Download Exploring the Universe, Test #3, Summer 97

Exploring the Universe, Test #3, Summer 97
NAME_____________________________
Please indicate the best answer to the following questions on the answer sheet
provided. All question are worth 2 points unless noted otherwise.
1.
Having to tip an umbrella in the direction you are moving to keep from getting wet in a rain storm was used to
describe what phenomena
a) horizontal rain
b) the coriolis effect
c) centrifugal forces
d) aberration
2.
The apparent shift of a star’s position caused by the motion of the Earth is called
a) aberration
b) syntax
c) Doppler effect
d) tidal forces
3.
If a cannon fires a projectile from the equator toward the North, what will happen to the path of the projectile.
a) it will go North
b) it will go South
c) it will curve right
d) it will curve left
4.
In what direction does a low pressure cell rotate in the Northern hemisphere
a) clockwise
b) counterclockwise
5.
About what age do scientist estimate the Earth to be
a) 4.5 billion years
b) 4.5 thousand years
c) 4.5 million years
d) 10 billion years
6.
Where is the North magnetic pole of the Earth located
a) Canada
b) Russia
c) North Atlantic Ocean
d) Greenland
7.
In Earth diameters, about how far is the Moon from the Earth
a) 10
b) 20
c) 30
d) 40
8.
Which is the currently accepted theory for the formation of the Moon
a) fusion
b) accretion
c) capture
d) giant impact
9.
In terms of the size of the Earth, how big is the Moon
a) equal to the Earth
b) ½ as big as the Earth
c) ¼ as big as the Earth
d) 1/6 as big as the Earth
10. The lava flooded plains of the Moon are called
a) mria
b) terrae
c) basins
d) umbra
11. Why don’t we see eclipses of the Moon every month
a) it happens on the other side of the Earth
b) the Moon’s orbit is inclined to the Earth’s
c) we do, it causes the phases of the Moon
d) weather usually prevents us from seeing it
12. Usually, what color is a lunar eclipse
a) red
b) blue
c) green
d) white
13. How long is a Mercury day
a) 2 Mercury years
b) 4 Earth days
c) 1/365 of a Mercury year
d) 1 Mercury year
14. What statement best describes Mercury
a) Moon like
b) Earth like
c) Mars like
d) Jupiter like
15. What planet was referred to as Earth’s sister planet
a) Mercury
b) Venus
c) Mars
d) Jupiter
16. The clouds of Venus are made mostly of
a) water
b) dust
c) CO2
d) Sulfuric acid
17. What causes Venus to be so hot
a) greenhouse effect
b) closeness to the Sun
c) color of it’s surface
d) volcanoes
18. Which planet has easily observed seasonal changes and polar ice caps
a) Venus
b) Mars
c) Mercury
d) Jupiter
19. Which planet shows positive proof of running water on its surface
a) Venus
b) Mars
c) Mercury
d) Jupiter
20. What is the name of the spacecraft missions which landed on Mars in the 70’s
a) Galileo
b) Viking
c) Venera
d) Voyager
21. What is the name of the spacecraft missions which landed on Venus
a) Galileo
b) Viking
c) Venera
d) Voyager
22. Which is the largest Planet in the solar system
a) Jupiter
b) Saturn
c) Neptune
d) Uranus
23. How many of Jupiter’s moons did Galileo see in his telescope
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
24. Which planet contains the great red spot
a) Jupiter
b) Saturn
c) Neptune
d) Uranus
25. The belt and zone structures seen on Jupiter are caused by
a) different colors of the underlying bedrock
b) circulation patterns of warm and cool clouds
c) aurora exciting different chemical compounds in the atmosphere
d) volcanic eruptions
26. The Roche limit is
a) distance from the Sun where life cannot exist
b) distance from a planet where moons cannot exist
c) the boundary layer between the solar system and the rest of the galaxy
d) the maximum distance a spacecraft can be sent from Earth
27. Cassini’s division is
a) a new form of math
b) imaginary line which divides a planet into Eastern and Western hemispheres
c) a gap in Saturn’s rings
d) the space between Mars and Jupiter where there is no planet
28. The many ringlets which compose planetary ring systems are caused by
a) gravitational resonances
b) differences in chemical composition
c) differences in mass density
d) different rotation rates
29. Shepherd moons are
a) moons which shepherd particles into rings
b) moons seen by the shepherds of early times
c) moons which are in orbits opposite of each other
d) the special conditions of our Moon seen in the Fall
30. Which planet’s orbit was being perturbed causing astronomers to look for more planets
a) Uranus
b) Neptune
c) Pluto
d) Jupiter
31. Which is the smallest planet in the solar system
a) Mercury
b) Mars
c) Pluto
d) Triton
32. Which planet has the greatest tilt of its axis
a) Uranus
b) Neptune
c) Saturn
d) Jupiter
33. Which of the Jupiter’s satellites has volcanoes of sulfur
a) Io
b) Europa
c) Ganymede
d) Callisto
34. What is the probable source of energy which allows satellites of large planets to be so geologically active
a) stored gravitational energy
b) radioactive decay
c) greenhouse effect
d) tidal friction forces
35. Meteors are
a) falling stars
b) cosmic rays
c) type of atmospheric lightening
d) small rocks and dust entering our atmosphere
36. What causes meteors to glow
a) frictional heating in the atmosphere
b) chemical reactions
c) they are self luminous
d) reflected sunlight
37. What happens when the Earth passes through the dust trail of old comets
a) life as we know it will cease
b) aurora
c) northern lights
d) meteor shower
38. What do we find in the region between Mars and Jupiter where a planet should exist
a) asteroids
b) comets
c) meteors
d) nebulae
39. What planet is most likely to have comets and asteroids crash into it
a) Earth
b) Jupiter
c) Saturn
d) Mars
40. What is the current best theory for the destruction of the dinosaurs
a) seasonal depletion of the ozone
b) greenhouse effect
c) ice age
d) impact of an asteroid or comet
41. (10 points) Explain what it means when a planet and its moon are in dually synchronized orbits
42. (10 points) Explain the greenhouse effect on the Earth.