AST 111 Exam 2 Practice

1.

1 point

What type of energy transport is occurring just below the photosphere?

Conduction

Radiation

We do not know, since we cannot see below the photosphere

Convection

2.

1 point

The time it takes Mercury to complete a solar day (the time from sunrise to sunrise)

is equal to two revolutions of Mercury around the sun

is about one earth day

depends on the season of the year

is equal to one revolution of Mercury around the sun

is about one earth year

3.

1 point

How do asteroids and comets differ?

Comets contain ices

Asteroids orbit in the opposite direction than the sun rotates

Comets are younger than asteroids

Asteroids have lower reflectivity

All of the above

4.

1 point

What are the three layers of the Sun's atmosphere, in order of increasing distance from the surface?

corona, chromosphere, photosphere

photosphere, corona, chromosphere

photosphere, chromosphere, corona

chromosphere, photosphere, corona

5.

1 point

Why does Mars have seasons similar to Earth?

Mars is roughly the same distance from the sun as Earth

Mars has the same orbital inclination as the Earth

The shape of Mars's orbit is the same as the Earth's

Mars's rotational axis is tilted like the Earth's

6.

1 point

When was the last time a human stood on another planetary body other than Earth?

2014

1999

1972

1969

7.

1 point

Why is the sun's equator nearly in the plane of Earth's orbit?

The planets formed from a disk of gas that surrounded the sun as it formed

It's just a coincidence

This is due to the conservation of angular momentum

All of the above

8.

1 point

An important mechanism in clearing the solar nebula of gas and dust was

impacts by planetesimals

Earth's moon

the planets

the asteroid belt

radiation pressure from the young sun

9.

1 point

How is the presence of space debris accounted for by solar system models?

space debris is left over material from the early solar system that never formed a planet

space debris was formed by the collision of objects after the planets formed

space debris is material that existed in our region of space before the sun formed

a and b

all of the above

10.

1 point

What do we call the study of planets through contrast and comparison?

comparative planetology

geology

planetary science

contrastive planetology

none of the above

11.

1 point

The gas that is most responsible for the greenhouse effect on Earth is

oxygen (O2)

nitrogen (N2)

carbon dioxide (CO2)

ozone (O3)

ammonia (NH3)

12.

1 point

The flow patterns found on the surface of Mars suggest

That mars is a water-rich world

That the climate on Mars was different in the past

That volcanism is occurring on Mars

That polar caps are made of water

All of the above

13.

1 point

How is the planet Mercury similar to Earth's moon?

Their surfaces both appear heavily cratered by impacts and their lowland regions were flooded by ancient lava flows

Their surfaces both appear heavily cratered by impacts

Their lowland regions were flooded by ancient lava flows

Their rotational periods are qual to their orbital periods

All of the above

14.

1 point

How do we suppose that the lobate scarps on Mercury's surface formed?

They formed as a chain of volcanic mountains along the edge of a subduction zone

As Mercury cooled and shrank, the crust wrinkled

One side alone a strike-slip boundary was forced upward

Plate tectonics created a chain of folded mountains

Lobate scarps are huge, dormant lava tubes

15.

1 point

What evidence would you look for to see if plate tectonics are occurring on Venus?

Volcanoes and folded mountain chains

Faults

Subduction zones

You would look for a worldwide network including all of these

16.

1 point

Granulation is caused by

sunspots

rising gas below the photosphere

shock waves in the corona

the solar wind flowing away from the corona

the heating in the chromosphere

17.

1 point

Most of the light we see coming from the sun originates in the

chromosphere

photosphere

corona

sunspots

magnetic field

18.

1 point

What was the solar neutrino problem discovered in Dr. Davis' observations?

since neutrinos come from many sources, we can't separate those from the sun from all the others

we detect about three times as many solar neutrinos as we expect to

we detect only about one third of the solar neutrinos we expect to

neutrinos are too difficult to detect, so we can't verify that nuclear fusion occurs in the sun's core

19.

1 point

Most of the energy emitted by the sun is generated in the

corona

photosphere

chromosphere

core

20.

1 point

The condensation sequence suggests that _____ should condense closest to the sun

Jovian planets

metals and metal oxides

silicates

ices of water, methane, and ammonia

low density materials

21.

1 point

the energy that moves the plates of Earth's crust comes from

the solar wind

convection from the hot interior

tides in the oceans

friction between wind and the land surface

earth's magnetic field

22.

1 point

Which one of the following present-day objects is most like the planetesimals that formed in the solar nebula?

asteroids

Earth

Saturn

Venus

the sun

23.

1 point

The large planetesimals would have grown faster than the smaller planetesimals because

they were moving faster in their orbits than the smaller planetesimals

their stronger gravity would pull in more material

there was more material located near them that could be accreted

the smaller planetesimals were covered by a layer of material that was lost during collisions

all of the above

24.

1 point

The parts of a terrestrial planet, moving from the center outward, are

core, mantle, crust

crust, mantle, core

mantle, core, crust

25.

1 point

All terrestrial planets have

a solid surface

an atmosphere

water oceans

26.

