Question 1

Cometary dust tails lag behind the bluish ion tails as the comet rounds the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Earth is nearly twice as large as Venus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

So far, beyond the solar system, the extrasolar planets found have been mostly

Accepted Answer

A)  terrestrials with very elongated, distant orbits like comets. 
B)  large jovians orbiting solar- type stars about where our jovians are found. 
C)  large jovians very close to their star. 
D)  brown dwarfs much more massive than Jupiter. 
E)  terrestrials very close to their star, and transiting its disk. 
A)  terrestrials with very elongated, distant orbits like comets. 
B)  large jovians orbiting solar- type stars about where our jovians are found. 
C)  large jovians very close to their star. 
D)  brown dwarfs much more massive than Jupiter. 
E)  terrestrials very close to their star, and transiting its disk.

Question 4

A Kuiper Belt object was discovered that may be larger than Pluto.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world," is

Accepted Answer

A)  Ida. 
B)  Gaspra. 
C)  Eros. 
D)  Vesta. 
E)  Ceres. 
A)  Ida. 
B)  Gaspra. 
C)  Eros. 
D)  Vesta. 
E)  Ceres.

Question 6

At what point does the accretion process turn a clump of debris into a planetesimal?

Accepted Answer

When its gravity and

Question 7

All planets have rings around their equators

Accepted Answer

The answer of All planets have rings around their equators...

Question 8

Meteoric material dates the formation of the solar system at about billion years.

Accepted Answer

A)  1.5 
B)  2.0 
C)  2.5 
D)  4.6 
E)  10 
A)  1.5 
B)  2.0 
C)  2.5 
D)  4.6 
E)  10

Question 9

Most of the extrasolar planets found so far were detected by

Accepted Answer

A)  noting the drop in the star's light as the planet transits its disk. 
B)  detecting the oxygen in their atmospheres spectroscopically. 
C)  noting the Doppler shifts of the star as the planet orbits it from side to side. 
D)  receiving radio transmissions from them, much like Jupiter emits. 
E)  imaging them with the HST in the infrared, where they are easier to stop. 
A)  noting the drop in the star's light as the planet transits its disk. 
B)  detecting the oxygen in their atmospheres spectroscopically. 
C)  noting the Doppler shifts of the star as the planet orbits it from side to side. 
D)  receiving radio transmissions from them, much like Jupiter emits. 
E)  imaging them with the HST in the infrared, where they are easier to stop.

Question 10

Name the four principal types of solar- system debris; pair them up in terms of composition.

Accepted Answer

Comets, asteroids, meteoroids,

Question 11

Contrast the composition of stony and iron meteorites.

Accepted Answer

Stony meteorites are less dens

Question 12

Name three differences between terrestrial and jovian planets.

Accepted Answer

Terrestrials are smaller, dens

Question 13

Exoplanets known as super- Earths

Accepted Answer

A)  have masses comparable to that of Neptune. 
B)  orbit extremely massive stars. 
C)  have masses comparable to that of Jupiter. 
D)  have masses 2- 10 times that of Earth. 
E)  have yet to be observed. 
A)  have masses comparable to that of Neptune. 
B)  orbit extremely massive stars. 
C)  have masses comparable to that of Jupiter. 
D)  have masses 2- 10 times that of Earth. 
E)  have yet to be observed.

Question 14

Relative to the comet, the direction of the ion tail tells us

Accepted Answer

A)  the direction the comet is traveling. 
B)  the velocity of the comet. 
C)  the direction of the Sun. 
D)  where the ecliptic is. 
E)  where the comet came from. 
A)  the direction the comet is traveling. 
B)  the velocity of the comet. 
C)  the direction of the Sun. 
D)  where the ecliptic is. 
E)  where the comet came from.

Question 15

We would expect other planets beyond our own solar system to orbit the equators of their home stars, as our own planets orbit the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

The number of confirmed extrasolar planets

Accepted Answer

A)  was about 800 at the time of publication but is rising rapidly due to new observations by the Kepler spacecraft. 
B)  is about 600, and is not expected to rise very much. 
C)  is about 800, and is rising slowly, as observations are quite difficult. 
D)  has been decreasing as some observations thought to be planets have been disproven. 
E)  is zero; there are observations thought to be of extrasolar planets but none has yet been confirmed. 
A)  was about 800 at the time of publication but is rising rapidly due to new observations by the Kepler spacecraft. 
B)  is about 600, and is not expected to rise very much. 
C)  is about 800, and is rising slowly, as observations are quite difficult. 
D)  has been decreasing as some observations thought to be planets have been disproven. 
E)  is zero; there are observations thought to be of extrasolar planets but none has yet been confirmed.

