Deck 11: Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System

Question 1

Like Earth,Jupiter's internal energy is generated chiefly by radioactive decay.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The clouds of Jupiter are primarily composed of liquid hydrogen.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Some of Jupiter's smaller outer moons have retrograde orbits,indicating capture occurred.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The equator of Jupiter rotates slower than the Great Red spot.

Question 5

Jupiter puts back into space twice the energy it gets from the Sun.

Question 6

Jupiter has twice the mass of all the other planets combined.

Question 7

Differential rotation is when a planet's equator and polar regions rotate at different rates.

Question 8

Colors in Jupiter's clouds are largely due to helium compounds.

Question 9

Jupiter rotates about ten minutes faster at its equator than it does at its poles.

Question 10

All the Galilean moons are in synchronous rotation,with the same face always pointed toward Jupiter,except for tidally stressed Io.

Question 11

The zonal flows giving rise to the belts and zones are similar to the jet streams in our own stratosphere.

Question 12

Telescopically,Jupiter is the most colorful and changeable of the planets.

Question 13

Amateur astronomers have contributed to the understanding of impact events on Jupiter.

Question 14

Jupiter's atmosphere is a single huge storm system.

Question 15

We have observed a comet strike Jupiter.

Question 16

Jupiter's magnetic field is much stronger than Earth's,and has a magnetic tail that extends beyond the orbit of Saturn.

Question 17

While hydrogen,helium,water,and ammonia can produce the white coloration of Jupiter's zones,the brownish color of the belts requires more complex chemistry.

Question 18

The Great Red Spot has been seen on Jupiter as long as we have had telescopes capable of observing it.

Question 19

If it were about 80 times as massive as present,Jupiter could become a star.

Question 20

The particles making up the ring of Jupiter are composed of bright,reflective ice.

Question 21

What evidence do we have that Jupiter must have a substantial solid core under the thick clouds?

A) Its magnetic field must be form by rotating molten iron, like our own.
B) Occasional breaks in the clouds reveal a solid surface at times.
C) Jupiter's disk is more oblate than it should be, suggesting it has a higher density.
D) Jupiter's disk is less oblate than it should be, if it were only hydrogen and helium.
E) The Io flux tube goes straight down to Jupiter's iron core.

Question 22

How does the density of Jupiter compare to the terrestrial planets?

A) It is denser than all the terrestrial planets combined.
B) It is denser than the Moon, but less dense than any of the others.
C) Its density is slightly less than Mercury, but more than Mars.
D) Its density is about the same as Mars.
E) Its density is less than any terrestrial.

Question 23

The white zones of Jupiter are probably made of:

A) hydrogen sulfide.
B) water ice.
C) dry ice.
D) ammonia ice.
E) phosphorus.

Question 24

Together,which two gases make up 99% of Jupiter's atmosphere?

A) Ammonia and Methane
B) Water Vapor and Methane
C) Helium and Ammonia
D) Hydrogen and Ammonia
E) Hydrogen and Helium

Question 25

The first spacecraft to drop a weather probe into Jupiter's atmosphere was:

A) Cassini.
B) Global Surveyor.
C) Voyager 2.
D) Viking 1.
E) Galileo.

Question 26

Essentially,the Great Red Spot is:

A) Neptune's largest atmospheric feature.
B) a large cyclonic storm (hurricane).
C) always located within 10 degrees of Jupiter's north pole.
D) composed primarily of iron oxide.
E) traveling north and south across Jupiter's face.

Question 27

How does the mass of Jupiter compare with that of the other planets?

A) It is slightly larger and more massive than Saturn.
B) It is similar to that of the Earth and Venus.
C) It is twice as massive as all other planets combined.
D) It is almost as massive as Saturn.
E) It is about a tenth the mass of the Sun.

Question 28

What is the name used to describe the dark bands encircling Jupiter?

A) belts
B) brown stripes
C) zones
D) zonal flows
E) convection cells

Question 29

The Galileo mission put a spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter.Which statement about that spacecraft is true?

A) The spacecraft crashed into the moon Europa.
B) The spacecraft's probe measured windspeeds in Jupiter's atmosphere.
C) A saltwater ocean was discovered on Jupiter.
D) Intense magnetic fields were discovered in the asteroid belt.
E) A probe was released which soft landed on Io.

