 1
e. Voyager 2 - Answers c. Galileo
Which of the following statements about the Galileo probe that dropped into Jupiter is FALSE?
a. it was the first spacecraft to enter the atmosphere of a jovian planet
b. it sent back information for a little less than an hour
c. it was slowed by atmospheric friction and a parachute
d. it detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down
e. it found that the temperature and pressure increased as it got further down - Answers d. it
detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down
To obtain the wonderful images of the jovian planets in our textbook (out where the sunlight is a
lot fainter) what did the Voyager spacecraft cameras have to do as they flew by each world?
, a. use faster (more light sensitive) film
b. slow down the spacecraft using retro-rockets to get long exposures
c. swivel the cameras backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by
d. use more than one camera and combine the light that fell into each one
e. simply make do with pictures that got worse and worse as we went outward from the Sun; by
the time we got to Neptune, the images were quite blurry - Answers c. swivel the cameras
backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by
The big problem with the Galileo spacecraft is that
a. its rockets misfired, putting the orbiter section into the wrong orbit
b. its camera has an arm that will not move, preventing us from pointing it correctly
c. its main antenna is stuck in the closed position
d. its computer has stopped working
e. it was manufactured in Bayonne, New Jersey, and didn't work - Answers c. its main antenna is
stuck in the closed position
The jovian planet that has the longest year (period of revolution) is:
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
e. you can't fool me, they all have roughly the same year - Answers d. Neptune
The dwarf planet Pluto was discovered in 1930. Since that time, which jovian planet has
completed a full revolution around the Sun?
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
e. more than one of the above - Answers e. more than one of the above
Which of the following is NOT a correct statement about the ways the jovian planets differ from
the terrestrial planets?
a. the jovians are larger
b. all the jovians have satellites around them and none of the terrestrials do
c. the jovians are made mostly of liquid and gas
d. the jovians are typically colder and further from the Sun
e. the jovians have rings while the terrestrials do not - Answers b. all the jovians have satellites
around them and none of the terrestrials do
By far the most abundant element in the giant (jovian) planets is:
a. helium
b. hydrogen
c. oxygen
d. nitrogen
e. silicon - Answers b. hydrogen
Which of the following does the composition of a planet like Jupiter resemble:
a. the Sun
b. the Moon
c. the Earth
d. Mars
e. the asteroids - Answers a. the Sun
Much of what we have learned about the jovian planets and their satellites has come from the
work of two spacecraft called:
a. Viking
b. Magellan
c. Voyager
d. Mariner
,e. Enterprise - Answers c. Voyager
The largest planet in the solar system (by mass) is
a. Earth
b. Mars
c. Venus
d. Jupiter
e. Neptune - Answers d. Jupiter
Which of the following is NOT a way that Jupiter differs from terrestrial planets?
a. its average density is lower
b. it is farther away from the Sun
c. it includes much more gas and liquid
d. it is larger in diameter
e. its surface has many more craters from early collisions - Answers e. its surface has many
more craters from early collisions
The first spacecraft to explore the environment of the planet Jupiter was called
a. Viking
b. Mariner
c. Apollo
d. Voyager
e. Pioneer - Answers e. Pioneer
What allowed the Voyager 2 spacecraft to make a "tour" of all four of the jovian planets in the
late 1970's and the 1980's?
a. NASA had developed a completely new kind of rocket that could send the craft from planet to
planet
b. the four planets were approximately aligned on one side of the Sun and we used the gravity of
each planet to speed up the spacecraft to get to the next one in its path
c. the spacecraft stopped off to collect fuel on the satellites of each planet before proceeding to
,the next one
d. we used laser beams to propel the spacecraft into the outer solar system, where sunlight is
dim
e. you can't fool me, no spacecraft has ever explored four different planets - Answers b. the four
planets were approximately aligned on one side of the Sun and we used the gravity of each
planet to speed up the spacecraft to get to the next one in its path
The first spacecraft which did not merely fly by a jovian (or giant) planet, but actually went into
orbit around it for an extended period of time was
a. Galileo
b. Einstein
c. Voyager
d. the Hubble Space Telescope
e. Cassini - Answers a. Galileo
Which of the following spacecraft is NOT leaving the solar system?
a. Pioneer 10
b. Pioneer 11
c. Galileo
d. Voyager 1
e. Voyager 2 - Answers c. Galileo
Which of the following statements about the Galileo probe that dropped into Jupiter is FALSE?
a. it was the first spacecraft to enter the atmosphere of a jovian planet
b. it sent back information for a little less than an hour
c. it was slowed by atmospheric friction and a parachute
d. it detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down
e. it found that the temperature and pressure increased as it got further down - Answers d. it
detected a lot of water and water vapor clouds on its way down
To obtain the wonderful images of the jovian planets in our textbook (out where the sunlight is a
lot fainter) what did the Voyager spacecraft cameras have to do as they flew by each world?
, a. use faster (more light sensitive) film
b. slow down the spacecraft using retro-rockets to get long exposures
c. swivel the cameras backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by
d. use more than one camera and combine the light that fell into each one
e. simply make do with pictures that got worse and worse as we went outward from the Sun; by
the time we got to Neptune, the images were quite blurry - Answers c. swivel the cameras
backwards to keep pointing in the same direction as the craft flew by
The big problem with the Galileo spacecraft is that
a. its rockets misfired, putting the orbiter section into the wrong orbit
b. its camera has an arm that will not move, preventing us from pointing it correctly
c. its main antenna is stuck in the closed position
d. its computer has stopped working
e. it was manufactured in Bayonne, New Jersey, and didn't work - Answers c. its main antenna is
stuck in the closed position
The jovian planet that has the longest year (period of revolution) is:
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
e. you can't fool me, they all have roughly the same year - Answers d. Neptune
The dwarf planet Pluto was discovered in 1930. Since that time, which jovian planet has
completed a full revolution around the Sun?
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
e. more than one of the above - Answers e. more than one of the above
