ASTR 2003   Test 2   6/3/99

1. Venus' orbital motion is  (a) erratic  (b) retrograde  (c) prograde  
   (d) slower than the Earth's.
2. Mercury's orbit is rather highly  (a) eccentric  (b) inclined  
   (c) nodal  (d) astronic.
3. Mercury has a thin CO2 atmosphere.  (a) true  (b) false - thick CO2  
   (c) false - thin N2  (d) false - no atmosphere
4. Mercury has a large iron core.  (a) true  (b) false - small iron core 
   (c) false - no iron core
5. Venus has a thin CO2 atmosphere.  (a) true  (b) false - thick CO2  
   (c) false - thin N2  (d) false - no atmosphere
6. The surface of Venus strongly resembles the Earth's Moon.  (a) true
   (b) false
7. Venus is much less volcanically active than the Earth.  (a) true  
   (b) false
8. The Earth's Moon lacks an atmosphere because it is so  (a) cold  
   (b) hot  (c) small.
9. If the Earth were the size of a tennis ball, how big would Mars be?  
   (a) cantaloupe  (b) baseball  (c) golf ball  (d) green pea
10. How hot is it on Mars in the winter at noon?  (a) Mojave desert in 
   July  (b) Fayetteville in April  (c) Toronto in September  
   (d) Antarctica in August
11. The big canyon on Mars is  (a) Olympus Mons  (b) Chrysea Planitia  
   (c) Mare Tranquilitatis  (d) Valles Marinaris.
12. At times in the past, the climate of Mars has been much warmer and 
   wetter than today.  (a) true  (b) false
13. The tallest volcano in the solar system is  (a) Olympus Mons  
   (b) Chrysea Planitia  (c) Mare Tranquilitatis  (d) Valles Marinaris.
14. It is known that life once flourished on Mars.  (a) true  (b) false
15. Mars moon are  (a) large, spherical  (b) small, spherical  
   (c) large, irregular  (d) small, irregular.
16. If a planetary surface has more impact craters, the surface  is  
   (a) younger  (b) older  (c) more active.
17. Giant planets are mainly composed of  (a) iron  (b) rock  
   (c) helium  (d) hydrogen.
18. Jupiter is about ____ times the size of the Earth.  (a) 5  (b) 10  
   (c) 20  (d) 100
19. Jupiter spins relatively  (a) rapidly  (b) slowly.
20. The central regions of Jupiter's interior contain  (a) melted iron  
   (b) melted rock  (c) ice  (d) liquid metallic hydrogen.
21. The rings of Saturn are made of  (a) sheets of glass  (b) sheets of 
    ice  (c) particles of glass  (d) particles of ice.
22. Titan is unusual because it has  (a) a moonlet  (b) volcanoes  
   (c) a thick atmosphere  (d) the most eccentric orbit.
23. Neptune is about ___ times the size of Earth.  (a) 5  (b) 10  (c) 20 
   (d) 100
24. Uranus has rings, but Neptune does not.  (a) true  (b) false
25. Uranus has moons, but Neptune does not.  (a) true  (b) false
26. Pluto's orbit is rather highly  (a) eccentric  (b) inclined  
   (c) nodal  (d) astronic.
27. Pluto has 1 large moon.  (a) true  (b) false
28. Icy bodies in the meteoritic complex are  (a) asteroids  
   (b) planetoids  (c) glaciers  (d) comets.
29. The tail of Halley's comet always streams back along its orbit.  
   (a) true  (b) false
30. Between perihelion passages, Halley's comet goes back into the Oort 
   cloud.  (a) true  (b) false
31. Is Halley's comet a trapped comet?  (a) yes  (b) no  (c) it is not 
   known for sure
32. "Great comets" appear about once per  (a) year  (b) decade  
   (c) century  (d) millennium.
33. How big is Halley's comet nucleus?  (a) 0.1 km  (b) 10 km  
   (c) 100 km  (d) size of Io.
34. How old are comet nuclei?  (a) relatively young  (b) 4.6 billion 
   years old  (c) 100 billion years old
35.Most meteors are pieces of  (a) asteroids  (b) planets  (c) comets  
   (d) the Sun.
36. Asteroids are _______ bodies.  (a) young  (b) icy  
   (c) rocky-metallic  (d) glassy
37. Asteroids tend to be _________ in shape.  (a) spherical  
   (b) tear-drop shaped  (c) like potatoes  (d) like celery
38. Most meteorites are  (a) irons  (b) stoney-irons  (c) chondrites  
   (d) achondrites  (e) carbonaceous chondrites.
39. Most meteorites are pieces of  (a) asteroids  (b) planets  
   (c) comets  (d) the Sun.
40. Comet dust causes the  (a) midnight Sun  (b) aurorae  
   (c) red sunsets  (d) zodiacal light.
41. An interstellar gas and dust cloud that is too _______ will not 
   collapse and form stars and planets.  (a) cold  (b) hot  (c) dense  
   (d) massive
42. The gravity of an interstellar gas and dust cloud depends on its 
   temperature.  (a) true  (b) false
43. With no _______ to oppose it, the initial collapse of a gas and 
   dust cloud is rapid.  (a) magnetic field  (b) electric field  
   (c) gas pressure  (d) inertia
44. The Helmholtz contraction is relatively  (a) fast  (b) slow.
45. A supernova explosion probably triggered the formation of the 
   solar system.  (a) true  (b) false
46. Asteroids are the remnants of an early stage in the solar system's 
   development.  (a) true  (b) false
47. Conservation of angular momentum explains the ______ of the solar 
   system.  (a) size  (b) mass  (c) age  (d) spin
48. The Sun's ______ is explained by the magnetic braking theory.  
   (a) low speed  (b) large mass  (c) age  (d) slow spin
49. The trend of chemical composition in the solar system is explained 
   by  (a) magnetic braking  (b) conservation of momentum  
   (c) differential reagents  (d) the condensation sequence.
50. Most of the extrasolar planets discovered so far have been similar 
   to the ones in our solar system.  (a) true  (b) false