Deck 22: Touring Our Solar System

Question 1

Which one of the following is most likely to be associated both with impact craters and with volcanic calderas that originate by collapse?

A)outwardly radiating,fragmental,bright,surface streaks
B)sharp rims that rise well above the surrounding area far away from the edge of the depression
C)sharp,central peaks that rise above the floor of the depression
D)landslides and other mass wasting movements along the walls of the depression

Answer 1

D

Question 2

We know from the Apollo missions and unmanned probes that the moon's surface is covered with loose,unconsolidated material with a texture similar to soil on earth.How did this material form on the moon?

A)The same as Earth,but soils are ancient from a time when the moon still had an atmosphere and water.
B)The loose material is mostly micrometeorite fragments and ejecta from impact craters,so is very different from soil on Earth.
C)The material is produced by spalling from rock surfaces caused by the extreme heat-cold cycles as the moon rotates through a 1 lunar day,or approximately one Earth month.
D)The material is mostly volcanic ash ejected from volcanos that are no longer active.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The most popular theory for the origin of the moon today is ________.

A)the moon and Earth coalesced from an eddy in the solar nebular,forming a binary planet system.
B)the earth captured a small planet,which is our moon.
C)the moon was formed when Mars and a comparable size planet collided,and the moon was ejected toward Earth and captured.
D)the early Earth and a planet the size of Mars collided,and the ejected material coalesced to form the earth's moon.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The ________ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.

A)protogalactic theory
B)nebular hypothesis
C)extrastellar solar hypothesis
D)planetary compression theory

Question 5

What atmospheric gas is common in the outer planets but rare in the inner planets?

A)Carbon Dioxide
B)Nitrogen
C)Hydrogen
D)Argon

Question 6

We know the age of the lunar highlands from ________.

A)dating of lunar rocks collected by Apollo missions
B)dating of lunar maria basalts collected by Apollo astronauts,and extrapolated back in time by relative chronology
C)dating of earth rocks,and correlating to lunar events
D)age estimates from cratering rates

Question 7

Which of the following characterizes the history of impacts on Earth as deduced by impact history on other terrestrial planets?

A)All major impacts occurred in the first 100 million years after the solar system formed.
B)Impacts continued at a fairly constant rate throughout the 4.5 billion year history of the solar system.
C)Impacts were more intense in the early history of the earth but have continued at about half the rate of bombardment since about 4.4 billion years ago.
D)Impact rates were very high in the early history of the earth,but dropped off after about the first 1 billion years of Earth history to a nearly constant rate since that time.

Question 8

Which one of the following is not found on Mars?

A)polar ice caps
B)H2O-rich atmosphere
C)sand dunes
D)extinct volcanoes

Question 9

Which of the following is not a Jovian planet?

A)Pluto
B)Neptune
C)Saturn
D)Jupiter

Question 10

Rayed craters like Tyco and Copernicus are known to be younger than the lunar maria because ________.

A)they have been dated directly by radiometric dating of samples
B)they are formed on lunar highlands that are known to be younger than the maria
C)they contain volcanos in their centers which indicate the moon still had magma available when they formed
D)their ejecta,seen as rays,lies across the surface of the maria

Question 11

How did the lunar maria most likely originate?

A)Huge impact basins were nearly filled with basaltic lava flows.
B)Huge impact craters filled with frozen carbon dioxide and dark-colored silt and dust.
C)Massive,basaltic comets melted when they hit the lunar surface.
D)The solar wind eroded very wide,shallow basins that filled with lunar dust.

Question 12

Why do lunar scientists think the surface of the moon was once a magma ocean?

A)The lunar highlands contain large amounts of the rock anorthosite,which is the light material that "floated" on the top of the magma ocean.
B)The surface of the moon is entirely volcanic.
C)Early lunar craters show a morphology suggesting impact with a liquid.
D)None of these is correct.

Question 13

________ are found both on Mars and Earth.

A)Erosional features related to flowing water
B)Active volcanoes
C)Heavily cratered landscapes preserved from early in the planets' histories
D)Oceans

Question 14

Most of the mass in the solar system is contained ________.

A)in the sun
B)in the sun plus Jupiter
C)in the outer planets
D)in the inner planets

Question 15

Most of the Moon's craters were produced by ________.

A)the impact of meteoroids
B)volcanic eruptions
C)faulting
D)radial implosions

Question 16

Vast,circular to elliptical dark-colored areas on the moon called maria represent ________.

A)large volcanos
B)remnant highlands produced from a time when the moon was entirely molten
C)very large impact craters filled with basaltic lava
D)large lowlands that were sea-beds when the moon had water

Question 17

The high surface temperatures of ________ have been attributed to the greenhouse effect.

