Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system?
  • terrestrial planets
  • Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?
  • It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
  • the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
  • They reveal that the age of the solar system is approximately 4.6 billion years.
  • The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the outer planets?
  • the rings of Saturn
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
  • They have very few, if any, satellites
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
The astrometric technique of planet detection works best for
  • both planets are nearly the same size.
  • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
  • massive planets around nearby stars
According to our present theory of solar system formation, why were solid planetesimals able to grow larger in the outer solar system than in the inner solar system?
  • As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
  • Most of the exceptions are the result of giant impacts or close gravitational encounters
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • comets that impacted Earth.
Pluto is different from the other outer planets in all of the following ways except which one?
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
  • It has a very low surface temperature
  • They have very few, if any, satellites
  • It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
What would happen to the planets in a solar system where the central star did not have a strong wind?
  • The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
  • The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
  • The gas in the solar nebula would create a drag on the planets and their orbits would migrate inwards.
  • It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
The jovian planets in our solar system are
  • Jupiter-mass, in very close orbits.
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
  • a planet that orbits a star besides our own Sun
  • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is
  • 0.4 percent
  • the Kuiper belt
  • much larger
  • the planet's size
Which of the following is not an exception to the general patterns of motion in the solar system?
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
  • the rings of Saturn
  • hydrogen compounds
The region of our solar system between Mercury and Mars has very few asteroids, while the region between Mars and Jupiter has many asteroids. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars?
  • There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed.
  • The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
  • Venus.
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
In essence, the nebular theory holds that
  • our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
  • It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
  • the law of conservation of angular momentum
  • leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
Which of the following best describes how we have discovered nearly all of the more than 900 extrasolar planets known to date?
  • We have not seen the planets directly, but rather have seen slight motions of stars that we attribute to the gravitational influence of orbiting planets.
  • The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
  • detecting the gravitational effect of an orbiting planet by looking for the Doppler shifts in the star's spectrum
  • Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
According to our theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets?
  • the equal number of terrestrial and jovian planets (with the exception of Pluto)
  • The Moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system?
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
  • Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
How do we think the "hot Jupiters" around other stars were formed?
  • The gas in the solar nebula would create a drag on the planets and their orbits would migrate inwards.
  • They formed as gas giants beyond the frost line and then migrated inwards
  • big planets in edge-on orbits around around small stars.
  • the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?
  • It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy by losing some 4 million tons of mass each second
  • It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
  • The gas in the solar nebula would create a drag on the planets and their orbits would migrate inwards.
  • The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?
  • a comet in the Oort cloud
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
  • terrestrial planets
  • hydrogen compounds
What percentage of the solar nebula's mass consisted of hydrogen and helium gases?
  • metals
  • the planet's size
  • 4.6 billion years
  • 98 percent
The nebular theory of the formation of the solar system successfully predicts all but one of the following. Which one does the theory not predict?
  • The Moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
  • It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • the equal number of terrestrial and jovian planets (with the exception of Pluto)
According to modern scientific dating techniques, approximately how old is the solar system?
  • Earth and Saturn
  • much larger
  • hundreds
  • 4.6 billion years
Which of the following statements is not true about the planets so far discovered around other stars?
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • Light gases (H, He), hydrogen compounds (H2O, CH4, NH3), rocks, metals
  • Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
Which of the following lists the eight major planets of our solar system in the correct order from closest to farthest from the Sun?
  • Light gases (H, He), hydrogen compounds (H2O, CH4, NH3), rocks, metals
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all the following chemicals except:
  • the planet's size
  • much larger
  • Earth and Saturn
  • carbon dioxide
The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is
  • are more massive than Earth and orbit very close to the star.
  • Venus
  • There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed.
  • Venus.
According to modern science, what was the approximate chemical composition of the solar nebula?
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
  • Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
  • 98 percent hydrogen and helium, 2 percent everything else
Why did the solar nebula flatten into a disk?
  • As particles within the nebula collided, the momentum components along the axis of spin tended to cancel, changing random motions into more orderly motion in the plane.
  • It is a hundred times more massive than all the planets combined
  • They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
The planet closest in size to Earth is
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
  • Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
  • Venus
  • 1990's
What are the main constituents of the jovian planets?
  • carbon dioxide
  • hydrogen and helium
  • terrestrial planets
  • 0.4 percent
How does the Sun's mass compare with that of the planets?
  • As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
  • Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
  • It is a hundred times more massive than all the planets combined
  • Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth?
  • big planets in edge-on orbits around around small stars.
  • Jovian planets can migrate from the orbits in which they are born.
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
  • both planets are nearly the same size.
What are the two main differences between extrasolar planetary systems discovered to date and our Solar System?
  • Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
  • Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
  • extrasolar planet orbits tend to be closer and more eccentric than in our Solar System
  • They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
Based on everything you have learned in this chapter, which of the following statements seems unlikely to be true?
