Question 1

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the terrestrial planets?
A) low average density
B) orbits inside the asteroids
C) craters in old surfaces
D) small diameters
E) very few satellites

Accepted Answer

A

Question 2

A(n)____ is a solar system object that enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes very hot due to friction between the object and Earth's atmosphere.
A) asteroid
B) meteor
C) comet
D) meteoroid
E) planetesimal

Accepted Answer

A meteor is a solar system object that enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes very hot due to friction, often resulting in a visible streak of light in the sky.

Question 3

The large planetesimals would have grown faster than the smaller planetesimals because
A) they were moving faster in their orbits than the smaller planetesimals.
B) their stronger gravity would pull in more material.
C) there was more material located near them that could be accreted.
D) the smaller planetesimals were covered by a layer of material that was lost during collisions.
E) all of the above

Accepted Answer

The larger planetesimals have stronger gravity due to their greater mass, which would allow them to pull in more material as they orbit the protoplanetary disk. This would result in them growing faster than smaller planetesimals.

Question 4

Protoplanets of the Jovian planets could have grown very hot from
A) heat from the sun.
B) radioactivity of light elements such as hydrogen and helium.
C) the infall of material at high velocity.
D) tidal forces due to the sun.
E) collisions with large planetesimals.

Accepted Answer

The infall of material at high velocity would have caused the protoplanets to heat up due to the conversion of kinetic energy into thermal energy.

Question 5

The condensation sequence suggests that ____ should condense closest to the sun.
A) Jovian planets
B) metals and metal oxides
C) silicates
D) ices of water,methane,and ammonia
E) low density materials

Accepted Answer

Metals and metal oxides condense closest to the sun because they have high melting points and can withstand the high temperatures near the sun.

Question 6

The oldest rock crystals found on Earth are about ____ years old.
A) 10 billion
B) 15.3 billion
C) 4.4 billion
D) 0.9 billion
E) 66.2 million

Accepted Answer

The oldest rock crystals found on Earth are zircon crystals from Australia, which have been dated to about 4.4 billion years old.

Question 7

Part pf the current atmosphere of Earth is believed to be
A) the remnants of the original gas from the solar nebula attracted by the protoplanet.
B) the result of the melting and vaporizing of the glaciers during the last ice age.
C) composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.
D) composed of gases that were baked from the rocks sometime after the planet formed.
E) the result of a collision between the sun and another star.

Accepted Answer

The current atmosphere of Earth is primarily composed of gases that were released from volcanic activity and other geological processes after the planet formed, rather than remnants of the original solar nebula or other sources.

Question 8

The passing star mechanism of the origin of the solar system was proposed by
A) Descartes.
B) Laplace.
C) Buffon.
D) none of the above

Accepted Answer

Buffon proposed the passing star hypothesis, suggesting that a star passing close to the Sun pulled material away, forming the planets.

Question 9

If the terrestrial planets formed by homogeneous accretion,then
A) they formed an iron core first and a silicate crust later.
B) the solar nebula changed during their fragmentation.
C) Earth's original atmosphere was rich in hydrogen.
D) the terrestrial planets should now have the same composition as the Jovian planets.
E) the terrestrials should have had several satellites each.

Accepted Answer

In homogeneous accretion, the planets formed from a mixture of materials, including hydrogen, which means Earth's original atmosphere would have been rich in hydrogen.

Question 10

Which one of the following present-day objects is most like the planetesimals that formed in the solar nebula?
A) asteroids
B) Earth
C) Saturn
D) Venus
E) the sun

Accepted Answer

Asteroids are remnants from the early solar system and are similar to the planetesimals that formed in the solar nebula.

Question 11

If a star is found with five planets orbiting it,which of the planets would be expected to have the greatest uncompressed density if the system was formed by a process like that described in the solar nebula theory?
A) the one farthest from the star
B) the one with the greatest mass
C) the one with the greatest radius
D) the one closest to the star
E) the one that has liquid water on its surface

Accepted Answer

According to the solar nebula theory, planets closer to the star tend to be rocky and have higher densities due to the high temperatures that prevent volatile compounds from condensing.

Question 12

Which observation supports the solar nebula theory of the origin of the solar system?
A) Planets are round.
B) The sun is the least massive object in the solar system.
C) Disks are common around young stars.
D) Disks are rare around young stars.

Accepted Answer

The solar nebula theory suggests that the solar system formed from a rotating disk of gas and dust. The observation that disks are common around young stars supports this theory, as it indicates that such disks are a natural part of star and planet formation processes.