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

Question 18

Which of these lunar features is the oldest?

A)maria basins
B)lunar highlands
C)rayed craters like Copernicus
D)lunar soil

Question 19

Which observation supports the theory that the planets formed from a disk shaped nebula?

A)Pluto and comets follow elliptical orbits that pass inside the orbit of Neptune.
B)The Sun is the center of the solar system.
C)The rocky planets are close to the Sun.
D)The planets revolve around the Sun in approximately the same plane of the ecliptic.

Question 20

What is a popular theory for the difference in atmospheres of the Jovian planets versus terrestrial planets?

A)High temperatures and solar wind in the inner planets allowed most of the volatiles to be driven off the terrestrial planets,but not the Jovian planets.
B)The Jovian planets are just bigger,so they trap more gases.
C)The Jovian planets trapped most of the comets which carried the gases.
D)The terrestrial planets are too cold to retain anything but heavy gases.

Question 21

What did the Mars rover Opportunity discover on Mars that relates to questions about the existence of water on Mars?

A)The rover found liquid water emerging from a spring,freezing to ice.
B)The rover found ice in the soil.
C)The rover found sedimentary rocks that contained minerals that could only have formed by precipitation from water.
D)The rover found no evidence of water ever having been on Mars.

Question 22

Jupiter contains a number of small moons that are thought to be captured comets or material ejected by collisions with larger objects.What is the evidence for this theory?

A)Spacecraft have sampled them,and they are known to be comets.
B)Their orbits are highly elliptical,off the plane of the ecliptic,and many are retrograde,which is unlikely for satellite formed during planetary accretion.
C)They are too big to have been formed during planetary accretion.
D)Analyses from spacecraft show they have compositions completely different than Jupiter or its moons.

Question 23

Venus has dense clouds and thick atmosphere,yet there is no evidence for water on the surface.Why?

A)It is hard to know because the clouds obscure the surface and only a few probes have survived landing.
B)Water could not survive as liquid water on the surface because it is too hot.
C)The water has all been taken up in minerals on the surface due to weather long ago because of high chemical weathering rates.
D)The water is bound up as sulfuric acids and other acids in the atmosphere.

Question 24

Several of the moons of Saturn,Uranus and Neptune display evidence of volcanic activity.What is the most common type of volcano on these moons?

A)basalt shield volcanos
B)sulfur volcanos
C)ice volcanos
D)pyroclastic eruptions of rhyolitic silicate material

Question 25

________,a moon orbiting Jupiter,has an unusually smooth,uncratered,ice-covered surface.

A)Phobos
B)Titan
C)Miranda
D)Europa

Question 26

Neptune and Uranus both appear bluish in sunlight whereas Jupiter and Saturn are multicolored.Why are Neptune and Uranus blue?

A)They contain ice crystals high in the atmosphere,and water ice is blue.
B)They contain methane ice in their atmosphere which causes the color.
C)They do not contain dust and debris in the atmosphere,like Saturn and Jupiter.
D)The effect is not real; it is just due to low light levels.

Question 27

Compared to Earth's atmosphere,the atmosphere of Mars has surface pressures that are ________.

A)3 times those on Earth; major gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide
B)0)1 times those on Earth; major gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide
C)one-half those on Earth; main gases are methane and nitrogen
D)1)5 times those on Earth; main gases are methane and nitrogen

Question 28

________ is the principal gas in the Venusian atmosphere and also a minor component of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars.

A)Ozone
B)Nitrogen
C)Carbon dioxide
D)Methane

Question 29

Venus is usually described as a runaway greenhouse effect world,which is true in the sense that the atmosphere is mostly CO2.However,there is an important factor that relates to earth weather that is slightly different.The slow rotation of Venus produces a huge heat influx difference from the day to night side of the planet,which produces descending air on the night side and ascending air on the day side.Because the atmosphere is so dense,this means air rises to high elevations on the day side,and descends to surface on the night side.As a result,the night side of the planet is nearly as hot,or even hotter,than the day side.What would be the principal reason for this?

A)The winds must be very,very high,and transport the heat efficiently from one side of the planet to the other.
B)The air is so dense it has a large heat capacity.
C)As the air descends on the night side of the planet,it is heated by adiabatic compression to a very high temperature-a grand scale equivalent of Chinook or Santa Ana winds on Earth.
D)None of these makes sense.

