Question 1

Why are Jupiter and Saturn not perfectly spherical?

Accepted Answer

A)  They formed from the collision of two large planetesimals. 
B)  They rotate rapidly. 
C)  They have storms that develop preferentially along their equators. 
D)  They have very active aurorae that heat the atmospheres along the poles. 
E)  They have so much more gravity that the poles get pulled harder than the equators. 
A)  They formed from the collision of two large planetesimals. 
B)  They rotate rapidly. 
C)  They have storms that develop preferentially along their equators. 
D)  They have very active aurorae that heat the atmospheres along the poles. 
E)  They have so much more gravity that the poles get pulled harder than the equators. B

Question 2

Each giant planet has a core made of _________ that is five to 10 times the mass of the Earth.

Accepted Answer

A)  hydrogen 
B)  rocky material 
C)  water 
D)  hydrocarbons 
E)  methane 
A)  hydrogen 
B)  rocky material 
C)  water 
D)  hydrocarbons 
E)  methane B

Question 3

Jupiter is approximately 20 times more massive than the Earth.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

The fact that Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm/year results in:

Accepted Answer

A)  differential convection that powers Jupiter's Great Red Spot 
B)  Jupiter's rotation rate slowing down with time 
C)  Jupiter's shape being less oblate 
D)  Jupiter radiating more heat than it receives from the Sun 
E)  Jupiter's orbit around the Sun getting smaller 
A)  differential convection that powers Jupiter's Great Red Spot 
B)  Jupiter's rotation rate slowing down with time 
C)  Jupiter's shape being less oblate 
D)  Jupiter radiating more heat than it receives from the Sun 
E)  Jupiter's orbit around the Sun getting smaller

Question 5

If you monitor Jupiter's atmosphere and you see a storm near the equator move from a longitude of 60° west to a longitude of 80° west over six days, what is the wind speed at this storm's latitude on Jupiter? Note that these positions are measured on a coordinate system that rotates with the planet's interior, and the radius of Jupiter is 7.2 * 107 m .

Accepted Answer

A)  700 m/s 
B)  300 m/s 
C)  100 m/s 
D)  50 m/s 
E)  500 m/s 
A)  700 m/s 
B)  300 m/s 
C)  100 m/s 
D)  50 m/s 
E)  500 m/s

Question 6

The figure below shows a picture of Saturn taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.   What is causing the circle of light seen near the Saturn's pole?

Accepted Answer

A)  Solar wind particles are being trapped by Saturn's magnetic field, causing an aurora. 
B)  Strong storms on Saturn are causing lightning strikes. 
C)  Saturn's tilt is causing that area of the planet to be warmer, so it gives off bluer light. 
D)  Metallic hydrogen is being released from the surface of Saturn. 
E)  Saturn is giving off energy because it is shrinking. 
A)  Solar wind particles are being trapped by Saturn's magnetic field, causing an aurora. 
B)  Strong storms on Saturn are causing lightning strikes. 
C)  Saturn's tilt is causing that area of the planet to be warmer, so it gives off bluer light. 
D)  Metallic hydrogen is being released from the surface of Saturn. 
E)  Saturn is giving off energy because it is shrinking.

Question 7

We refer to some of the inner regions of Jupiter and Saturn as metallic hydrogen because they:

Accepted Answer

A)  are as dense as lead 
B)  are solid 
C)  provide support for the upper layers of hydrogen and helium 
D)  efficiently conduct electricity 
E)  are found in the core like iron is found at the core of the Earth 
A)  are as dense as lead 
B)  are solid 
C)  provide support for the upper layers of hydrogen and helium 
D)  efficiently conduct electricity 
E)  are found in the core like iron is found at the core of the Earth

Question 8

Why were Adams and Le Verrier acknowledged as the discoverers of the planet Neptune?

Accepted Answer

A)  They were the first to see it through a telescope. 
B)  They took time-lapsed photos to show its motion across the sky. 
C)  They predicted its position based on the observed discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. 
D)  They were the directors of the observatory at which it was discovered. 
E)  They paid for the observations that discovered it. 
A)  They were the first to see it through a telescope. 
B)  They took time-lapsed photos to show its motion across the sky. 
C)  They predicted its position based on the observed discrepancies in the orbit of Uranus. 
D)  They were the directors of the observatory at which it was discovered. 
E)  They paid for the observations that discovered it.

Question 9

All the giant planets, not just Jupiter, have atmospheric bands and storms.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

What would you observe in order to accurately measure the rotational period of a giant planet?

Accepted Answer

A)  clouds in the atmosphere 
B)  bands of storms on the equator 
C)  stellar occultations 
D)  synchrotron emission 
E)  the orbit of its moons 
A)  clouds in the atmosphere 
B)  bands of storms on the equator 
C)  stellar occultations 
D)  synchrotron emission 
E)  the orbit of its moons

Question 11

If the flux of sunlight on a planet suggested its temperature should be 200 K, but its actual temperature was 220 K, then how much more energy does this planet emit relative to the energy it receives from its parent star?

Accepted Answer

A)  5.3 times more energy 
B)  2.1 times more energy 
C)  2.9 times more energy 
D)  1.1 times more energy 
E)  1.5 times more energy 
A)  5.3 times more energy 
B)  2.1 times more energy 
C)  2.9 times more energy 
D)  1.1 times more energy 
E)  1.5 times more energy

Question 12

Band systems on Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are most prominent when viewed in which wavelength regime?

