Astronomy 1010 Chapters 8,9,10 Exam
Questions Answered Correct Rated
A+.
The solar nebula is - Answer the cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to our solar system
Suppose that it had taken longer for the solar wind to clear away the solar nebula. Which of the
following consequences would have been most likely? - Answer Some ice-rich objects in the
Kuiper belt (such as Pluto or Eris) would have grown to larger sizes
You are analyzing rocks that contain small amounts of potassium-40 and argon-40. The half-life
of potassium-40 is 1.25 billion years. You find a rock that contains 4 times as much argon-40 as
potassium-40. How old is it? - Answer 3.23 billion years
What is being shown in the zoom-out box of this painting? - Answer The formation of a jovian
planet
This photo shows a slice of a meteorite. What is its significance? - Answer The shiny metal
flakes embedded in rock are just what we expect if condensation really occurred as the nebular
theory predicts
This sequence of paintings shows how a large gas cloud can collapse to become a much smaller,
spinning disk of gas. What law explains why cloud spins faster as it shrinks in size? - Answer
The law of conservation of angular momentum
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials than the outer planets? - Answer In the
inner part of the nebula only metals and rocks were able to condense because of the high
temperatures, whereas hydrogen compounds, although more abundant, were only able to
condense in the cooler outer regions
According to our present theory of solar system formation, how did Earth end up with enough
water to make oceans? - Answer The water was brought to the forming Earth by planetesimals
that accreted beyond the orbit of Mars
According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following best explains
why the solar nebula ended up with a disk shape as it collapsed? - Answer It flattened as a
, Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest. - Answer Moon,
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
What are the basic requirements for a terrestrial world to have a global magnetic field? -
Answer A core layer of molten, convecting material and sufficiently rapid rotation
Heat escapes from a planet's surface into space by thermal radiation. Planets radiate almost
entirely in the wavelength range of the - Answer Infrared
What two geological processes appear to have been most important in shaping the present
surface of Venus? - Answer Volcanoes and tectonics
Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury? -
Answer Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experiences some volcanism
and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all
This photo was taken from orbit around some planet. What planet is it? - Answer Mars,
because we see dried up riverbeds
Which feature in this photo of the full moon is one of the lunar maria? - Answer 1
Ultraviolet light is absorbed in the - Answer Stratosphere
Why is Mars red? - Answer Its surface rocks were rusted by oxygen
Which of the following describes a primary role of global circulation cells in a planet's
atmosphere? - Answer They transport heat from the equator towards the poles
Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works? - Answer A planet's
surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as infrared light.
Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower
atmosphere
Why does Mars have more extreme seasons than Earth? - Answer Because it has a much more
Questions Answered Correct Rated
A+.
The solar nebula is - Answer the cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to our solar system
Suppose that it had taken longer for the solar wind to clear away the solar nebula. Which of the
following consequences would have been most likely? - Answer Some ice-rich objects in the
Kuiper belt (such as Pluto or Eris) would have grown to larger sizes
You are analyzing rocks that contain small amounts of potassium-40 and argon-40. The half-life
of potassium-40 is 1.25 billion years. You find a rock that contains 4 times as much argon-40 as
potassium-40. How old is it? - Answer 3.23 billion years
What is being shown in the zoom-out box of this painting? - Answer The formation of a jovian
planet
This photo shows a slice of a meteorite. What is its significance? - Answer The shiny metal
flakes embedded in rock are just what we expect if condensation really occurred as the nebular
theory predicts
This sequence of paintings shows how a large gas cloud can collapse to become a much smaller,
spinning disk of gas. What law explains why cloud spins faster as it shrinks in size? - Answer
The law of conservation of angular momentum
Why are the inner planets made of denser materials than the outer planets? - Answer In the
inner part of the nebula only metals and rocks were able to condense because of the high
temperatures, whereas hydrogen compounds, although more abundant, were only able to
condense in the cooler outer regions
According to our present theory of solar system formation, how did Earth end up with enough
water to make oceans? - Answer The water was brought to the forming Earth by planetesimals
that accreted beyond the orbit of Mars
According to our present theory of solar system formation, which of the following best explains
why the solar nebula ended up with a disk shape as it collapsed? - Answer It flattened as a
, Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest. - Answer Moon,
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
What are the basic requirements for a terrestrial world to have a global magnetic field? -
Answer A core layer of molten, convecting material and sufficiently rapid rotation
Heat escapes from a planet's surface into space by thermal radiation. Planets radiate almost
entirely in the wavelength range of the - Answer Infrared
What two geological processes appear to have been most important in shaping the present
surface of Venus? - Answer Volcanoes and tectonics
Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury? -
Answer Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experiences some volcanism
and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all
This photo was taken from orbit around some planet. What planet is it? - Answer Mars,
because we see dried up riverbeds
Which feature in this photo of the full moon is one of the lunar maria? - Answer 1
Ultraviolet light is absorbed in the - Answer Stratosphere
Why is Mars red? - Answer Its surface rocks were rusted by oxygen
Which of the following describes a primary role of global circulation cells in a planet's
atmosphere? - Answer They transport heat from the equator towards the poles
Which of the following best describes how the greenhouse effect works? - Answer A planet's
surface absorbs visible sunlight and returns this absorbed energy to space as infrared light.
Greenhouse gases slow the escape of this infrared radiation, which thereby heats the lower
atmosphere
Why does Mars have more extreme seasons than Earth? - Answer Because it has a much more
