Question 1

How would Interplanetary Travel,Inc.,advertise a holiday to Neptune's satellite Triton?

Accepted Answer

A)  The largest number of volcanoes for your travel dollar anywhere in the solar system! 
B)  Skate on frozen nitrogen lakes all morning, bask beside nitrogen geysers in the afternoon! 
C)  Hot and dry-never rains-beautiful sulfurous skies! 
D)  Exquisite ethane lakes, hydrocarbons beyond your wildest dreams, no shortage of fuel! 
A)  The largest number of volcanoes for your travel dollar anywhere in the solar system! 
B)  Skate on frozen nitrogen lakes all morning, bask beside nitrogen geysers in the afternoon! 
C)  Hot and dry-never rains-beautiful sulfurous skies! 
D)  Exquisite ethane lakes, hydrocarbons beyond your wildest dreams, no shortage of fuel!

Question 2

Which is the BIGGEST planet in the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  Earth 
B)  Neptune 
C)  Jupiter 
D)  Saturn 
A)  Earth 
B)  Neptune 
C)  Jupiter 
D)  Saturn

Question 3

Which observational fact leads scientists to the conclusion that the particles making up Saturn's rings are ice or ice-covered rocks?

Accepted Answer

A)  high albedo, or reflectivity, of the ring material 
B)  distribution of their sizes; water ice is only strong enough to form the objects of the sizes detected in the rings 
C)  spectrum of the reflected light, which shows features unique to water ice 
D)  thin layer of haze above and below the rings originating from evaporated water vapor 
A)  high albedo, or reflectivity, of the ring material 
B)  distribution of their sizes; water ice is only strong enough to form the objects of the sizes detected in the rings 
C)  spectrum of the reflected light, which shows features unique to water ice 
D)  thin layer of haze above and below the rings originating from evaporated water vapor

Question 4

The permanent and stable magnetic field detected on Ganymede by the Galileo spacecraft indicates that this moon must have a source of internal heat to provide for the movement of electrically charged material.What is thought to be the source of the heat?

Accepted Answer

A)  decay of radioactive materials 
B)  release of gravitational potential energy at the moon's original formation 
C)  tidal flexure caused when this moon moved in an elliptical orbit earlier in its history 
D)  tidal flexure at the present time from neighboring moons and Jupiter 
A)  decay of radioactive materials 
B)  release of gravitational potential energy at the moon's original formation 
C)  tidal flexure caused when this moon moved in an elliptical orbit earlier in its history 
D)  tidal flexure at the present time from neighboring moons and Jupiter

Question 5

What is the MOST probable physical mechanism to have caused the very long cracks and streaks that criss-cross the surface of Europa,one of the moons of Jupiter?

Accepted Answer

A)  Volcanic eruptions caused lava flows, which then froze in place. 
B)  The "cracks" are frozen rivers that, in warmer times, were flowing across the moon's surface. 
C)  The "cracks" are actually the tops of gigantic greenhouses, built by inhabitants of Europa to protect their cucumber crops. 
D)  Tidal flexing by Jupiter cracked the icy surface, allowing subsurface fluids to gush out and freeze in place. 
A)  Volcanic eruptions caused lava flows, which then froze in place. 
B)  The "cracks" are frozen rivers that, in warmer times, were flowing across the moon's surface. 
C)  The "cracks" are actually the tops of gigantic greenhouses, built by inhabitants of Europa to protect their cucumber crops. 
D)  Tidal flexing by Jupiter cracked the icy surface, allowing subsurface fluids to gush out and freeze in place.

Question 6

What is the heat source that causes the extensive volcanic activity observed on Jupiter's satellite Io?

Accepted Answer

A)  frictional heating by mantle convection and crustal tectonics 
B)  tidal stresses from Jupiter and Io's companion moons 
C)  "primordial" heat remaining from when Io first formed 
D)  heat released by radioactivity in Io's core and mantle 
A)  frictional heating by mantle convection and crustal tectonics 
B)  tidal stresses from Jupiter and Io's companion moons 
C)  "primordial" heat remaining from when Io first formed 
D)  heat released by radioactivity in Io's core and mantle

How would Interplanetary Travel,Inc.,advertise a holiday to Neptune's satellite Triton?

Which is the BIGGEST planet in the solar system?

Which observational fact leads scientists to the conclusion that the particles making up Saturn's rings are ice or ice-covered rocks?

The permanent and stable magnetic field detected on Ganymede by the Galileo spacecraft indicates that this moon must have a source of internal heat to provide for the movement of electrically charged material.What is thought to be the source of the heat?

What is the MOST probable physical mechanism to have caused the very long cracks and streaks that criss-cross the surface of Europa,one of the moons of Jupiter?

What is the heat source that causes the extensive volcanic activity observed on Jupiter's satellite Io?

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems

Exoplanets

The Terrestrial Planets and Their Moons

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of the Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Deaths and Remnants of Stars

The Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters

Exam 7: The Outer Planets and Their Moons

How would Interplanetary Travel,Inc.,advertise a holiday to Neptune's satellite Triton?

Which is the BIGGEST planet in the solar system?

Which observational fact leads scientists to the conclusion that the particles making up Saturn's rings are ice or ice-covered rocks?

The permanent and stable magnetic field detected on Ganymede by the Galileo spacecraft indicates that this moon must have a source of internal heat to provide for the movement of electrically charged material.What is thought to be the source of the heat?

What is the MOST probable physical mechanism to have caused the very long cracks and streaks that criss-cross the surface of Europa,one of the moons of Jupiter?

What is the heat source that causes the extensive volcanic activity observed on Jupiter's satellite Io?

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems

Exoplanets

The Terrestrial Planets and Their Moons

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of the Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Deaths and Remnants of Stars

The Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters