Question 1

In the figure below, which of the dips in the brightness of the star is (are) caused by the transit of the planet with the largest orbital period?

Accepted Answer

A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  A and B 
E)  B and C 
A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  A and B 
E)  B and C

Question 2

Approximately how much mass was there in the protoplanetary disk out of which the planets formed, compared to the mass of the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A)  1000 percent 
B)  200 percent 
C)  100 percent 
D)  50 percent 
E)  ($\lt$ 1 percent) 
A)  1000 percent 
B)  200 percent 
C)  100 percent 
D)  50 percent 
E)  ($\lt$ 1 percent)

Question 3

What are some limitations of the transit method of exoplanet detection?

Accepted Answer

This method can only detect planets in s

Question 4

A planet is discovered orbiting a 2.0 Msolar star with a period of 0.2 (Earth) years.What is the semimajor axis of this planet?

Accepted Answer

We need the equation

Question 5

Explain why there are significant amounts of methane and ammonia in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune but not nearly as much in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.

Accepted Answer

Ammonia and methane are volatile materia

Question 6

Conservation of angular momentum slows a cloud's collapse

Accepted Answer

A)  equally in all directions. 
B)  only when the cloud is not rotating initially. 
C)  mostly along directions perpendicular to the cloud's axis of rotation. 
D)  mostly at the poles that lie along the cloud's axis of rotation. 
E)  to a complete stop. 
A)  equally in all directions. 
B)  only when the cloud is not rotating initially. 
C)  mostly along directions perpendicular to the cloud's axis of rotation. 
D)  mostly at the poles that lie along the cloud's axis of rotation. 
E)  to a complete stop.

Question 7

The solid form of a volatile material is generally referred to as a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  metal. 
B)  silicate. 
C)  ice. 
D)  rock. 
E)  refractory material. 
A)  metal. 
B)  silicate. 
C)  ice. 
D)  rock. 
E)  refractory material.

Question 8

What is the most accurate method to detect Earth-sized exoplanets with the telescopes and instrumentation that exist today?

Accepted Answer

A)  Doppler shift 
B)  transit 
C)  microlensing 
D)  direct imaging 
E)  astrometry 
A)  Doppler shift 
B)  transit 
C)  microlensing 
D)  direct imaging 
E)  astrometry

Question 9

The difference in composition between the giant planets and the terrestrial planets is most likely caused by the fact that

Accepted Answer

A)  the giant planets are much larger. 
B)  only the terrestrial planets have iron cores. 
C)  the terrestrial planets are closer to the Sun. 
D)  the giant planets are made mostly of carbon. 
E)  only small differences in chemical composition existed in the solar nebula. 
A)  the giant planets are much larger. 
B)  only the terrestrial planets have iron cores. 
C)  the terrestrial planets are closer to the Sun. 
D)  the giant planets are made mostly of carbon. 
E)  only small differences in chemical composition existed in the solar nebula.

Question 10

Explain the nebular hypothesis, and describe two observations that support it.

Accepted Answer

In the nebular hypothesis,a rotating clo

Question 11

Astronomers have discovered other stars with planets that are more massive than Earth, but less massive than Neptune, that are called

Accepted Answer

A)  dwarf giants. 
B)  super-Earths or mini-Neptunes. 
C)  planetesimals. 
D)  hot Jupiters. 
E)  asteroids or comets. 
A)  dwarf giants. 
B)  super-Earths or mini-Neptunes. 
C)  planetesimals. 
D)  hot Jupiters. 
E)  asteroids or comets.

Question 12

Consider a small parcel of gas in the cloud out of which the Sun formed that initially was located in the accretion disk at a distance of 10 AU from the Sun and rotating around it with a speed of 10 km/s.If this parcel of gas eventually found its way to a distance of 1 AU from the Sun without changing its orbital angular momentum, what would be its new rotation speed?

Accepted Answer

A)  100 km/s 
B)  0.1 km/s 
C)  0.001 km/s 
D)  10 km/s 
E)  1,000 km/s 
A)  100 km/s 
B)  0.1 km/s 
C)  0.001 km/s 
D)  10 km/s 
E)  1,000 km/s

Question 13

Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm per year, which will result in

Accepted Answer

A)  Jupiter's rotation rate slowing down with time. 
B)  Jupiter's shape being noticeably oblate. 
C)  Jupiter moving slightly farther from the Sun with time. 
D)  Jupiter's temperature being higher than expected otherwise. 
E)  Jupiter having a strong magnetic field. 
A)  Jupiter's rotation rate slowing down with time. 
B)  Jupiter's shape being noticeably oblate. 
C)  Jupiter moving slightly farther from the Sun with time. 
D)  Jupiter's temperature being higher than expected otherwise. 
E)  Jupiter having a strong magnetic field.

Question 14

Earth-sized planets have been found using the ________ method(s).

