ASTRONOMY 1010 FINAL EXAM
CORRECT 100%
A rock found on Earth that crashed down from space is called a(n) _____. - ANSWER
Meteroite
About how old is the solar system? - ANSWER 4.5 billion years
According to current evidence, Pluto is best described as __________. - ANSWER a
large member of the Kuiper belt
All the following statements about Mars are true. Which one might have led to a
significant loss of atmospheric gas to space? - ANSWER Mars lost any global magnetic
field that it may once have had.
All the following statements about Venus are true. Which one offers evidence of a global
repaving about a billion years ago? - ANSWER Venus has relatively few impact craters
and these craters are distributed fairly evenly over the entire planet.
All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the
tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io? - ANSWER Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical
orbit as a result of orbital resonances with other moons.
Are there any exceptions to the rule that planets rotate with small axis tilts and in the
same direction that they orbit the Sun? - ANSWER Venus and Uranus are exceptions
Based on computer models, when is planetary migration most likely to occur in a
planetary system? - ANSWER early in its history, when there is still a gaseous disk
around the star
Based on discoveries to date, which of the following conclusions is justified? - ANSWER
Planetary systems are common and planets similar in size to Earth are also common.
Based on everything you have learned about the formation of our solar system, which of
the following statements is probably not true? - ANSWER Only a tiny percentage of
stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation.
Choose the correct explanation, why does the statement below make sense (or is
clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false):
It's the year 2025: The TESS mission has announced the discovery of numerous
planets with Neptune-like orbits around their stars. - ANSWER The statement doesn't
makes sense. Neptune's orbit takes 165 years, so such planets won't have completed
even a single orbit.
, Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and
Saturn is ______. - ANSWER Much larger
In what direction does Uranus orbits the Sun? - ANSWER It orbits the Sun in the same
direction as the other planets.
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth? - ANSWER Both planets are nearly the
same size.
Leftover ice-rich planetesimals are called - ANSWER Comets
Many scientists suspect that Venus has a stronger and thicker lithosphere than Earth. If
this is true, which of the following could explain it? - ANSWER The high surface
temperature that has "baked out" all the liquid water from Venus's crust and mantle.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, that are most similar in character to
____________________. - ANSWER Small asteroids
Our Moon is about the same size as moons of the other terrestrial planets. - ANSWER
False
Overall, current data suggest that __________ of stars are orbited by one or more
planets. - ANSWER at least about 70%
Planetary orbits are: - ANSWER Fairly circular in the same plane
Scientists suspect that Mars once had abundant liquid water on its surface. For this to
have been true, early Mars must have had __________ than Mars today. - ANSWER a
much higher atmospheric pressure and much stronger greenhouse effect
Suppose a planet is discovered by the Doppler method and is then discovered to have
transits. In that case, we can determine all the following about the planet except
______________. - ANSWER its rotation period
Suppose that Earth's ice caps melted, but everything else about the Earth's surface and
atmosphere stayed the same. What would happen to Earth's average surface
temperature? - ANSWER The surface temperature would increase.
Suppose there were no solar wind. How would the appearance of a comet in our inner
solar system be different? - ANSWER It would have only one tail instead of two.
Suppose we have determined the orbital period of a planet around its star. If we also
know the mass of the star, then we can use the planet's orbital period and the star's
mass to calculate __________. - ANSWER the planet's average orbital distance
CORRECT 100%
A rock found on Earth that crashed down from space is called a(n) _____. - ANSWER
Meteroite
About how old is the solar system? - ANSWER 4.5 billion years
According to current evidence, Pluto is best described as __________. - ANSWER a
large member of the Kuiper belt
All the following statements about Mars are true. Which one might have led to a
significant loss of atmospheric gas to space? - ANSWER Mars lost any global magnetic
field that it may once have had.
All the following statements about Venus are true. Which one offers evidence of a global
repaving about a billion years ago? - ANSWER Venus has relatively few impact craters
and these craters are distributed fairly evenly over the entire planet.
All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the
tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io? - ANSWER Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical
orbit as a result of orbital resonances with other moons.
Are there any exceptions to the rule that planets rotate with small axis tilts and in the
same direction that they orbit the Sun? - ANSWER Venus and Uranus are exceptions
Based on computer models, when is planetary migration most likely to occur in a
planetary system? - ANSWER early in its history, when there is still a gaseous disk
around the star
Based on discoveries to date, which of the following conclusions is justified? - ANSWER
Planetary systems are common and planets similar in size to Earth are also common.
Based on everything you have learned about the formation of our solar system, which of
the following statements is probably not true? - ANSWER Only a tiny percentage of
stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation.
Choose the correct explanation, why does the statement below make sense (or is
clearly true) or does not make sense (or is clearly false):
It's the year 2025: The TESS mission has announced the discovery of numerous
planets with Neptune-like orbits around their stars. - ANSWER The statement doesn't
makes sense. Neptune's orbit takes 165 years, so such planets won't have completed
even a single orbit.
, Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and
Saturn is ______. - ANSWER Much larger
In what direction does Uranus orbits the Sun? - ANSWER It orbits the Sun in the same
direction as the other planets.
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth? - ANSWER Both planets are nearly the
same size.
Leftover ice-rich planetesimals are called - ANSWER Comets
Many scientists suspect that Venus has a stronger and thicker lithosphere than Earth. If
this is true, which of the following could explain it? - ANSWER The high surface
temperature that has "baked out" all the liquid water from Venus's crust and mantle.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, that are most similar in character to
____________________. - ANSWER Small asteroids
Our Moon is about the same size as moons of the other terrestrial planets. - ANSWER
False
Overall, current data suggest that __________ of stars are orbited by one or more
planets. - ANSWER at least about 70%
Planetary orbits are: - ANSWER Fairly circular in the same plane
Scientists suspect that Mars once had abundant liquid water on its surface. For this to
have been true, early Mars must have had __________ than Mars today. - ANSWER a
much higher atmospheric pressure and much stronger greenhouse effect
Suppose a planet is discovered by the Doppler method and is then discovered to have
transits. In that case, we can determine all the following about the planet except
______________. - ANSWER its rotation period
Suppose that Earth's ice caps melted, but everything else about the Earth's surface and
atmosphere stayed the same. What would happen to Earth's average surface
temperature? - ANSWER The surface temperature would increase.
Suppose there were no solar wind. How would the appearance of a comet in our inner
solar system be different? - ANSWER It would have only one tail instead of two.
Suppose we have determined the orbital period of a planet around its star. If we also
know the mass of the star, then we can use the planet's orbital period and the star's
mass to calculate __________. - ANSWER the planet's average orbital distance
