AST 109 Final exams Questions with Revised
Answers| Verified 100% Correct
Jupiter's mass is more than ___ times the mass of the other 7 planets put together -
✔✔2.5
What we see of Jupiter through telescopes and spacecraft images are the moving and
shifting (relative to each other) cloud tops. These motions indicate wind speeds in the
range of ______. [A 'Category 5' hurricane - the most powerful class - on Earth has
sustained winds of about 250 km/hr.] - ✔✔300-700 km/hr
Jupiter's moon with almost exactly twice the mass of Earth's moon is - ✔✔Ganymede
The lowest density Galilean moon is - ✔✔Callisto
The most volcanic of Jupiter's moons is - ✔✔Io
There is evidence that the interiors of three of Jupiter's moons each have a layer
composed of liquid ______ . - ✔✔water
Since Jupiter is a rapidly-spinning ball of liquid, it is a little fatter around the middle
(equator) than it is along its axis of rotation (through its poles) and this tendency to be
'out of round' is called a planet's 'oblateness.' Dividing Jupiter's diameter through its
poles by its diameter through the equator region, gives its oblateness value of _____ -
✔✔
The top layer of clouds on Jupiter are mostly made up of crystals of the molecule
______ , a common household cleaning fluid. - ✔✔ammonia
,The answer to Focus Question 9.3 is 'ongoing motion of Io's interior...' caused by
constantly changing tidal ______. - ✔✔Stress
Air pressure on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is about ______ the air
pressure we experience here on Earth - ✔✔100 times
Similar to Earth, the most abundant gas in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan, is
_______. - ✔✔Nitrogen
If you were to travel from the equator to the higher latitudes (near either pole) on
Saturn, the differential rotation would cause the length of a day that you would
measure to be longer by ____ hour(s). [Number accurate to 2 places after the decim -
✔✔0.43
Saturn rings are mostly composed of - ✔✔chunks of water ice
Wind speeds on Saturn can be as great as _____ km/h, about 3 times the peak winds
observed on Jupiter. - ✔✔1600
The two 'Shepherd moons' that keep the F-ring of Saturn from scattering are called -
✔✔Prometheus___
and
___Pandora___
.
, Saturn emits 2.3 times as much energy as it receives from the Sun, and the extra energy
comes from Saturn's ______ falling as 'rain' through its clouds and atmosphere -
✔✔Helium
The major reason that life seems so unlikely on Titan is surface - ✔✔low
temperatures
Ethane and methane, hydrocarbon gases on Earth, can be found in lakes on -
✔✔Titan
Like Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto around Jupiter, two of Saturn's moons with strong
evidence of subsurface water 'oceans' are - ✔✔Titan and Enceladus
The most prominent feature on Mimas (which makes it look a bit like the 'Empire's
Death Star' from the first Star Wars movie) is named ________ . - ✔✔Herschel
Enceladus is composed of about _____ % rock. - ✔✔55
When the Cassini spacecraft passed through a gap in the rings, it was impacted about
______ times. - ✔✔100,000
Keeping track of features on the surface of Titan through multiple flybys, the Cassini
spacecraft detected the fact that the moon's surface shifts about _____ km/year relative
to the interior. - ✔✔15
About _____ of the roughly 8000 'earth-crossing' asteroids (of the roughly 14,000 'near
earth objects') threaten to possibly someday actually strike the earth. - ✔✔
Answers| Verified 100% Correct
Jupiter's mass is more than ___ times the mass of the other 7 planets put together -
✔✔2.5
What we see of Jupiter through telescopes and spacecraft images are the moving and
shifting (relative to each other) cloud tops. These motions indicate wind speeds in the
range of ______. [A 'Category 5' hurricane - the most powerful class - on Earth has
sustained winds of about 250 km/hr.] - ✔✔300-700 km/hr
Jupiter's moon with almost exactly twice the mass of Earth's moon is - ✔✔Ganymede
The lowest density Galilean moon is - ✔✔Callisto
The most volcanic of Jupiter's moons is - ✔✔Io
There is evidence that the interiors of three of Jupiter's moons each have a layer
composed of liquid ______ . - ✔✔water
Since Jupiter is a rapidly-spinning ball of liquid, it is a little fatter around the middle
(equator) than it is along its axis of rotation (through its poles) and this tendency to be
'out of round' is called a planet's 'oblateness.' Dividing Jupiter's diameter through its
poles by its diameter through the equator region, gives its oblateness value of _____ -
✔✔
The top layer of clouds on Jupiter are mostly made up of crystals of the molecule
______ , a common household cleaning fluid. - ✔✔ammonia
,The answer to Focus Question 9.3 is 'ongoing motion of Io's interior...' caused by
constantly changing tidal ______. - ✔✔Stress
Air pressure on the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is about ______ the air
pressure we experience here on Earth - ✔✔100 times
Similar to Earth, the most abundant gas in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan, is
_______. - ✔✔Nitrogen
If you were to travel from the equator to the higher latitudes (near either pole) on
Saturn, the differential rotation would cause the length of a day that you would
measure to be longer by ____ hour(s). [Number accurate to 2 places after the decim -
✔✔0.43
Saturn rings are mostly composed of - ✔✔chunks of water ice
Wind speeds on Saturn can be as great as _____ km/h, about 3 times the peak winds
observed on Jupiter. - ✔✔1600
The two 'Shepherd moons' that keep the F-ring of Saturn from scattering are called -
✔✔Prometheus___
and
___Pandora___
.
, Saturn emits 2.3 times as much energy as it receives from the Sun, and the extra energy
comes from Saturn's ______ falling as 'rain' through its clouds and atmosphere -
✔✔Helium
The major reason that life seems so unlikely on Titan is surface - ✔✔low
temperatures
Ethane and methane, hydrocarbon gases on Earth, can be found in lakes on -
✔✔Titan
Like Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto around Jupiter, two of Saturn's moons with strong
evidence of subsurface water 'oceans' are - ✔✔Titan and Enceladus
The most prominent feature on Mimas (which makes it look a bit like the 'Empire's
Death Star' from the first Star Wars movie) is named ________ . - ✔✔Herschel
Enceladus is composed of about _____ % rock. - ✔✔55
When the Cassini spacecraft passed through a gap in the rings, it was impacted about
______ times. - ✔✔100,000
Keeping track of features on the surface of Titan through multiple flybys, the Cassini
spacecraft detected the fact that the moon's surface shifts about _____ km/year relative
to the interior. - ✔✔15
About _____ of the roughly 8000 'earth-crossing' asteroids (of the roughly 14,000 'near
earth objects') threaten to possibly someday actually strike the earth. - ✔✔