Accepted Answer

A)  Doppler shift 
B)  transit and Doppler shift 
C)  microlensing 
D)  direct imaging 
E)  transit 
A)  Doppler shift 
B)  transit and Doppler shift 
C)  microlensing 
D)  direct imaging 
E)  transit

Question 15

That fact that all major Solar System objects orbit the Sun in the same direction, and mostly with the same direction of spin, is the original evidence for

Accepted Answer

A)  the Big Bang theory. 
B)  the nebular hypothesis. 
C)  brown dwarfs. 
D)  primary atmospheres. 
E)  exoplanets. 
A)  the Big Bang theory. 
B)  the nebular hypothesis. 
C)  brown dwarfs. 
D)  primary atmospheres. 
E)  exoplanets.

Question 16

How much material in an accretion disk goes into forming the planets, moons, and smaller objects?

Accepted Answer

A)  most of it 
B)  roughly half of it 
C)  none; these objects were not formed in the accretion disk 
D)  a small amount of it 
E)  all of it; the star forms separately 
A)  most of it 
B)  roughly half of it 
C)  none; these objects were not formed in the accretion disk 
D)  a small amount of it 
E)  all of it; the star forms separately

Question 17

Which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Radial velocity surveys have yet to find any extrasolar planets. 
B)  The most common types of extrasolar planets found to date have masses more than 10 times the mass of Jupiter and lie within 5 AU of their parent star. 
C)  Our Solar System is the only known planetary system to contain more than one planet. 
D)  A star can brighten significantly because of gravitational lensing when a planet that orbits it passes directly in front of the star. 
E)  The Kepler Mission has not yet found terrestrial planets similar in size to Earth. 
A)  Radial velocity surveys have yet to find any extrasolar planets. 
B)  The most common types of extrasolar planets found to date have masses more than 10 times the mass of Jupiter and lie within 5 AU of their parent star. 
C)  Our Solar System is the only known planetary system to contain more than one planet. 
D)  A star can brighten significantly because of gravitational lensing when a planet that orbits it passes directly in front of the star. 
E)  The Kepler Mission has not yet found terrestrial planets similar in size to Earth.

Question 18

How did the formation of our Moon differ from the formation of the Galilean moons of Jupiter?

Accepted Answer

Astronomers believe that the formation o

Question 19

Hot Jupiters were the first exoplanets to be discovered, and have since been found to be

Accepted Answer

A)  extremely common. 
B)  erroneous detections of smaller planets. 
C)  more likely to exist far from their star. 
D)  brown dwarfs. 
E)  relatively rare. 
A)  extremely common. 
B)  erroneous detections of smaller planets. 
C)  more likely to exist far from their star. 
D)  brown dwarfs. 
E)  relatively rare.

Question 20

Explain why most of the extrasolar planets that astronomers first detected were so-called hot Jupiters.

Accepted Answer

Originally technology did not

Exam 7: The Formation of Planetary Systems

In the figure below, which of the dips in the brightness of the star is (are) caused by the transit of the planet with the largest orbital period?

Approximately how much mass was there in the protoplanetary disk out of which the planets formed, compared to the mass of the Sun?

What are some limitations of the transit method of exoplanet detection?

A planet is discovered orbiting a 2.0 Msolar star with a period of 0.2 (Earth) years.What is the semimajor axis of this planet?

Explain why there are significant amounts of methane and ammonia in the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune but not nearly as much in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.

Conservation of angular momentum slows a cloud's collapse

The solid form of a volatile material is generally referred to as a(n)

What is the most accurate method to detect Earth-sized exoplanets with the telescopes and instrumentation that exist today?

The difference in composition between the giant planets and the terrestrial planets is most likely caused by the fact that

Explain the nebular hypothesis, and describe two observations that support it.

Astronomers have discovered other stars with planets that are more massive than Earth, but less massive than Neptune, that are called

Jupiter's radius is contracting at a rate of 1 mm per year, which will result in

Earth-sized planets have been found using the ________ method(s).

That fact that all major Solar System objects orbit the Sun in the same direction, and mostly with the same direction of spin, is the original evidence for

How much material in an accretion disk goes into forming the planets, moons, and smaller objects?

Which of the following is true?

How did the formation of our Moon differ from the formation of the Galilean moons of Jupiter?

Hot Jupiters were the first exoplanets to be discovered, and have since been found to be

Explain why most of the extrasolar planets that astronomers first detected were so-called hot Jupiters.

Thinking Like an Astronomer

Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth and the Moon

Motion of Astronomical Bodies

Gravity and Orbits

Light

The Tools of the Astronomer

The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets

Worlds of Gas and Liquidthe Giant Planets

Planetary Moons and Rings

Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

Taking the Measure of Stars

Our Starthe Sun

The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

Evolution of High-Mass Stars

Relativity and Black Holes

Galaxies

The Milky Waya Normal Spiral Galaxy

The Expanding Universe

Cosmology

Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Life

Filters

A planet is discovered orbiting a 2.0 M_solar star with a period of 0.2 (Earth) years.What is the semimajor axis of this planet?