Deck 15: The Solar System

Question 1

A comet's tail always trails behind it throughout its journey through the solar system.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Planets moving around stars have been directly observed outside the solar system.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The asteroids forming a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter were prevented from forming a planet by the strong gravitational field of Jupiter.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Earth, other planets, and the rest of the solar system formed

A)at the same time as the rest of the stars in the galaxy.
B)millions of years ago from elements that have always existed.
C)from a giant nebula millions of years ago.
D)billions of years ago from elements created in previously existing stars.

Question 5

The Sun has hundreds of times more mass than all the rest of the solar system.

Question 6

It is impossible to theorize about the formation of the solar system because no other planetary systems can be observed.

Question 7

The temperature on the surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead.

Question 8

Which of the following is true about the surface of Mars?

A)There are numerous active volcanoes.
B)It is much too cold for liquid water to exist.
C)The polar ice caps are frozen water.
D)The greenish areas are due to low, scrubby vegetation.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the length of a planet's day is true?

A)The closer the planet is to the Sun, the shorter is its day.
B)The more massive the planet, the longer its day.
C)The four gas giants barely rotate at all.
D)None of the above.

Question 10

Most of the mass of the solar system is found in

A)the terrestrial planets.
B)the gas giants.
C)the comets and asteroids.
D)the Sun.

Question 11

Venus, the sister planet to Earth, has an atmosphere whose composition is similar to that of Earth.

Question 12

One of the following planets is denser than the others:

A)Saturn.
B)Jupiter.
C)Uranus.
D)Earth.

Question 13

Earth moves most rapidly in its orbit around

A)January 3.
B)March 21.
C)July 1.
D)September 22.

Question 14

Which of the following statements about comets is not true?

A)Comets are thought to be dirty snowballs.
B)The birthplace of comets is a cloud of icy, dusty aggregates beyond the solar system.
C)Most comets have elliptical orbits with periods around one hundred years.
D)The tail of a comet consists of dust and evaporated ices.

Question 15

The surface temperature of Venus is so high because

A)it is so much closer to the Sun.
B)its day is so long that the side facing the Sun gets very hot.
C)it has many active volcanoes that heat up the atmosphere.
D)its atmosphere traps much of the incoming solar energy.

Question 16

Which planets have no moons?

A)Earth and Neptune
B)Mars and Saturn
C)Mercury and Venus
D)All of the planets have at least one moon.

Question 17

Strong evidence about former existing life has been found on

A)Mars.
B)Venus.
C)meteorites.
D)None of the above.

Question 18

Photographs of the surface of Mars provides evidence that liquid water once flowed on its surface.

Question 19

The density of the planet Saturn is so low that it would float in water.

Question 20

The elements heavier than iron in Earth were formed by the supernova explosions of other stars.

Question 21

Which of the following about Jupiter is not true?

A)Jupiter is mostly made of light elements like hydrogen and helium.
B)Much of the planet is composed of hydrogen compressed so greatly that it is liquid.
C)The colored bands in Jupiter's atmosphere are believed to result from atmospheric convection.
D)Because Jupiter is mostly hydrogen, it is only slightly more massive than Earth.

Question 22

The atmosphere of Venus is predominantly

A)carbon dioxide.
B)nitrogen.
C)methane.
D)water vapor.

Question 23

The brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon is

A)Saturn.
B)Jupiter.
C)Mars.
D)Venus.

Question 24

The smallest planet in the solar system is

A)Mercury.
B)Mars.
C)Uranus.
D)Venus.

Question 25

A dwarf planet of the solar system is

A)Ceres.
B)Pluto.
C)Eris.
D)All of the above.

Question 26

The polar ice caps of Mars is believed to consist mostly of

A)water ice.
B)solid carbon dioxide.
C)frozen ammonia.
D)frozen methane.

Question 27

Remnants of asteroids or comets that survive the trip through Earth's atmosphere to strike the surface are called

A)meteors.
B)meteorites.
C)meteoroids.
D)"shooting stars".

Question 28

Which one of the following planets does not belong with the others?

A)Mars
B)Jupiter
C)Mercury
D)Venus

Question 29

Our model of the surface features of Venus was obtained by

A)powerful Earth-based telescopes.
B)cameras on the fly-by Voyager probes.
C)radar mapping from the Magellan probe.
D)the Venera probes which roamed the surface of the planet.

Question 30

All the evidence indicates that the universe is about how old?

A)6,000 years
B)4.5 billion years
C)13.7 billion years
D)100,000 billion years