Question 30

In the science fiction book series "Red Mars,Green Mars,Blue Mars" the author spins a story of "terraforming" Mars with the formation of oceans and a breathable atmosphere by the end of the series.The author describes a scenario,however,where the inhabitants of this fictional world were able to live relatively normally on most of the world but not on Olympus Mons and the Tharsus region.Assuming you could create a breathable atmosphere as described in the books,is the description of where you might live on Mars realistic,or just spinning a yarn?

A)No,it is absurd.Even with an atmosphere,it would be too cold to live anywhere on Mars.
B)Yes,because Olympus Mons and the Tharsus region are higher above the Martian plains than Mt.Everest,so the air would always be dramatically thinner and colder there,even with an Earth atmosphere.
C)No,because you could use water ice from these high altitude sites whereas there is no water at lower elevations on Mars.
D)No,because these regions are so rugged it would be impossible to live in the Martian mountains,regardless of an atmosphere or not.

Question 31

________ has the great,dark spot on its surface.

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

Question 32

Why has it been so difficult to examine the surface of Venus with unmanned probes?

A)The atmosphere is so cloudy that it interferes with radio wave signals from earth,making communication with a probe difficult.
B)The Venesian magnetic field is so strong it destroys electronics on the probes.
C)Solar radiation is so intense that probes are lost before they reach Venus.
D)The air pressure at the surface is equivalent to a water depth of nearly 1km on Earth,and temperatures are very high,which tends to destroy the probes.

Question 33

Which planet rotates the opposite direction it revolves around the sun?

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

Question 34

The surface features of ________ are known only through satellite radar mapping.

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

Question 35

Both the Earth's moon and Mars have thick layers of loose surface materials.How are they different?

A)They are not different.They are both comprised primarily of ejecta from impacts that accumulates on the surface.
B)They are not different.Both have surfaces that are remnant soils from a period when they had water on the surface.
C)They are different.Lunar regolith is mostly ejecta from impacts,whereas Martian soil is more earthlike with classic soils developed by weathering of rock.
D)They are different.Lunar regolith is mostly ejecta from impacts whereas Martian regolith is primarily wind-blown dust and sand on older surfaces that vary from water laid surfaces to volcanic surfaces.

Question 36

Jupiter's moon Io is thought to be the volcanically active world in our solar system.What is the inferred source of heat?

A)Very high abundances of radioactive elements have been detected on the planet.
B)Io has a strong magnetic field as does Jupiter,so as Io moves through Jupiter's magnetic field,large electrical currents are generated,which heat the planet.
C)Io is close to Jupiter,and the strong tidal forces on planet produce frictional heating of the planet.
D)It is a mystery; it should be very cold because it is the same size as the moon but far from the sun.

Question 37

What is the most abundant element in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn?

A)helium
B)ammonia
C)nitrogen
D)hydrogen

Question 38

What moon in the outer solar system is most "earthlike" in terms of landforms,and possesses liquids (liquid methane not water)flowing across the surface?

A)Europa
B)Ganymede
C)Titan
D)Tethys

Question 39

________ has atmospheric pressures at its surface that are roughly comparable to those at Earth's surface.

A)Jupiter's moon Io
B)Saturn's moon Titan
C)Neptune's moon Cassini
D)Uranus's moon Miranda

Question 40

The largest known volcano in the solar system is ________.

A)Mauna Loa,Hawaii,on Earth
B)Vulcan on Venus
C)Solfatara on Jupiter
D)Olympus Mons on Mars

Question 41

The most abundant gas in the planetary atmospheres in nitrogen.

Question 42

Which of the following is not true of the rings of Saturn

A)They are remnants of the formation of the planet and have not changed over time.
B)They are comprised of various sized objects ranging from dust to moon-size objects.
C)They are mostly very thin,forming a large planar disk.
D)The faintest outer rings are closely associated with the moon Enceladus.

Question 43

________ are small,extraterrestrial particles that glow brightly and burn up as they travel through Earth's atmosphere.

A)Asteroids
B)Microcomets
C)Mesocoronas
D)Meteoroids

Question 44

Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.

-Mercury Saturn Uranus Jupiter

Question 45

The planet with the highest density is a terrestrial planet.

Question 46

Why do geologists use the radiometric age of meteorites as a guide to age of the solar system?

A)The meteorites have been isolated in the cold vacuum of space since their formation,so they have seen no significant heating since the time of their formation.
B)The geologists are guessing because they yield some of the oldest radiometric ages.
C)The meteorites date the time of formation of a dead planet and don't have anything to do with the age of the solar system.
D)The meteorites have compositions close to Earth materials,so we assume they formed at the same time.

Question 47

Which planet has the highest recorded winds in the solar system?

