Astronomy 101, Exam #4 D
Name______
No notes, No books; You can use calculators. Pick the best answer for each question.
Constants that you may need to know:
c = 3 x 108 m/s / 1 AU = 1.49 ×10^11meters / 1 light year = 9.46 × 1015 metersh = 6.626 x 10-34 J●s / mass of Earth = 5.97 × 1024 kg / mass of Sun = 1.99 x 1030 kg
G = 6.67 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 / mass of Moon = 7.35 x 1022 kg / mass of Jupiter = 1.90 x 1027 kg
g = 9.8 m/s2 / radius of Earth = 6.38 × 106 m / radius of Jupiter = 7.15 × 107 m
σ = 5.67 x 10-8 W m-2 K-4 / 1 nm = 1 x 10-9 meters / radius of Moon = 1.74 × 106 m
1) Put the terrestrial planets in order from lowest average surface temperature to highest average surface temperature.
Lowest ® Highest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
2) Put the terrestrial planets in order from least cratered on average to most heavily cratered on average. The numbers of craters on average refers to the total number of craters on the surface divided by the total area of the surface.
Least ® Heaviest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
3) Put the terrestrial planets in order from smallest mass to largest mass.
Smallest ® Largest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
4) Put the terrestrial planets in order from smallest diameter to largest diameter.
Smallest ® Largest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
5) Put the terrestrial planets in order from lowest atmospheric surface pressure to highest atmospheric surface pressure.
Lowest ® Highest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
6) Put the terrestrial planets in order from closest to the Sun to farthest from the Sun.
Closest ® Farthest
A) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
B) Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
D) Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
7) Which is a true statement about Phoenix?
A) Phoenix did not return any data back to Earth
B) Phoenix dug trenches to look for evidence of water ice
C) Phoenix was a rover
D) Phoenix was the first spacecraft launched by the European Space Agency to land on Mars
E) Phoenix was launched by Russia
8) What is the RAT used for on the Mars Rovers?
A) To measure the abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere
B) To count the number of craters on the surface
C) To grind into the interior of rocks
D) To determine the elevation of features on Mars
E) To measure the abundances of water on Mars
9) If liquid water was placed on the top of Olympus Mons, the liquid water over time would …
A) Stay as liquid water
B) Turn into ice
C) Evaporate into the atmosphere
D) Form hematite
E) Form sulfates
10) A runaway greenhouse effect …
A) Increases the number of craters on a surface
B) Raises the temperature of a surface
C) Lowers the temperature of a surface
D) Increases the number of volcanoes on a surface
E) Increases the number of channels on a surface
11) What is a difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres on Mars?
A) The Northern hemisphere tends to have many more craters than the Southern hemisphere
B) The Northern hemisphere tends to have less craters than the Southern hemisphere
C) The Northern hemisphere tends to have higher elevations than the Southern hemisphere
D) The Northern hemisphere tends to have a stronger magnetic field than the Southern hemisphere
E) The Northern hemisphere tends to have a taller mountains than the Southern hemisphere
12) What elements does the mineral hematite contain?
A) Sulfur and oxygen
B) Sodium and potassium
C) Iron and silicon
D) Iron and oxygen
E) Iron and nitrogen
13) Why is Venus called Earth’s “sister planet”?
A) Venus and Earth have approximately the same diameter
B) Venus and Earth have similar atmospheric compositions
C) Venus and Earth both have life on the surface
D) Venus and Earth both have similar types of hurricanes
E) Venus and Earth both have one moon
14) Which of these is a rover that has studied the surface of Mars?
A) Phoenix
B) Venera 9
C) Viking 2
D) Opportunity
E) Beagle 2
15) The significance of finding hematite on Mars is that …
A) Hematite is formed during impacts of asteroids and comets
B) Hematite is produced by ancient lifeforms
C) Hematite can be formed in the presence of water
D) Hematite needs a magnetic field to form
E) Hematite is always found with sulfates on Earth
16) Hellas Basin is evidence that …
A) An ancient ocean existed on the surface of Mars
B) Volcanic activity occurred on the surface of Mars
C) Life existed on Mars
D) Water existed on Mars
E) Impacts occurred on Mars
17) Which is the correct order of three of the terrestrial planets from smallest number of moons to largest number of moons?
smallest ® largest
A) Venus, Mars, Earth
B) Earth, Mars, Venus
C) Mars, Earth, Mercury
D) Mercury, Earth, Venus
E) Mercury, Earth, Mars
18) Oxidation of iron minerals on the surface of Mars causes Mars’ surface to appear …
A) yellowish
B) blueish
C) violet
D) greenish
E) reddish
19) Which lander or rover landed closest to the Martian North Pole?
A) Viking 1
B) Phoenix
C) Spirit
D) Opportunity
E) Mars Pathfinder
20) Which is not true about Habitable Zones?
A) Earth is in our Solar System’s Habitable Zone
B) Mercury is in our Solar System’s Habitable Zone
C) Planets in the Habitable Zone could potentially have liquid water on their surfaces
D) A star larger than our Sun will have a larger Habitable Zone
E) A star smaller than our Sun will have a smaller Habitable Zone
21) Which is the primary reason why scientists think some meteorites originate on Mars?
