Deck 7: Overview of the Solar System

Question 1

Suppose the Sun doubled its temperature while its size remained unchanged.The Sun would become

A)Redder and dimmer
B)Redder and brighter
C)Bluer and dimmer
D)Bluer and brighter

Answer 1

Bluer and brighter

Question 2

Which of the following sets of planets has locations in the inner solar system,relatively small diameters,and high densities?

A)Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars
B)Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn
C)Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune
D)Mercury,Venus,Uranus,Neptune

Answer 2

Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars

Question 3

Blackbodies A and B have the same size.A is 4 times hotter than B.What is the ratio of the rate of energy emitted by A to the rate of energy emitted by B?

A)256
B)64
C)16
D)4

Answer 3

256

Question 4

Suppose there are 1000 grams of an isotope that has a half-life of 10 minutes.How much of the isotope will be left after 40 minutes?

A)250 grams
B)0 grams
C)125 grams
D)62.5 grams

Question 5

If the temperature of an object doubles,the amount of radiant energy it produces will increase by

A)2 times
B)4 times
C)8 times
D)16 times

Question 6

The astronomical unit is a unit used to describe

A)Masses
B)Periods of revolution
C)Distances
D)Acclerations

Question 7

If the temperature of the Sun were to decrease while its size remained the same,it would become

A)Redder and brighter
B)Redder and fainter
C)Bluer and brighter
D)Bluer and fainter

Question 8

The orbits of the planets are all

A)Randomly oriented in space
B)Circular
C)Larger than the orbit of the Earth
D)Prograde (counterclockwise motion as viewed from the north)
E)Perpendicular to the orbit of the Earth

Question 9

The half-life of a particular isotope of potassium is 1.3 billion years.After 2.6 billion years,how much of the original amount of that isotope remains?

A)Half
B)None
C)One-fourth
D)All of it

Question 10

An X-ray burst source is an explosion on the surface of a neutron star.Temperatures in the explosion are about 100 million K.In what part of the electromagnetic spectrum would you expect the emission to be brightest?

A)Radio waves
B)Visible light
C)Ultraviolet light
D)X-rays

Question 11

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a terrestrial planet?

A)Mean density greater than 3000 kg per cubic meter
B)Made primarily of iron and silicates
C)Mass less than or equal to that of the Earth
D)Extensive methane-ammonia atmosphere

Question 12

The half-life for radioactive decay of potassium into argon is 1.3 billion years.A rock is found with 10 atoms of potassium and 90 of argon.What can we say about the age of the rock?

A)It formed less than a billion years ago
B)It formed about 1.3 billion years ago
C)It is much older than 1.3 billion years
D)It is much older than 20 billion years

Question 13

An astronomical unit is the

A)Average distance between the Sun and Earth
B)Distance between the Earth and the Moon
C)Angular size of the Sun
D)Distance between the Sun and the nearest star

Question 14

The temperature of the Sun is 6000 K.The temperature of Mercury's sunlit side is about 600 K.The Sun's radiation is brightest at a wavelength of about 5000 Angstroms.At what wavelength is Mercury's radiation brightest?

A)500 Angstroms
B)6000 Angstroms
C)50,000 Angstroms
D)540 Angstroms

Question 15

The radiation emitted by the sun is brightest at a wavelength of about 5000 Å (1 Å is 10^-10 m).At what wavelength would the Sun be brightest if its temperature were doubled?

A)2500 Å
B)5000 Å
C)10,000 Å
D)20,000 Å

Question 16

If an object emits blackbody radiation there is a unique correspondence between the

A)Temperature of the object and the wavelength at which it is brightest
B)Temperature of an object and its surface area
C)Mass of the object and its surface temperature
D)Color of the body and its surface area

Question 17

The Sun has a temperature of 6000 K and is brightest at a wavelength of about 5000 Å.What is the temperature of a star that is brightest at a wavelength of about 10,000 Å?

A)3000 K
B)8000 K
C)10,000 K
D)12,000 K

Question 18

More than 99% of the mass of the solar system is contained in

A)The Earth
B)The Sun
C)The giant planets
D)Jupiter

Question 19

Which of the following is not a terrestrial planet?

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

Question 20

Suppose a blackbody is brightest at a wavelength of one micron.If the temperature of the blackbody is halved,at what wavelength would it be brightest?

A)2 microns
B)1 micron
C)0.5 microns
D)4 microns

Question 21

What is the relationship between radiation rate and temperature for a black body?

A)Proportional to the temperature
B)Inversely proportional to the temperature
C)Proportional to the square of the temperature
D)Proportional to the fourth power of the temperature

Question 22

Which of the following planets is most likely to retain hydrogen in its atmosphere? Assume all of the planets are equally distant from the Sun

A)A planet with large mass,large radius
B)A planet with large mass,small radius
C)A planet with small mass,large radius
D)A planet with small mass,small radius

Question 23

How does the brightness of an object vary with distance from the object?

A)It remains constant with varying distance
B)It varies as the inverse of distance
C)It decreases as the square of distance
D)It decreases as the cube of distance

Question 24

In the Earth's atmosphere,the pressure is cut in half for each increase of what height?

A)2.1 km
B)4.2 km
C)5.5 km
D)8.4 km

Question 25

If the Earth's distance from the Sun were tripled,the amount of radiant solar energy received by the Earth would

A)Decrease 9 times
B)Decrease 6 times
C)Decrease 3 times
D)Remain about the same

Question 26

The orbital distances of Venus and Jupiter are 0.7 AU and 5 AU,respectively.About how many times brighter is the sun viewed from Venus's distance than from Jupiter's distance?

A)7
B)14
C)50
D)10

Question 27

Uranus is 20 times farther from the Sun than is the Earth.How many times brighter does the Sun appear from Earth than from Uranus?

A)20 times
B)400 times
C)40 times
D)8000 times

Question 28

Mercury is 0.4 AU from the Sun.How does the flux of sunlight for Mercury compare to the flux of sunlight for the Earth?

A)Earth's is 2.5 times as large
B)Mercury's is 2.5 times as large
C)Earth's is 6.25 times as large.
D)Mercury's is 6.25 times as large

Question 29

Which of the following planets is least likely to retain a thick atmosphere?

A)A planet with a hot atmosphere,low gravity
B)A planet with a hot atmosphere,high gravity
C)A planet with a cool atmosphere,low gravity
D)A planet with a cool atmosphere,high gravity

Question 30

Mercury is 50% farther from the Sun when it is at aphelion than when it is at perihelion.How many times more intense is sunlight on Mercury at perihelion than at aphelion?

A)1.5 times
B)2.25 times
C)5.0 times
D)3.0 times

Question 31

If you double the temperature of a black body,the radiation rate will increase by what factor?

A)2
B)4
C)8
D)16

Question 32

A planet has an albedo of 0.6.What percentage of the sunlight that strikes the planet is absorbed by the planet?

A)60%
B)40%
C)100%
D)Cannot be calculated from the information given

Question 33

Which of the following planets,at the same distance from the Sun,would be the coolest?

A)Poorly reflecting in the visible,radiates well in the infrared
B)Poorly reflecting in the visible,radiates poorly in the infrared
C)Highly reflecting in the visible,radiates poorly in the infrared
D)Highly reflecting in the visible,radiates well in the infrared

Question 34

Suppose a number of planets all have the same mass,but different sizes and temperatures.Which of the following planets is most likely to retain a thick atmosphere?

A)Small,hot
B)Small,cool
C)Large,hot
D)Large,cool

Question 35

The energy transport process in which energy is transported through the collisions of electrons with one another is

A)Conduction
B)Convection
C)Radiation
D)Radial drift