Question 30

The impact of which comet helped establish the importance of impacts in our solar system?

A) Kohoutek
B) Hale-Bopp
C) Halley's Comet
D) Comet ISON
E) Shoemaker-Levy 9

Question 31

Which of these spacecraft did NOT go to Jupiter?

A) Voyager I
B) Voyager 2
C) Cassini
D) Mariner 9
E) Galileo

Question 32

The belts of Jupiter are best described as :

A) regions of downward moving material and low pressure.
B) regions of upward moving material and low pressure.
C) regions of upward moving material and high pressure.
D) regions of downward moving material and high pressure.
E) turbulent regions with no organized circulation pattern.

Question 33

Jupiter is noticeably oblate because:

A) it has a strong magnetic field.
B) it has such powerful gravity.
C) it rotates rapidly.
D) it undergoes a gravitational attraction from each of its various moons.
E) it has a mantle of liquid metallic hydrogen.

Question 34

The only spacecraft to go into orbit around Jupiter was:

A) Voyager 2.
B) Pioneer 10.
C) Cassini.
D) Galileo.
E) Viking I.

Question 35

The most striking "cloudmark" in Jupiter's atmosphere is the:

A) Great Dark Spot.
B) Cassini Division.
C) Great Red Spot.
D) Black Hole.
E) Brown Dwarf.

Question 36

What is the probable source of the day-to-day variations in Jupiter's belts and zones?

A) convection of cool ammonia ice upward
B) differential rotation and the underlying zonal flow
C) oblateness due to low density
D) thermonuclear fusion
E) Jupiter's huge magnetosphere

Question 37

What is interesting about Jupiter's rotation period?

A) It is the same as Earth's.
B) It is the same as its orbital period.
C) It is the same as the Sun's.
D) It is the slowest in the solar system.
E) It is the fastest in the solar system.

Question 38

The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their:

A) rapid rotation.
B) strong magnetic fields.
C) ring systems.
D) large mass.
E) many moons.

Question 39

Alternating zones of rising and sinking gas in Jupiter's atmosphere:

A) create light and dark bands.
B) cause Jupiter's magnetic field to ripple.
C) produced the ring system discovered by Voyager.
D) generate their own magnetic fields.
E) circle the planet from pole to pole.

Question 40

How was the rotation rate of Jupiter's core determined?

A) by observing the Great Red Spot
B) by watching Io move across the disk of Jupiter
C) by radio observations of Jupiter's rapidly spinning magnetosphere
D) by observing the fastest moving regions of Jupiter's equator
E) by measuring the oblateness of Jupiter's disk

Question 41

What is thought to lie at the center of Jupiter?

A) a hot sea of liquid metallic hydrogen
B) a solid core of crystalline helium
C) a massive core of rocky materials with some iron mixed in
D) gaseous hydrogen and helium, for Jupiter is not differentiated like Earth
E) a fusion core like the Sun's, with hydrogen being turned into helium

Question 42

Jupiter gives back into space twice the energy it gets from the distant Sun.Where is this energy coming from,for the most part?

A) the impact energy of comets like SL-9
B) helium rain descending into its mantle and core
C) the slow escape of gravitational energy left from its formation
D) the radioactive decay of U-238 in its iron-rich core, just as with the Earth
E) the combined tidal stress of all four large Galilean moons

Question 43

Of the Galilean moons,the one with striking grooved terrain and icy tectonic features as well as older craters is:

A) Amalthea.
B) Io.
C) Europa.
D) Ganymede.
E) Callisto.

Question 44

What spacecraft was intentionally destroyed in 2003 so that it could not hit Europa?

A) Cassini
B) Voyager 2
C) Galileo
D) Huygens
E) Pioneer 11

Question 45

What is the source of Jupiter's excess energy?

A) helium rain falling through its interior
B) the decay of radioactive elements in its dense core
C) nuclear fusion in its hot, sunlike core of hydrogen
D) the slow escape of gravitational energy released during the planet's formation
E) the tidal stresses of the large Galilean moons

Question 46

Of the Galilean satellites,which has the oldest,most heavily cratered surface?

A) Titan
B) Io
C) Europa
D) Callisto
E) Ganymede

Question 47

What do our magnetic field and Jupiter's share?