Accepted Answer

A)  visible 
B)  infrared 
C)  ultraviolet 
D)  X-ray 
E)  microwave 
A)  visible 
B)  infrared 
C)  ultraviolet 
D)  X-ray 
E)  microwave

Question 13

Where do Uranus's and Neptune's strong magnetic fields originate?

Accepted Answer

A)  molten rocky cores 
B)  salty oceans 
C)  large magnetospheres 
D)  metallic hydrogen layers 
E)  methane clouds 
A)  molten rocky cores 
B)  salty oceans 
C)  large magnetospheres 
D)  metallic hydrogen layers 
E)  methane clouds

Question 14

Why would a satellite orbiting close to Jupiter have a very hard time detecting solar wind particles?

Accepted Answer

A)  Jupiter's strong gravity pulls them into the planet. 
B)  Jupiter is too far away from the Sun to get any solar wind. 
C)  The satellite would be moving too fast in its orbit to catch any of them. 
D)  The Great Red Spot pushes them away from Jupiter. 
E)  Jupiter's magnetosphere deflects them. 
A)  Jupiter's strong gravity pulls them into the planet. 
B)  Jupiter is too far away from the Sun to get any solar wind. 
C)  The satellite would be moving too fast in its orbit to catch any of them. 
D)  The Great Red Spot pushes them away from Jupiter. 
E)  Jupiter's magnetosphere deflects them.

Question 15

When charged particles oscillate around magnetic field lines of a planet, they emit radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Of the giant planets, only Jupiter and Saturn have thick inner layers of:

Accepted Answer

A)  liquid rock 
B)  solid rock 
C)  metallic hydrogen 
D)  liquid methane 
E)  water 
A)  liquid rock 
B)  solid rock 
C)  metallic hydrogen 
D)  liquid methane 
E)  water

Question 17

You could fit roughly _________ Jupiters across the diameter of the Sun and roughly _________ Earths across Jupiter's diameter.

Accepted Answer

A)  10; 100 
B)  100; 10 
C)  10; 10 
D)  100; 100 
E)  1,000; 1,000 
A)  10; 100 
B)  100; 10 
C)  10; 10 
D)  100; 100 
E)  1,000; 1,000

Question 18

When Voyager I passed through Jupiter's magnetosphere, it flew through a plasma 20 times hotter than the surface of the Sun. Why did the low density of the plasma save the spacecraft from melting?

Accepted Answer

You only "feel" temperatures when high-e

Question 19

Jupiter's mass is more than twice the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Neptune and Uranus probably took longer to form than Jupiter and Saturn, because the solar nebula was _________ at the radius of Neptune and Uranus.

Accepted Answer

A)  rotating faster 
B)  composed of rockier planetesimals 
C)  not as dense 
D)  hotter 
E)  colder 
A)  rotating faster 
B)  composed of rockier planetesimals 
C)  not as dense 
D)  hotter 
E)  colder

Exam 10: Worlds of Gas and Liquid the Giant Planets

Why are Jupiter and Saturn not perfectly spherical?

Each giant planet has a core made of _________ that is five to 10 times the mass of the Earth.

Jupiter is approximately 20 times more massive than the Earth.

The fact that Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm/year results in:

The figure below shows a picture of Saturn taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. What is causing the circle of light seen near the Saturn's pole?

We refer to some of the inner regions of Jupiter and Saturn as metallic hydrogen because they:

Why were Adams and Le Verrier acknowledged as the discoverers of the planet Neptune?

All the giant planets, not just Jupiter, have atmospheric bands and storms.

What would you observe in order to accurately measure the rotational period of a giant planet?

If the flux of sunlight on a planet suggested its temperature should be 200 K, but its actual temperature was 220 K, then how much more energy does this planet emit relative to the energy it receives from its parent star?

Band systems on Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are most prominent when viewed in which wavelength regime?

Where do Uranus's and Neptune's strong magnetic fields originate?

Why would a satellite orbiting close to Jupiter have a very hard time detecting solar wind particles?

When charged particles oscillate around magnetic field lines of a planet, they emit radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum.

Of the giant planets, only Jupiter and Saturn have thick inner layers of:

You could fit roughly _________ Jupiters across the diameter of the Sun and roughly _________ Earths across Jupiter's diameter.

When Voyager I passed through Jupiter's magnetosphere, it flew through a plasma 20 times hotter than the surface of the Sun. Why did the low density of the plasma save the spacecraft from melting?

Jupiter's mass is more than twice the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined.

Neptune and Uranus probably took longer to form than Jupiter and Saturn, because the solar nebula was _________ at the radius of Neptune and Uranus.

Why Learn Astronomy

Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth

Motion of Astronomical Bodies

Gravity and Orbits

Light

The Tools of the Astronomer

The Birth and Evolution of Planetary Systems

The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets

Planetary Adornmentsmoons and Rings

Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

Taking the Measure of Stars

Our Starthe Sun

Star Formation and the Interstellar Medium

Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

Evolution of High-Mass Stars

Relativity and Black Holes

The Expanding Universe

Galaxies

The Milky Waya Normal Spiral Galaxy

Modern Cosmology

Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Life

Filters

You could fit roughly _ Jupiters across the diameter of the Sun and roughly _ Earths across Jupiter's diameter.