Question 13

The age of the solar system is believed to be approximately 4.6 billion years old based on the data from
A) samples of lunar rocks.
B) samples of earth rocks.
C) samples of meteorites.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

The age of the solar system is estimated to be about 4.6 billion years based on radiometric dating of samples from lunar rocks, Earth rocks, and meteorites. All these sources provide consistent evidence supporting this age.

Question 14

Accretion among the grains in the solar nebula would have been aided by
A) static electricity.
B) gravity.
C) high-velocity collisions.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of Accretion among the grains in the solar...

Question 15

The planets all lie in nearly the same plane resulting in a disk-like structure for the solar system.This disk-like structure is believed to exist because
A) the original solar nebulae had a disk-like structure.
B) in a rotating disk the gas atoms will quickly fall to the central disk of the spherical cloud.
C) Jupiter's gravity was great enough to pull all of the other planets to the plane of its orbit.
D) planetesimals settled into the plane.
E) the sun's magnetic field slowed down the rotation of the solar nebula.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The planets all lie in nearly the...

Question 16

Which of the following observations would support the solar nebula theory over the passing star hypothesis?
A) proving that most of the solar like stars near the sun also have planets orbiting them.
B) proving that none of the stars near the sun has planets orbiting them
C) finding a planet located beyond the orbit of Pluto
D) finding a meteorite whose age proved to be greater than 4.6 billion years
E) proving that Mercury has the same uncompressed density as Earth

Accepted Answer

The solar nebula theory suggests that planets form from a disk of gas and dust around a young star, so finding other stars with planets supports this theory. The passing star hypothesis, which suggests planets form from material pulled from a star by a passing star, is less likely to result in many stars having planets.

Question 17

The nebular theory of the origin of the solar system was proposed by
A) Laplace.
B) Buffon.
C) neither of these

Accepted Answer

The nebular theory was proposed by Laplace in 1796.

Question 18

In observations,____ has a heavy element core,and a deep atmosphere made mostly of hydrogen.
A) Uranus
B) Mars
C) Venus
D) an asteroid
E) a meteor

Accepted Answer

Uranus is a gas giant with a core of heavy elements and a deep atmosphere primarily composed of hydrogen and helium.

Question 19

Why do astronomers believe that the angular momentum problem is no longer an objection to the solar nebula problem?
A) The current theory assumes that the solar nebula originally rotated slower than previously thought.
B) Most of the angular momentum has been found to be contained in the planet's orbits.
C) The sun's magnetic field interacted with gas leaving the nebula and slowed the sun's rotation.
D) The solar nebula theory has been proven false,so the angular momentum problem doesn't apply.
E) The extra angular momentum is accounted for by the orbits of the comets.

Accepted Answer

The sun's magnetic field interacted with the gas in the solar nebula, transferring angular momentum away from the sun and slowing its rotation, thus resolving the angular momentum problem.

Question 20

Condensation in the solar nebula probably led to the formation of
A) icy grains beyond the present orbit of Jupiter.
B) metallic grains near the present orbit of Mercury.
C) silicate grains near the present orbit of Earth.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Accepted Answer

Condensation in the solar nebula led to the formation of various types of grains. Icy grains formed beyond the present orbit of Jupiter because it was too cold for rocks to condense, while metallic grains formed near the present orbit of Mercury due to higher temperatures. Silicate grains, which make up most of the terrestrial planets including Earth, formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Therefore, all of the above choices are correct.

Quiz 19: The Origin of the Solar System

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

A(n) ____ is a solar system object that enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes very hot due to friction between the object and Earth's atmosphere.

The large planetesimals would have grown faster than the smaller planetesimals because

Protoplanets of the Jovian planets could have grown very hot from

The condensation sequence suggests that ____ should condense closest to the sun.

The oldest rock crystals found on Earth are about ____ years old.

Part pf the current atmosphere of Earth is believed to be

The passing star mechanism of the origin of the solar system was proposed by

If the terrestrial planets formed by homogeneous accretion,then

Which one of the following present-day objects is most like the planetesimals that formed in the solar nebula?

If a star is found with five planets orbiting it,which of the planets would be expected to have the greatest uncompressed density if the system was formed by a process like that described in the solar nebula theory?

Which observation supports the solar nebula theory of the origin of the solar system?

The age of the solar system is believed to be approximately 4.6 billion years old based on the data from

Accretion among the grains in the solar nebula would have been aided by

The planets all lie in nearly the same plane resulting in a disk-like structure for the solar system.This disk-like structure is believed to exist because

Which of the following observations would support the solar nebula theory over the passing star hypothesis?

The nebular theory of the origin of the solar system was proposed by

In observations,____ has a heavy element core,and a deep atmosphere made mostly of hydrogen.

Why do astronomers believe that the angular momentum problem is no longer an objection to the solar nebula problem?

Condensation in the solar nebula probably led to the formation of