A) similar field strength
B) same polarity
C) auroral displays in the polar regions
D) fields that extend inward all the way to the Sun
E) fields that extend outward past Pluto

Question 48

What is the source of Jupiter's intense radio waves and magnetism?

A) charged particles trapped in Jupiter's solid iron core similar to Earth
B) liquid metallic hydrogen swirling in the rapidly spinning mantle
C) the ionized sulfur ejected into a torus around Jupiter by Io
D) the auroral displays in the polar regions, just like with the Earth
E) a liquid iron and nickel outer core, just like the Earth's magnetic field

Question 49

What would Jupiter have needed to have become a star?

A) more moons
B) more mass
C) a slower rotation, like the Sun
D) a different chemical composition
E) a higher density

Question 50

Compared to its rotational axis,Jupiter's magnetic field:

A) is exactly in alignment.
B) lies about 10 degrees off, much like our own rotation and magnetic field.
C) is tilted about 23.5 degrees, much like our own axial tilt.
D) is tilted 98 degrees, much like the case of Uranus.
E) has yet to be detected.

Question 51

If Jupiter were about 80 times more massive than it is,nuclear fusion should have been possible,making it a small star.What might have been the most likely effect on the Earth?

A) The gravitational pull might have prevented the Earth settling into a stable orbit, which would have prevented the development of life on Earth.
B) Jupiter's moons would have been likely to develop life, which would have competed with life on Earth.
C) The extra radiation from a second star in the solar system would have prevented life forming on Earth.
D) Jupiter's magnetic field would have been much larger, disrupting Earth's magnetic field.
E) Nothing because Jupiter is so much further from the Earth than the Sun is.

Question 52

What is true of Jupiter's magnetosphere?

A) Although its surface field is greater, since the planet is larger the total field is actually weaker than Earth's.
B) It does not trap protons and electrons, as Earth's Van Allen belts do.
C) It has a tail that extends at least to Saturn's orbit.
D) It is most extensive on the sunward side of the planet.
E) It is only slightly stronger than Saturn's.

Question 53

What is the source of Jupiter's nonthermal radio radiation?

A) charged particles moving in a magnetic field
B) metallic hydrogen swirling in the planet's interior
C) the gravitational attraction of Jupiter's moons
D) the Great Red Spot
E) thermonuclear fusion in Jupiter's core

Question 54

How does the magnetic tilt of Jupiter compare with our field?

A) Both are exactly perpendicular to our equator, aligned with our rotation axis.
B) Jupiter's lies perpendicular to the ecliptic, while ours is tilted 23.5 degrees.
C) Both are tilted about 10 degrees, but Jupiter is opposite in polarity.
D) Both are tilted about 27 degrees, much like Saturn's.
E) Like Uranus, Jupiter is flopped over on its side.

Question 55

What is the origin of the jovian moons?

A) They all formed with the planet.
B) They were main belt asteroids, captured by Jupiter's strong gravity.
C) They are Trojan asteroids, orbiting 60 degrees ahead or behind Jupiter.
D) The four Galilean moons formed with Jupiter, most others were later captures.
E) They were ripped from the planet's interior in an early cataclysmic event.

Question 56

Which of the Galilean moons is the densest and most geologically active?

A) Io
B) Europa
C) Ganymede
D) Callisto
E) Titan

Question 57

How does the heat Jupiter radiates compare to the energy it receives from the Sun?

A) They are equal, as you would expect for a highly reflective planet.
B) Jupiter's dark belts absorb most of the solar radiation, so it is cooler in the infrared.
C) Jupiter radiates back into space about twice the energy it gets from the Sun.
D) Jupiter is a brown dwarf, about a hundred times less luminous than the Sun.
E) Jupiter is a red dwarf, about a tenth the Sun's luminosity.

Question 58

What is thought to be the cause of Io's volcanoes?

A) Jupiter's magnetosphere and its charged particles
B) Jupiter's gravity and the heat it creates
C) tidal stresses from both Jupiter and Europa
D) solar radiation focused by Jupiter's gravity
E) radioactive decay in Io's interior

Question 59

How large is Jupiter's magnetosphere?

A) It is about as large as the Earth's.
B) It is so large it extends out to the orbit of Io.
C) It is a million times the volume of the Earth's, extending beyond the orbit of Saturn.
D) It extends inward to the orbit of Mars.
E) It envelopes even the Sun and rest of the solar system.