  • We have not seen the planets directly, but rather have seen slight motions of stars that we attribute to the gravitational influence of orbiting planets.
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
  • detecting the gravitational effect of an orbiting planet by looking for the Doppler shifts in the star's spectrum
  • Only a tiny percentage of stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation.
Which planet, other than Earth, has visible water ice on it?
  • Mars
  • transit
  • metals
  • massive planets around nearby stars
What kind of material in the solar nebula could remain solid at temperatures as high as 1,500 K, such as existed in the inner regions of the nebula?
  • the planet's size
  • terrestrial planets
  • 1990's
  • metals
Which of the following explains why Pluto is no longer considered a planet?
  • The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
  • They have very few, if any, satellites
  • Its orbit crosses that of Neptune.
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What do meteorites reveal about the solar system?
  • the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
  • They reveal that the age of the solar system is approximately 4.6 billion years.
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
  • They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
Which of the following puzzles in the solar system cannot be explained by a giant impact event?
  • The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
As of August, 2006, Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Instead, it is now classified as a large member of
  • the Kuiper belt
  • 98 percent
  • 0.4 percent
  • the rings of Saturn
According to our theory of solar system formation, what three major changes occurred in the solar nebula as it shrank in size?
  • It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
  • leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the inner planets?
  • the rings of Saturn
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
The heavy bombardment phase of the solar system lasted
  • between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
  • They all have substantial atmospheres.
  • several hundreds of millions of years
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Observations of young stars (as well as theory) tell us that when the Sun was young, the solar wind
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
  • It has a very low surface temperature
  • was stronger than it is today.
  • Radiodating the oldest meteorites.
Suppose you find a rock that contains some potassium-40 (half-life of 1.3 billion years). You measure the amount and determine that there are 5 grams of potassium-40 in the rock. By measuring the amount of its decay product (argon-40) present in the rock, you realize that there must have been 40 grams of potassium-40 when the rock solidified. How old is the rock?
  • 98 percent
  • 0.4 percent
  • 3.9 billion years
  • predominantly in its core
The depth of the dip in a star's brightness due to the transit of a planet depends most directly on
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
  • 4.6 billion years
  • the planet's size
Where does nuclear fusion occur in the Sun?
  • predominantly in its core
  • Jupiter-mass, in very close orbits.
  • a comet in the Oort cloud
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system?
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
  • the planet's size
  • The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth.
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
Approximately how many other planetary systems have been discovered to date (2013)?
  • hundreds
  • 1990's
  • much larger
  • 0.4 percent
Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past?
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
  • There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
  • Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
  • They have very few, if any, satellites
The terrestrial planets in our solar system are
  • massive planets around nearby stars
  • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
  • several hundreds of millions of years
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?
  • As particles within the nebula collided, the momentum components along the axis of spin tended to cancel, changing random motions into more orderly motion in the plane.
  • They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
  • Their masses are similar to Jupiter but they are very close to the central star and therefore hot.
  • As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
Which of the following lists the ingredients of the solar nebula in the correct order, from highest to lowest percentage of mass of the nebula?
  • Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
  • The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
  • Light gases (H, He), hydrogen compounds (H2O, CH4, NH3), rocks, metals
  • the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
Which of the following methods has led to the most discoveries of massive planets orbiting near their parent stars?
  • Radiodating the oldest meteorites.
  • We have not seen the planets directly, but rather have seen slight motions of stars that we attribute to the gravitational influence of orbiting planets.
  • Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
  • detecting the gravitational effect of an orbiting planet by looking for the Doppler shifts in the star's spectrum
Based on our current theory of Earth's formation, the water we drink comes from
  • Radiodating the oldest meteorites.
  • comets that impacted Earth.
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
Planets detected via the Doppler technique have been mostly
  • several hundreds of millions of years
  • Radiodating the oldest meteorites.
  • Jupiter-mass, in very close orbits.
  • Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What is an "extrasolar planet"?
  • a planet that orbits a star besides our own Sun
  • Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
  • Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
  • They have very few, if any, satellites
The first planets around other Sun-like stars were discovered
  • 1990's
  • 0.4 percent
  • Venus
  • Mars
Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's north pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?
  • All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.
  • leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
  • The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth.
  • massive planets around nearby stars
Most of the planets discovered around other stars
  • All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.
  • Venus.
  • There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed.
  • are more massive than Earth and orbit very close to the star.
What is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Moon?
  • the equal number of terrestrial and jovian planets (with the exception of Pluto)
  • comets that impacted Earth.
  • The Moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
  • They were formed by condensation and accretion in a disk of gas around the planet.
According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?
  • Most of the exceptions are the result of giant impacts or close gravitational encounters
  • Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
  • It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
  • The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
According to our basic scenario of solar system formation, why do the jovian planets have numerous large moons?
  • 4.6 billion years
  • The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
  • As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
  • As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
0 h : 0 m : 1 s

Answered Not Answered Not Visited Correct : 0 Incorrect : 0