Download Earth Science – Quiz 2

Earth Science – Quiz -5
Summer 2012
Total points = 86 points
Choose the best multiple choice answer. It is not necessary to download the quiz. Put your
answers on your scantron (882-E). Quiz-5 is Thursday, July 12th, 2012
1. The geocentric model of the solar system was proposed by _________ and represents a
______________.
a. Copernicus / sun-centered solar system
b. Ptolemy / earth-centered solar system
c. Copernicus / earth-centered solar system
d. Ptolemy / sun-centered solar system
2. Retrograde motion describes
a. the planetary motion that slows a planet
b. the appearance of forward motion of a planet in the sky
c. the appearance of a motionless planet
d. the appearance of backward motion of a planet in the sky
3. Stellar parallax shows an observer
a. that stars are stationary.
b. the apparent displacement of background stars as the earth orbits the sun.
c. our solar system location in the Milky Way.
d. that most stars belong to the main sequence group of stars.
4. Which of the following astronomers invented and used the telescope to view the moon for
the first time?
a. Galileo
b. Tyco
c. Newton
d. Newton
5. One astronomical unit is equal to
a. the distance between the sun and moon.
b. the distance between the sun and earth.
c. the distance between the moon and the earth.
d. the distance between the earth and Mars.
6. Which of the following planets is considered an outer planet?
a. Saturn
b. Earth
c. Mercury
d. Mars
7. The 5th planet from the sun is
a. Mars
b. Venus
c. Jupiter
d. Saturn
8. If one observes the brightness on the left side of the moon, then the moon is in its ________
phase.
a. waning
b. decreasing
c. waxing
d. new moon
9. The moon phase 4 days after full moon is the
a. waning gibbous. b. waxing gibbous.
c. waning crescent
d. crescent
10. Which one of the following statements is true about the equinoxes?
A) They occur in June and December.
B) The Sun's vertical rays are striking either the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn.
C) Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
D) The length of daylight at the Arctic and Antarctic Circles is 24 hours.
11. On this date the length of daylight gets progressively longer going south from the equator.
A) June 21
B) March 21
C) September 21
D) December 21
12. The 90˚ angle solar rays are striking the Tropic of Capricorn on ________.
A) June 21
B) March 21 C) September 21
D) December 21
13. The fall equinox in the Southern Hemisphere occurs on this date.
A) June 21
B) March 21 C) September 21
D) December 21
14. Galileo observed several features using the telescope. Which one of the following did he NOT
discover?
A) sunspots B) phases of Venus C) Jupiter's four largest moons
D) the two moons of Mars
15. The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun-centered universe was ________.
A) Sir Isaac Newton B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
16. This scientist determined the nature of the forces that kept the planets in their orbits.
A) Sir Isaac Newton B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
17. The true shape of the planetary orbits was discovered by ________.
A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
E) Johannes Kepler
18. Which of these men formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation?
A) Sir Isaac Newton B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
E) Johannes Kepler
19. The length of daylight on the Moon is about ________.
A) 24 hours B) 48 hours C) two weeks D) one month E) one year
20. 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
21. 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
22. ________ has the great, red spot on its surface.
A) Mars
B) Jupiter
C) Venus
D) Uranus
23. How did the lunar maria most likely originate?
A) huge impact basins that 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
24. Which one of the following is not found on Mars?
A) polar ice caps
B) H2O-rich atmosphere
C) sand dunes
25. 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
D) extinct volcanoes
26. ________ 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
27. ________ 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
28. Most of the Moon's craters were produced by ________.
A) the impact of debris (meteoroids)
B) volcanic eruptions
C) faulting
D) radial implosions
29. The high surface temperatures of this planet have been attributed to the greenhouse effect.
A) Venus
B) Uranus
C) Mars
D) Mercury
30. One of the most common units used to express stellar distance is the ________.
A) mile B) meter
C) light-year
D) astronomical unit
31. The measure of a star's brightness is called its ________.
A) parallax
B) color
C) magnitude
D) intensity
32. Which color stars have the highest surface temperature?
A) red
B) orange
C) yellow
D) blue
33. Which main-sequence stars are the most massive?
A) red
B) orange
C) yellow
D) blue
34. The most dense stars known to exist are ________.
A) black holes
B) neutron stars
C) white dwarfs
35. The Sun belongs to this class of stars.
A) black hole
B) main-sequence star
D) red dwarfs
C) red giant
D) white dwarf
36. The point in stellar evolution when a star has used up all its fuel and is radiating away its
remaining thermal energy as light is the ________ stage.
A) black hole
B) main-sequence star
C) red giant
D) white dwarf
37. Most stars are in this stage of evolution.
A) black hole
B) main-sequence star
C) red giant
38. The final stage for a star which is as massive as the Sun is a ________.
A) black hole
B) main-sequence star
C) red giant
39. Absolute magnitude measures a star’s
a. brightness from observations on earth.
b. Brightness from a distance of 32.6 light year
D) white dwarf
D) white dwarf
c. apparent brightness
d. brightness and temperature variations.
40. Using the absolute magnitude scale, one can conclude
a. the smaller the star, the brighter the star. b. the smaller the star, the bluer the star
c. the bigger the star, the brighter the star d. big stars are huge celebrities.
41. The HR-diagram classifies a star using
a. brightness and magnitude
c. brightness and star power.
b. temperature and how hot the star is
d. magnitude and brightness.
42. Given the HR-diagram below, match the letter with the correct star classification.
O
B
A
A
Spectral
F Class
B
G
C
K
M
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
Temperature
a. A-white dwarfs, B-main sequence C- red giants
b. A-red giants, B- main sequence, C- white dwarfs
c. A- red giants, B- dwarfs, C- main sequence
d. A – main sequence, B- red giants, C- white dwarfs
43. At noon on February 21, the sun is overhead ______________.
a. at the equator.
b. at some point between the Tropic of Capricorn and the equator, heading southward.
c. at some point between the Tropic of Cancer and the equator, heading northward.
d. at some point between the Tropic of Capricorn and the equator, heading northward.