Download Practice Test Questions (PTQs)

Practice Test Questions (PTQs)
Chapters 26 and 27
For each statement or question, select the word
or expression that best completes the statement
or answers the question.
____ 1. The average distance from Earth to the
sun is about
A. 150,000,000,000 km
B. 150,000,000 km
C. 150,000 km
D. 1500 km
____ 2. When hydrogen nuclei fuse, four
hydrogen nuclei become
A. a helium nucleus, releasing energy
B. a helium nucleus, absorbing energy
C. a proton, releasing energy
D. a proton, absorbing energy
____ 3. Einstein's formula E = mc2 describes
A. the relationship between mass and speed
B. the relationship between mass and energy
C. how to determine the speed of a certain mass
D. how much energy is needed to move a mass
to the speed of light
____ 4. The fusion reaction that produces the
sun's energy occurs in
A. the sun's interior
B. solar prominences
C. the sun's photosphere
D. sunspot umbras
____ 5. Why don't charged nuclei repel each
other in a plasma?
A. Nuclei combine with electrons to make
neutral atoms.
B. The plasmic force pulls nuclei together.
C. Conditions are so hot and dense that the
normal repulsive force can be overcome.
D. Conditions are so cold that most nuclei can't
move fast enough to be repelled.
____ 6. From the surface of the sun to its center,
the temperature can be assumed to
A. remain about the same
B. steadily increase
C. increase then decrease
D. steadily decrease
____ 7. The visible surface of the sun is the
A. chromosphere
B. corona
C. mantle
D. photosphere
____ 8. Which statement about the sun's rotation
is true?
A. The sun does not rotate.
B. The sun rotates at about the same rate that the
Earth rotates.
C. The sun rotates faster at the equator than at
the poles.
D. The sun rotates once about every 11 years.
____ 9. Which solar phenomenon would not be
expected to increase with an increase in the
number of sunspots?
A. solar flares
B. granules
C. solar winds
D. auroras
____ 10. The solar wind consists of a constant
stream of
A. magnetic loops given off by sunspots
B. fast-moving molecules of water similar to
those on Earth
C. fast-moving air molecules similar to those on
Earth
D. electrically charged particles like protons and
electrons
____ 11. Which of the following is not a way
Earth's magnetic field interacts with the solar
wind?
A. Earth's magnetic field shields the surface from
harmful particles in the solar wind.
B. Particles in the solar wind interact with the
magnetic field, causing auroras.
C. Earth's magnetic field creates solar flares on
the sun.
D. Solar flares can increase the solar wind and
cause magnetic storms on Earth.
____ 12. Compared to the background of
constellations, planets
A. remain stationary
B. always move eastward
C. mostly move eastward
D. mostly move westward
____ 13. In the geocentric model of the solar
system Earth is
A. at the center
B. on an epicycle
C. on a deferent
D. in orbit around the sun
____ 14. Retrograde motion is observed because
planets
A. orbit at different speeds
B. orbit in two directions
C. orbit backwards
D. rotate as they orbit
____ 15. The astronomer credited with
proposing that the sun is the center of the solar
system is
A. Tycho Brahe
B. Nicolaus Copernicus
C. Isaac Newton
D. Albert Einstein
____ 16. A planet's period and the harmonic law
can be used to calculate the planet's
A. mean distance from the sun
B. mass
C. rate of movement
D. density
____ 17. Planetary orbits are
A. epicyclic
B. stationary
C. circular
D. elliptical
____ 18. What is Earth's average speed as it
orbits the sun?
A. about 5 kilometer a second
B. about 10 kilometers a second
C. about 30 kilometers a second
D. about 50 kilometers a second
____ 19. Kepler's equal area law implies that
when a planet gets closer to the sun, it
A. slows down
B. speeds up
C. keeps the same speed
D. moves backward
____ 20. The gravitational attraction between
two objects will increase if the
A. distance between the two objects increases
B. speed of one of the objects increases
C. solar wind between the two objects increases
D. mass of one of the objects increases
____ 21. Who developed the universal law of
gravitation?