Question 17

As a rotating gas cloud contracts, it spins

Accepted Answer

A)  slower due to a decrease in angular momentum. 
B)  faster due to conservation of angular momentum. 
C)  faster due to an increase in angular momentum. 
D)  slower due to conservation of angular momentum. 
E)  at a constant rate. 
A)  slower due to a decrease in angular momentum. 
B)  faster due to conservation of angular momentum. 
C)  faster due to an increase in angular momentum. 
D)  slower due to conservation of angular momentum. 
E)  at a constant rate.

Question 18

A meteor is

Accepted Answer

A)  a streak of light in the atmosphere. 
B)  a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground. 
C)  an icy body with a long tail extending from it. 
D)  a chunk of space debris orbiting the Earth. 
E)  an irregularly shaped body, mostly found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. 
A)  a streak of light in the atmosphere. 
B)  a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground. 
C)  an icy body with a long tail extending from it. 
D)  a chunk of space debris orbiting the Earth. 
E)  an irregularly shaped body, mostly found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

Question 19

Planets with orbital semimajor axes less than 0.1 AU are called .

Accepted Answer

The answer of Planets with orbital semimajor axes less than...

Question 20

Discuss the extinction of the dinosaurs, relating it to an astronomical event.

Accepted Answer

About 65 million years ago, a 20 km- wid

Cometary dust tails lag behind the bluish ion tails as the comet rounds the Sun.

Earth is nearly twice as large as Venus.

So far, beyond the solar system, the extrasolar planets found have been mostly

A Kuiper Belt object was discovered that may be larger than Pluto.

The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world," is

At what point does the accretion process turn a clump of debris into a planetesimal?

All planets have rings around their equators

Meteoric material dates the formation of the solar system at about billion years.

Most of the extrasolar planets found so far were detected by

Name the four principal types of solar- system debris; pair them up in terms of composition.

Contrast the composition of stony and iron meteorites.

Name three differences between terrestrial and jovian planets.

Exoplanets known as super- Earths

Relative to the comet, the direction of the ion tail tells us

We would expect other planets beyond our own solar system to orbit the equators of their home stars, as our own planets orbit the Sun.

The number of confirmed extrasolar planets

As a rotating gas cloud contracts, it spins

A meteor is

Planets with orbital semimajor axes less than 0.1 AU are called .

Discuss the extinction of the dinosaurs, relating it to an astronomical event.

Charting the Heavens: the Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: the Birth of Modern Science

Light and Matter: the Inner Workings of the Cosmos

Telescopes: the Tools of Astronomy

Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard

The Terrestrial Planets: a Study in Contrasts

The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System

Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants

The Sun: Our Parent Star

Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way

Stellar Evolution: the Lives and Deaths of Stars

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Hubbles Law and Dark Matter: the Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: the Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

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Exam 5: The Solar System: Interplanetary Matter and the Birth of the Planets

Cometary dust tails lag behind the bluish ion tails as the comet rounds the Sun.

Earth is nearly twice as large as Venus.

So far, beyond the solar system, the extrasolar planets found have been mostly

A Kuiper Belt object was discovered that may be larger than Pluto.

The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world," is

At what point does the accretion process turn a clump of debris into a planetesimal?

All planets have rings around their equators

Meteoric material dates the formation of the solar system at about billion years.

Most of the extrasolar planets found so far were detected by

Name the four principal types of solar- system debris; pair them up in terms of composition.

Contrast the composition of stony and iron meteorites.

Name three differences between terrestrial and jovian planets.

Exoplanets known as super- Earths

Relative to the comet, the direction of the ion tail tells us

We would expect other planets beyond our own solar system to orbit the equators of their home stars, as our own planets orbit the Sun.

The number of confirmed extrasolar planets

As a rotating gas cloud contracts, it spins

A meteor is

Planets with orbital semimajor axes less than 0.1 AU are called .

Discuss the extinction of the dinosaurs, relating it to an astronomical event.

Charting the Heavens: the Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: the Birth of Modern Science

Light and Matter: the Inner Workings of the Cosmos

Telescopes: the Tools of Astronomy

Earth and Its Moon: Our Cosmic Backyard

The Terrestrial Planets: a Study in Contrasts

The Jovian Planets: Giants of the Solar System

Moons, Rings, and Plutoids: Small Worlds Among Giants

The Sun: Our Parent Star

Measuring the Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Star Formation in the Milky Way

Stellar Evolution: the Lives and Deaths of Stars

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Normal and Active Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Hubbles Law and Dark Matter: the Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: the Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

Filters