Question 60

The surface of which jovian moon most resembles the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean?

A) Amalthea
B) Io
C) Europa
D) Ganymede
E) Callisto

Question 61

Which of the jovian moons is the largest and also the largest moon in the solar system,even bigger than Mercury?

A) Titan
B) Triton
C) Ganymede
D) Callisto
E) Umbriel

Question 62

Which of the following discoveries was NOT made by Voyager 1 or 2?

A) Jupiter has an encircling ring.
B) Jupiter's magnetosphere extends beyond the orbit of Saturn.
C) Jupiter has cloud bands in its upper atmosphere.
D) Jupiter's moons are as varied as the surfaces of the terrestrial planets.
E) Jupiter's Great Red Spot is characterized by swirling patterns much like a hurricane.

Question 63

Jupiter has a large ________ created by the interaction between the planet's magnetic field and the solar wind.

Question 64

Where is Jupiter's ring located?

A) above Jupiter's cloud tops and inside the orbit of its inner-most moon
B) between the orbits of Io and Europa
C) sharing the orbit of Amalthea
D) in a thin ring at the distance of Io but inclined by an angle of about 30 degrees to Io's orbit
E) between the orbit of the inner-most moon and the orbit of Io

Question 65

Which statement about Jupiter's rings is FALSE?

A) They are made of dark dusty particles.
B) They lie in the planet's equatorial plane.
C) They lie closer to Jupiter than Io's orbit.
D) They are made of ice, like Saturn's.
E) They may be made in part of material from Metis and Adrastea.

Question 66

Which three Galilean moons were found by Galileo to have weak,changing magnetic fields?

A) Titan, Callisto, and Amalthea
B) Io, Europa, and Callisto
C) Io, Amalthea, and Ganymede
D) Io, Europa, and Ganymede
E) Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto

Question 67

Which of the four Galilean moons is NOT differentiated?

A) Io
B) Europa
C) Ganymede
D) Callisto
E) None of the above. All the moons are differentiated.

Question 68

The large moons of Jupiter have low densities suggesting compositions that are a mixture of rocky materials and ________.

Question 69

What is the major component of Io's volcanic flows?

A) basaltic lava, like the lunar mare
B) liquid nitrogen, like the eruptions of Triton
C) sulfur and its compounds
D) carbon dioxide and water vapor, as with our eruptions
E) iron oxide, as on Mars

Question 70

Jupiter does not appear to rotate as a solid body; the observed ________ rotation shows that we are actually viewing a gaseous object.

Question 71

Which two satellites of Jupiter are considered "fraternal twins"?

A) Io and Europa
B) Io and Callisto
C) Europa and Ganymede
D) Ganymede and Callisto
E) Europa and Callisto

Question 72

Except for Io,the other three Galilean satellites have periods of rotation and revolution that are ________.

Question 73

Io's "pizza pie" colors come from eruptions of ________ and its compounds.

Question 74

The apparent "surface" of Jupiter is actually the tops of ________.

Question 75

In size,from largest to smallest,the correct order for the Galilean moons is:

A) Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, Io.
B) Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa.
C) Io, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede.
D) Europa, Ganymede, Io, Callisto.
E) Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Io.

Question 76

Jupiter radiates twice as much energy as it receives from solar light; the source of this "excess" energy is ________.

Question 77

Jupiter's dark ________ are regions of cooler material that is sinking into the interior.

Question 78

One of the discoveries made by the Voyager probes while near Jupiter was:

A) Io has a featureless surface that never changes.
B) a thin ring of dust around the equator.
C) the absence of a magnetic field around the giant planet.
D) that the Great Red Spot is uniform and featureless.
E) each of the four large moons produces a strong magnetic field.

Question 79

Why is Galileo Regio,the large circular feature on Ganymede,so dark?

A) It is composed of dense basaltic mantle rock that once flowed like lunar mare.
B) It is the result of micrometeorite dust settling onto it over several billion years.
C) It has an asphalt-like material that is like the dark side of Iapetus of Saturn.
D) It is the result of ultraviolet light from the Sun interacting with the ice and creating a substance that is quite dark.
E) It is the site of a recent meteorite impact that scattered a lot of dark, rocky material.

Question 80

The ________ of Jupiter's disk is caused by its high rate of rotation and a gaseous composition.