A. Kepler
B. Ptolemy
C. Newton
D. Copernicus
____ 22. The force that keeps planets in orbit
around the sun is
A. fusion
B. magnetism
C. electricity
D. gravity
____ 23. Even though Venus is farther from the
sun then Mercury, Venus's surface is hotter than
Mercury's. This is because Venus
A. has a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere that
traps the sun's heat
B. a very weak or non-existent magnetic field
C. has an extremely old crust with volcanic
features
D. rotates from west to east instead of east to
west
____ 24. Which of the following planets can
never be seen from Earth at midnight?
A. Venus
B. Saturn
C. Mars
D. Jupiter
____ 25. The largest known volcano in the solar
system is located on
A. Earth
B. Mars
C. Jupiter
D. Pluto
____ 26. Which of the following planets has the
lowest density?
A. Mercury
B. Jupiter
C. Venus
D. Mars
____ 27. The planet that moves most slowly
along its orbit is
A. Mercury
B. Earth
C. Jupiter
D. Pluto
____ 28. Which of the following is not a
characteristic of a Jovian planet?
A. composed of light elements
B. low density
C. large size
D. rocky crust
____ 29. Two planets that are known to radiate
more energy back into space than they receive
from the sun are
A. Mercury and Venus
B. Earth and Mars
C. Jupiter and Saturn
D. Uranus and Neptune
____ 30. Which of the following planets have
ring systems?
A. Saturn
B. Jupiter
C. Neptune
D. all of the above
____ 31. When Pluto is nearest to the sun, its
atmosphere
A. evaporates
B. thaws slightly
C. boils
D. doesn't change
____ 32. Mars has seasons twice as long as
Earth's seasons because
A. Mars's axis is tilted twice as much as Earth's
axis.
B. Mars's atmosphere is thinner than Earth's
atmosphere.
C. Mars's year is twice as long as Earth's year.
D. Mars's gravity is two-fifths of Earth's gravity.
____ 33. Neptune was discovered after
astronomers
A. predicted its position mathematically
B. detected its magnetic field
C. sent a spacecraft to the outer solar system
D. discovered Pluto
____ 34. Oberon, Ariel, and Miranda are three of
the five largest moons of
A. Jupiter
B. Mars
C. Uranus
D. Venus
____ 35. Saturn's moon Titan is unusual because
A. it is very small
B. it has a moon of its own
C. it has a very hot surface
D. it has a substantial atmosphere
____ 36. Which of the following is not evidence
that Io is geologically active?
A. active volcanoes have been observed
B. the density of Io is close to that of Earth's
moon
C. the surface has no sign of impact craters
D. the Galileo satellite detected molten silicate
rock around an iron core
____ 37. Comets spend most of their time
A. in orbit around Neptune
B. far beyond Neptune's orbit
C. in orbit around Earth
D. between Mars and Jupiter
____ 38. Halley's Comet returns to the inner
solar system every
A. year
B. 7.6 years
C. 76 years
D. 760 years
____ 39. An asteroid's brightness may change as
it rotates because it
A. is solid
B. has an irregular shape
C. has a circular orbit
D. is between Mars and Jupiter
____ 40. Meteor showers occur when Earth
A. passes through comet debris
B. enters the asteroid belt
C. approaches perihelion
D. approaches aphelion
____ 41. A rock fragment traveling in space is
called a
A. meteor
B. meteorite
C. meteoroid
D. meteor shower
____ 42. One reason Mercury has more impact
craters than Earth is because Mercury
A. has no atmosphere
B. is closer to the sun
C. rotates more rapidly
D. moves faster in its orbit
____ 43. The largest moon in the solar system is
A. Earth's moon
B. Uranus's moon Miranda
C. Jupiter's moon Ganymede
D. Jupiter's moon Europa
____ 44. Which of the following is not a basic
type of meteorite?
A. iron
B. iron-sulfide
C. stony-iron
D. stony