1 point

Sunspots are dark because

regions of the photosphere are obscured by material in the chromosphere

shock waves move through the photosphere

the sun rotates differentially

the strong magnetic field inhibits the currents of hot gas rising from below

they radiate their energy into space faster than the rest of the photosphere

27.

1 point

Earth possesses few visible craters while the moon possesses many. This is because

Earth formed later than the moon and, therefore, hasn't encountered as many meteorites

the moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up many of the meteorites before impacting

erosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on earth

all of the above

b and c

28.

1 point

Slow surface evolution is caused by

wind erosion

plate tectonics

cratering

all of the above

a and b

29.

1 point

Which of the following is not one of the four stages in the development of a terrestrial planet?

flooding

cratering

slow surface evolution

accretion

differentiation

30.

1 point

Which of these facts is NOT explained by the nebular theory for solar system formation?

There are two main types of planets: terrestrial and jovian

Planets orbit in the same direction and plane

Existence of asteroids and comets

Number of planets of each type (four terrestrial and four Jovian)

31.

1 point

Which of the following provide evidence that Earth's core is at least partially molten?

P waves do not penetrate Earth's core

S waves do not penetrate Earth's core

S waves are reflected by Earth's core

P waves are reflected by Earth's core

Neither S nor P waves are refracted by Earth's core

32.

1 point

The age of the solar system is believed to be approximately 4.6 billion years old based on data from

samples of lunar rocks

samples of earth rocks

samples of meteorites

all of the above

none of the above

33.

1 point

What is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere?

CO2

O2

N2

CH4

34.

1 point

Evidence for the drifting of continents or plate tectonics is

the manner in which the outlines of continents fit together much like puzzle pieces

the similarity of rocks found occurring along certain continental coastal areas

the long, continuous ridges found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean

all of the above

35.

1 point

Slow surface evolution on the moon is limited to

low-density masses of rock rising from the interior

low-level meteorite impacts

small moonquakes disturbing the surface features

motion along a network of small faults

all of the above

36.

1 point

The moon is no longer geologically active because

it is rotating too slowly

its radioactive elements were never abundant

it is too small

its crust is too thin

it does not have water on its surface

37.

1 point

The lunar maria are

the lava plains of the lunar lowlands

the smooth plateaus of the lunar highlands

less than one billion years old

moving plates of lunar crust

older than the lunar highlands

38.

1 point

The sun's magnetic field is evident in the looped shapes of

solar flares

sunspots

the corona

granules

solar prominences

39.

1 point

As the moon revolves around Earth,

it keeps one side always towards the sun

it rotates on its axis about once every day

it keeps one side always toward Earth

the moon makes two rotations on its axis for every revolution

the moon makes on rotation on its axis for every two revolutions

40.

1 point

That Mercury has a large iron core is evidenced by

the large lobate scarps

the large mean density of Mercury

the lava flows near Caloris Basin

all of the above

none of the above

41.

1 point

The greenhouse effect keeps Venus hot because

the atmosphere contains free oxygen

the atmosphere is rich in carbon dioxide

the surface converts infrared into visible radiation

the surface is free of sulfur compounds

the magnetic field traps a large number of particles from the solar wind

42.

1 point

The greenhouse effect occurs because

carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation

carbon dioxide is transparent to infrared radiation and opaque to ultraviolet radiation

ozone is transparent to infrared radiation and opaque to ultraviolet radiation

ozone is transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation

the sun emits more infrared radiation than ultraviolet radiation

43.

1 point

The surface of Venus has been studied

using radar maps made from Earth

using radar maps made from satellites orbiting Venus

using spacecraft that have landed on the surface of Venus

all of the above

only b and c

44.

1 point

the presence of breccias among the lunar rock samples shows that

volcanism did not occur on the moon

molten lava once flowed over the lunar surface

the crust must have been made of anorthosite

water once existed on the moon in the form of small lakes and streams

the lunar surface was fragmented by meteorite impacts

45.

1 point

The geology of Venus appears to be dominated by

volcanism

plate tectonics

erosion by flowing water

impact cratering

strip mining

46.

1 point

Major factors causing the Martian atmosphere to be different from the Earth are

its greater distance from the sun

its smaller mass than the Earth

transport of water from the poles to the equator in the Martians' canals

B and C

A and B

47.

1 point

The Martian meteorites and NASA rovers indicate that, similar to Earth, on Mars some or most of the gases via volcanoes could have become bound up in _____

igneous granite

sedimentary rocks

igneous basalt

all of the above

48.

1 point

Fusion is promoted in the core of the sun by the _____ there

low temperature and low density

high temperature and high density

low temperature and high density

high temperature and low density

49.

1 point

Which of the following is not a characteristic of terrestrial planets?

low average density

orbits inside the asteroids

craters in old surfaces

small diameters

very few satellites

50.

1 point

Phobos

orbits Venus in a retrograde direction

contains evidence of past volcanic activity on its surface

always remains hidden behind Mars for observers on Earth

has a very bright surface composed of frozen carbon dioxide

orbits Mars faster than Mars rotates on its axis