Question 1

Masses of the planets are easiest to determine if:

Accepted Answer

A) they are terrestrial and the extra size of the planet's disk can be measured. 
B) they are jovian and their oblateness can be found. 
C) they have natural satellites whose motions can be precisely measured. 
D) they are dense and easily deflect the path of passing spacecraft. 
E) they move rapidly and their periods are easily measured. 
A) they are terrestrial and the extra size of the planet's disk can be measured. 
B) they are jovian and their oblateness can be found. 
C) they have natural satellites whose motions can be precisely measured. 
D) they are dense and easily deflect the path of passing spacecraft. 
E) they move rapidly and their periods are easily measured.

Question 2

The jovian planets in our solar system

Accepted Answer

A) all lie less than 5 A.U. from the Sun. 
B) all have rings around their equators. 
C) all spin slower than the Earth. 
D) have satellite systems with less than 4 moons. 
E) are all much denser than any of the terrestrials planets. 
A) all lie less than 5 A.U. from the Sun. 
B) all have rings around their equators. 
C) all spin slower than the Earth. 
D) have satellite systems with less than 4 moons. 
E) are all much denser than any of the terrestrials planets.

Question 3

Water began condensing around 1 A.U. from the Sun, which is why Earth has so much waterand Venus has almost none.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

The Kuiper Belt is an "outer asteroid belt" consisting of what types of solar system bodies?

Accepted Answer

A) icy cometlike bodies 
B) asteroids 
C) meteoroids 
D) jovian planets 
E) terrestrial planets 
A) icy cometlike bodies 
B) asteroids 
C) meteoroids 
D) jovian planets 
E) terrestrial planets

Question 5

As a result of the ejection of planetesimals into the Oort Cloud, simulations indicate thatUranus and Neptune moved:

Accepted Answer

A) closer to the Sun. 
B) further from the Sun. 
C) along their orbits at a different rate. 
D) from the inner solar system to the outer solar system. 
E) from the outer solar system to the inner solar system. 
A) closer to the Sun. 
B) further from the Sun. 
C) along their orbits at a different rate. 
D) from the inner solar system to the outer solar system. 
E) from the outer solar system to the inner solar system.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT icy in composition?

Accepted Answer

A) comet nuclei 
B) Kuiper Belt Objects 
C) the polar cap of Mars 
D) asteroids 
E) most Jovian satellites 
A) comet nuclei 
B) Kuiper Belt Objects 
C) the polar cap of Mars 
D) asteroids 
E) most Jovian satellites

Question 7

The Kuiper Belt is found where in the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A) beyond the orbit of Neptune 
B) among the orbits of the terrestrial planets 
C) between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter 
D) between the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus 
E) sixty degrees ahead of or behind Jupiter 
A) beyond the orbit of Neptune 
B) among the orbits of the terrestrial planets 
C) between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter 
D) between the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus 
E) sixty degrees ahead of or behind Jupiter

Question 8

Conservation of angular momentum means that a spinning body tends to:

Accepted Answer

A) fly apart. 
B) slow down. 
C) wobble into an eccentric orbit. 
D) gravitationally collapse. 
E) keep spinning. 
A) fly apart. 
B) slow down. 
C) wobble into an eccentric orbit. 
D) gravitationally collapse. 
E) keep spinning.

Question 9

The processes of giant-planet migration and the formation of the Oort Cloud caused theUranus to move both inward and outward in the solar system. Which motion was mostimportant? Why?

Accepted Answer

The giant-planet migration process was p

Question 10

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of the solar nebula theory?

Accepted Answer

A) The ecliptic is the equator for the Sun. 
B) All the planets should follow the ecliptic plane. 
C) All the planets should orbit the Sun counterclockwise. 
D) Larger planets should form closer to their star, where there is more debris. 
E) Planets should rotate counterclockwise as well. 
A) The ecliptic is the equator for the Sun. 
B) All the planets should follow the ecliptic plane. 
C) All the planets should orbit the Sun counterclockwise. 
D) Larger planets should form closer to their star, where there is more debris. 
E) Planets should rotate counterclockwise as well.

Question 11

At about the position of the Earth, in the early solar nebula, the temperature was about 1,000K, cool enough for ________ to condense out of the gas.

