ESS 101 EXAM 1 | FROM QUESTION TO PERFECTION|
EVERY QUESTION SOLVED | EVERY SCORE SECURED!
Course Code:
Course Title:
Programme:
Academic Year: 2026/2027.
Duration: 2 Hours.
Total Marks: 70%.
Candidate Instructions:
1) Write your Registration Number on every answer booklet used.
2) Answer ALL questions in Section A and ANY TWO (2) questions in Section B.
3) Read each question carefully before answering.
4) Begin each question on a new page.
5) The marks for each question are indicated in brackets.
6) This paper consists of several printed pages, including this page.
7) Ensure your copy is complete before the examination begins.
8) Unauthorized materials and communication with other candidates are not permitted.
Turn Over.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
, nebular hypothesis Answer: 1. supernova and formation of primordial dust cloud
2. condensation of primordial dust forms disk shaped nebular cloud rotating counter-clockwise.
3. proto sun and planets begin to form
4. accretion of planetesimals and differentiation of planets and moons (4-6 billion years ago).
5. existing solar system takes shape.
Evidence of nebular hypotheses Answer: 1. Planets and moons revolve in a counter-clockwise
direction (not random)
2. almost all planets and moons rotate on their axis in a counter-clockwise direction.
3. planetary orbits are aligned along the suns equatorial plane (not randomly organized)
4. observations from Hubble telescope and radio astronomy indicate that other planetary
systems are forming from condensed nebular dust.
Terrestrial Planets Answer: Close to the sun, dense, small/rocky, silicate minerals, metallic
cores
Twelve earths would fit across the diameter of Jupiter.
Jovian Planets Answer: Far from the sun, low density, large, gaseous (hydrogen, methane)
Why does the earth and terrestrial planets have so little molecular hydrogen comprising their
respective atmosphere, yet the primordial dust cloud was mostly comprised of hydrogen gas?
Answer: Hydrogen gas and helium gas escapes to space when put in our atmosphere.
Jupiter, saturn, and neptune maintain molecular hydrogen gas in the atmosphere because they
have high density.
Differentiated Earth Answer: 1. Iron Nickel Core (outer core liquid)
(inner core solid)
2. Fe-Mg silicate mantle
3. Fe-Mg-Al Silicate Crust (Ocean and Continental)
4. Oceans
5. atmosphere
How is the earth compositionally zoned? Answer: Along a density gradient
How did the earth become compositionally zoned? Answer: 1. Accretion of planetesimals
2. initial heating due to kinetic energy of colliding planetesimals and compressional heating.
3. additional heating from radioactive decay.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
EVERY QUESTION SOLVED | EVERY SCORE SECURED!
Course Code:
Course Title:
Programme:
Academic Year: 2026/2027.
Duration: 2 Hours.
Total Marks: 70%.
Candidate Instructions:
1) Write your Registration Number on every answer booklet used.
2) Answer ALL questions in Section A and ANY TWO (2) questions in Section B.
3) Read each question carefully before answering.
4) Begin each question on a new page.
5) The marks for each question are indicated in brackets.
6) This paper consists of several printed pages, including this page.
7) Ensure your copy is complete before the examination begins.
8) Unauthorized materials and communication with other candidates are not permitted.
Turn Over.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
1
, nebular hypothesis Answer: 1. supernova and formation of primordial dust cloud
2. condensation of primordial dust forms disk shaped nebular cloud rotating counter-clockwise.
3. proto sun and planets begin to form
4. accretion of planetesimals and differentiation of planets and moons (4-6 billion years ago).
5. existing solar system takes shape.
Evidence of nebular hypotheses Answer: 1. Planets and moons revolve in a counter-clockwise
direction (not random)
2. almost all planets and moons rotate on their axis in a counter-clockwise direction.
3. planetary orbits are aligned along the suns equatorial plane (not randomly organized)
4. observations from Hubble telescope and radio astronomy indicate that other planetary
systems are forming from condensed nebular dust.
Terrestrial Planets Answer: Close to the sun, dense, small/rocky, silicate minerals, metallic
cores
Twelve earths would fit across the diameter of Jupiter.
Jovian Planets Answer: Far from the sun, low density, large, gaseous (hydrogen, methane)
Why does the earth and terrestrial planets have so little molecular hydrogen comprising their
respective atmosphere, yet the primordial dust cloud was mostly comprised of hydrogen gas?
Answer: Hydrogen gas and helium gas escapes to space when put in our atmosphere.
Jupiter, saturn, and neptune maintain molecular hydrogen gas in the atmosphere because they
have high density.
Differentiated Earth Answer: 1. Iron Nickel Core (outer core liquid)
(inner core solid)
2. Fe-Mg silicate mantle
3. Fe-Mg-Al Silicate Crust (Ocean and Continental)
4. Oceans
5. atmosphere
How is the earth compositionally zoned? Answer: Along a density gradient
How did the earth become compositionally zoned? Answer: 1. Accretion of planetesimals
2. initial heating due to kinetic energy of colliding planetesimals and compressional heating.
3. additional heating from radioactive decay.
APPHIA – Crafted with Care and Precision for Academic Excellence.
2