A) Martian meteorites contain olivine
B) Glasses in Martian meteorites have gases whose abundances match the abundances of gases determined for the Martian atmosphere
C) Martian meteorites have ages older than the Solar System
D) Martian meteorites usually contain 10% water and most meteorites have a much lower abundance of water
E) Spacecraft have retrieved samples from Mars and these Martian samples can be directly compared to Martian meteorites
22) Which country or countries have sent spacecraft or spacecrafts to Mars and used these spacecraft or spacecrafts to return samples of Mars back to Earth?
A) No country has used a spacecraft to return samples directly from Mars
B) Just the United States
C) Just the Soviet Union
D) Just China
E) Just the United States and the Soviet Union
23) Shergotty and ALH 84001 are meteorites that are thought to be samples of …
A) Jupiter
B) Mars
C) Mercury
D) Phobos
E) Venus
24) What is the most probable reason why Mars’ magnetic field is weaker than Earth’s?
A) Earth has more water
B) Earth has less hematite
C) Earth has less sulfates
D) Earth has less Moons
E) Mars’ core is solid
25) Which two spacecrafts or landers had the primary goal of studying Venus?
A) Venera 9 and Magellan
B) Mariner 10 and Viking 1
C) Messenger and Viking 2
D) Galileo and Viking 2
E) Voyager 1 and Mariner 10
26) What has destroyed many of the craters that presumably formed on Venus’ surface?
A) The high atmospheric pressure
B) Volcanic activity
C) Erosion by water
D) Erosion by ice
E) The magnetic field of Venus
27) Olympus Mons is a volcanic feature on what planet?
A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) Earth
E) Deimos
28) Which spacecrafts have taken images of Mercury’s surface?
A) Viking 1 and Messenger
B) Viking 2 and Messenger
C) Magellan and Messenger
D) Messenger and Mariner 10
E) Beagle 2 and Mariner 10
29) Mars’ North Pole is composed primarily of …
A) Carbon dioxide with a coating of frozen nitrogen
B) Water ice with a coating of carbon dioxide
C) Carbon monoxide with a coating of frozen argon
D) Frozen nitrogen with a coating of frozen lithium
E) Hematite with a coating of sulfates
30) Which is not a characteristic of life?
A) Growth
B) Metabolism
C) Radioactivity
D) Reproduction
E) Motion
31) Noachian, Hesperian, and Amazonian are all ..
A) Geologic eras on Earth
B) Volcanic features on Venus
C) Geologic features on Mercury
D) Geologic epochs on Mars
E) Geologic periods on Venus
32) Scientists find evidence for significant amounts of hydrogen underneath the surface of Mars. What do most scientists think that this evidence indicates?
A) That there are substantial amounts of hematite beneath the surface
B) That there are substantial amounts of water ice underneath the surface
C) That there are substantial amounts of sulfates underneath the surface
D) That there are substantial amounts of percholates underneath the surface
E) That there are substantial amounts of hydrochloric acid beneath the surface
33) Mars’ atmosphere has a composition most similar to …
A) Earth
B) Jupiter
C) Mercury
D) The Moon
E) Venus
34) What is the primary reason why the largest volcano on Mars is much larger than the largest volcano on Earth?
A) Mars has a less dense atmosphere
B) Mars has many more impact craters
C) Mars doesn’t seem to have plate tectonics
D) Mars has a weaker magnetic field
E) Mars has a much colder interior
35) The Beagle 2 is a lander …
A) That landed on Mars in 1976 but is not currently functioning
B) That landed on Mars in 1997 but is not currently functioning
C) That landed Mars in 2004 and is currently functioning
D) That crashed on the surface of Mars
E) That is currently getting readied to launch to Mars in the future
36) The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover …
A) That landed on Mars in 1976 but is not currently functioning
B) That landed on Mars in 1997 but is not currently functioning
C) That landed Mars in 2004 and is currently functioning
D) That crashed on the surface of Mars
E) That is currently getting readied to launch to Mars in the future
37) What is the primary reason why liquid water is not stable on the surface of Venus?
A) The atmospheric pressure is too low
B) Liquid water will react with hematite on the surface of Venus
C) The surface temperature is too high
D) Liquid water will react with sulfates on the surface of Venus
E) The atmosphere is too CO2-poor
38) What is the primary advantage of a rover investigating the interior of a crater on Mars?
A) Craters allows the rover to function year-round and not have to hibernate during the Martian winter
B) Craters allow you to study the core of Mars
C) Craters always have a high concentration of hematite
D) Craters are formed by active volcanoes
E) Craters allow the rover to study layers of rock that were deposited at different times
39) Caloris Basin was thought to have been formed by …
A) Large volcano
B) An ocean
C) An earthquake
D) An asteroid impact
E) A magnetic field
40) The significance of finding salts on Mars is that …
A) Salts are formed primarily during asteroid impacts
B) Salts are the primary constituents of Martian meteorites and are evidence that these meteorites originated on Mars
C) Salt could be evidence of water that was originally there and evaporated
D) Salts needs a magnetic field to form
E) Salts indicate that life had to have been present