Accepted Answer

silicates

Question 12

All planets revolve around the Sun counterclockwise, and most also rotate on their axiscounterclockwise.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Comets are not actually members of the solar system, but captured by the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

The "Grand Tour" of all four jovians was conducted by:

Accepted Answer

A) Galileo. 
B) Cassini. 
C) Pioneer 11. 
D) both Voyager 1 and 2. 
E) Voyager 2. 
A) Galileo. 
B) Cassini. 
C) Pioneer 11. 
D) both Voyager 1 and 2. 
E) Voyager 2.

Question 15

What aspects of the planets' orbits are nearly the same for most planets?

Accepted Answer

A) orbital period and shape 
B) shape and tilt from the ecliptic 
C) shape and distance from the Sun 
D) orbital period and distance from the Sun 
E) tilt from the ecliptic and distance from the Sun 
A) orbital period and shape 
B) shape and tilt from the ecliptic 
C) shape and distance from the Sun 
D) orbital period and distance from the Sun 
E) tilt from the ecliptic and distance from the Sun

Question 16

As the solar nebula contracts, it:

Accepted Answer

A) flattens out into the ecliptic plane around the Sun's poles. 
B) spins faster due to conservation of angular momentum. 
C) cools due to condensation. 
D) loses angular momentum. 
E) reverses its direction of rotation. 
A) flattens out into the ecliptic plane around the Sun's poles. 
B) spins faster due to conservation of angular momentum. 
C) cools due to condensation. 
D) loses angular momentum. 
E) reverses its direction of rotation.

Question 17

What is the process of accretion?

Accepted Answer

A) the separation of materials in a protoplanet by density, with dense material in core 
B) growth of an object by the accumulation of matter 
C) the breakup of large objects by violent collisions with other similar-sized objects 
D) the period of time during which the Sun swept away all the excess material in the solar nebula 
E) the process by which the solar nebula became heated during its collapse 
A) the separation of materials in a protoplanet by density, with dense material in core 
B) growth of an object by the accumulation of matter 
C) the breakup of large objects by violent collisions with other similar-sized objects 
D) the period of time during which the Sun swept away all the excess material in the solar nebula 
E) the process by which the solar nebula became heated during its collapse

Question 18

Comets are easier to identify than asteroids when they are close to the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Contrast the densities of the terrestrial and Jovian planets.

Accepted Answer

Forming close to the Sun, terrestrials a

Question 20

What is true about solar system densities?

Accepted Answer

A) The denser planets lie closer to the Sun. 
B) In differentiated bodies, the denser materials lie near their surfaces. 
C) The asteroids all have about the same density. 
D) Saturn has the same density as water. 
E) Planetary density increases with increasing distance from the Sun. 
A) The denser planets lie closer to the Sun. 
B) In differentiated bodies, the denser materials lie near their surfaces. 
C) The asteroids all have about the same density. 
D) Saturn has the same density as water. 
E) Planetary density increases with increasing distance from the Sun.

Exam 6: The Solar System: Comparative Planetology and Formation Models

Masses of the planets are easiest to determine if:

The jovian planets in our solar system

Water began condensing around 1 A.U. from the Sun, which is why Earth has so much waterand Venus has almost none.

The Kuiper Belt is an "outer asteroid belt" consisting of what types of solar system bodies?

As a result of the ejection of planetesimals into the Oort Cloud, simulations indicate thatUranus and Neptune moved:

Which of the following is NOT icy in composition?

The Kuiper Belt is found where in the solar system?

Conservation of angular momentum means that a spinning body tends to:

The processes of giant-planet migration and the formation of the Oort Cloud caused theUranus to move both inward and outward in the solar system. Which motion was mostimportant? Why?

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of the solar nebula theory?

At about the position of the Earth, in the early solar nebula, the temperature was about 1,000K, cool enough for ________ to condense out of the gas.

All planets revolve around the Sun counterclockwise, and most also rotate on their axiscounterclockwise.

Comets are not actually members of the solar system, but captured by the Sun.

The "Grand Tour" of all four jovians was conducted by:

What aspects of the planets' orbits are nearly the same for most planets?

As the solar nebula contracts, it:

What is the process of accretion?

Comets are easier to identify than asteroids when they are close to the Sun.

Contrast the densities of the terrestrial and Jovian planets.

What is true about solar system densities?

Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science

Radiation: Information From the Cosmos

Spectroscopy: the Inner Workings of Atoms

Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

Earth: Our Home in Space

The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds

Venus: Earths Sister Planet

Mars: a Near Miss for Life

Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System

Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons

Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System

Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin

Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

The Sun: Our Parent Star

The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust Among the Stars

Star Formation: a Traumatic Birth

Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star

Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

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