A)Uranus
B)Neptune
C)Venus
D)Mars

Question 48

Impact craters are common on the surface of all of the planets except Earth and a few moons with active tectonics,volcanism,or both.

Question 49

Earlier in this class you learned about the Coriolis force.Given your knowledge of this force and Jupiter,which of these statements is most accurate?

A)The Coriolis force is the same on Jupiter as on Earth.
B)The Coriolis force is much weaker on Jupiter than on Earth because of the strong gravity on Jupiter.
C)The Coriolis force is much stronger on Jupiter than on Earth because Jupiter rotates more slowly than Earth and is much larger than Earth.
D)The Coriolis force is much stronger on Jupiter than on Earth because it rotates more than twice as fast as Earth and it is much larger than Earth.

Question 50

Saturn is famous for its rings.Which of the following Jovian planets does not have rings?

A)Jupiter
B)Uranus
C)Neptune
D)None,all of the Jovian planets have rings

Question 51

Lunar regolith breccia contains crystalline rock fragments and glassy fragments formed by meteorite impacts.

Question 52

________ refers to the bright head of a comet.

A)Lima
B)Toma
C)Coma
D)Lira

Question 53

Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.

-Earth Venus Mars Jupiter

Question 54

________ meteorites are thought to be analogous in composition to Earth's core.

A)Calcareous
B)Iron
C)Stony
D)Ammonical

Question 55

Which one of the following statements is believed to be true of comets?

A)They have highly elliptical orbits around the Sun.
B)They are composed mostly of dense rock particles.
C)They may gain slightly in mass with each orbit around the Sun.
D)Their bright,glowing appearance in the night sky is due to frictional heating in Earth's atmosphere.

Question 56

A comet is visible because ________.

A)it is a very large object that get stretched out by interaction with the Sun's gravity
B)it is a small object,but it ejects gas and dust that at is dispersed by the solar wind to form a tail thousands of km long
C)it is composed of white material,mostly ice
D)it boils off steam that streams outward along the comet's path

Question 57

Comet asteroid meteorite planet

Question 58

Pluto is now classified as a ________ in our solar system.

A)terrestrial planet
B)Jovian planet
C)dwarf planet
D)comet

Question 59

Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern.

-Phobos Pluto Titan Callisto

Question 60

Jupiter's atmosphere displays spectacular cyclonic and anticyclonic storms,some persisting for long periods of time.How do these storms form?

A)Like on Earth,they result from differential solar heating of the equatorial region versus poles,and resultant atmospheric circulation.
B)They form like storms on the Sun,for low level nuclear fusion in Jupiter's core.
C)They are due to internal heat exchange within the planet,basically convection currents transferring internal heat to the surface.
D)Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field,and these storms both form the field and are strengthened by it as it feeds electric currents in the atmosphere.

Question 61

The Cassini gap refers to the planetless belt of asteroids between Mars and Earth.

Question 62

The largest known volcano in the solar system is on Mars.

Question 63

An extreme example of the greenhouse effect is thought to be associated with an abundance of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere.

Question 64

Rays in the rings of Saturn are bright,radial streaks that converge inward toward the planet's surface.

Question 65

Comets are thought to be composed of dust and tiny,icy particles encased in small,solidified,metallic fragments.

Question 66

Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet in the solar system.

Question 67

The Martian polar caps are thought to be mainly frozen methane and ammonia.

Question 68

Of the terrestrial planets,Mercury exhibits the greatest lateral variations in surface temperatures.

Question 69

Rayed craters on the Moon,such as Copernicus,formed during an intense,early period of bombardment prior to the formation of the lunar maria.

Question 70

Meteorites disintegrate and burn up as shooting stars; meteoroids survive an impact event and a trip through Earth's atmosphere.

Question 71

Saturn's rings are clusters of relatively small,individual particles; the rings observed on Jupiter are violent storm clouds swirling above the polar regions of the planet.

Question 72

The youngest rocks found on the moon by Apollo missions are older than all but a few rocks on Earth.

Question 73

The very large,lava-covered areas of the Moon are called maria.

Question 74

There is no evidence of water on Mars or the Earth's Moon.

Question 75

Large impact craters and large,domal features (probably representing viscous lava flows)have been imaged on the surface of Venus.

Question 76

All of the Jovian planets except Uranus have rings.

Question 77

The Moon has highland areas which approach the height of mountains on Earth.

Question 78

The four largest moons of Jupiter are comets and asteroids captured by the intense gravity of Jupiter.

Question 79

Carbon dioxide is the major gas in the atmosphere of Venus.

Question 80

The atmosphere of Mars is less dense than Earth's,but dust storms and sand dunes indicate wind action occurs on Mars.