Florida National University Astronomy Planets Multiple Choice Questions

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1. 
   
   Question 1

   4 PointsVenus has a thicker atmosphere than Earth.

   1. True
   2. False

2. 
   
   Question 2

   4 PointsWhy is Venus so much hotter than the Earth?

   1. because it is closer to the Sun
   2. because it rotates backwards compared to its orbital rotation
   3. because its clouds have a very high reflectivity
   4. because it has much more carbon dioxide in its atmosphere

3. 
   
   Question 3

   4 PointsImpacts were extremely common in the young solar system but are less common today.

   1. True
   2. False

4. 
   
   Question 4

   4 PointsWhat do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?

   1. the growth of the Sun as the density of gas increased in the center of the solar nebula
   2. the solidification of ices, rocks, and metal from the gas of the solar nebular
   3. the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
   4. the formation of moons around planets

5. 
   
   Question 5

   4 PointsWhat is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Moon?

   1. The Moon formed just like the Earth, from accretion in the solar nebula.
   2. The Moon formed from material blasted out of the Earth’s mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
   3. The Moon formed when two gigantic asteroids collided with one another.
   4. The Moon originally was about the same size as Earth, but a giant impact blasted most of it away so that it ended up much smaller than Earth.

6. 
   
   Question 6

   4 PointsWhat percentage of the solar nebula’s mass consisted of hydrogen and helium gases?

   1. 98 percent
   2. 100 percent
   3. 5 percent
   4. 50 percent
   5. 0.5 percent

7. 
   
   Question 7

   4 PointsJupiter and the other gas giants formed close to the sun and migrated outward.

   1. True
   2. False

8. 
   
   Question 8

   4 PointsFrom where did the oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere originate?

   1. outgassing from volcanoes
   2. atmospheric bombardment
   3. oxidation of surface rocks
   4. photosynthesis from plant life and single-celled organisms
   5. chemical reactions between gas in the upper atmosphere and the solar wind

9. 
   
   Question 9

   4 PointsWhat is the importance of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle?

   1. It will prevent us from suffering any consequences from global warming.
   2. It allows for an ultraviolet-absorbing stratosphere.
   3. It regulates the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere, keeping temperatures moderate.
   4. It makes the growth of continents possible.

10. 
    
    Question 10

    4 PointsThe current atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide on Earth is at its highest in over a million years.

    1. True
    2. False

11. 
    
    Question 11

    4 PointsWhere is most of the water on Mars?

    1. in its clouds
    2. in deep underground deposits
    3. frozen on the peaks of its tall volcanoes
    4. in its polar caps and subsurface ground ice
    5. distributed evenly throughout its atmosphere

12. 
    
    Question 12

    4 PointsToday, Mars has virtually no magnetic field.

    1. True
    2. False

13. 
    
    Question 13

    4 PointsWhy do we think Mercury has so many tremendous cliffs?

    1. They represent one of the greatest mysteries in the solar system, as no one has suggested a reasonable hypothesis for their formation.
    2. They probably formed when a series of large impacts hit Mercury one after the other.
    3. They were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled.
    4. They are almost certainly volcanic in origin, carved by flowing lava.
    5. They were probably carved in Mercury’s early history by running water.

14. 
    
    Question 14

    4 PointsWhich of the following worlds has the most substantial atmosphere?

    1. Venus
    2. Mercury
    3. Mars
    4. the Moon
    5. Earth

15. 
    
    Question 15

    4 PointsWhich of the following best describes convection?

    1. It is the process by which rocks sink in water.
    2. It is the process in which a liquid separates according to density, such as oil and water separating in a jar.
    3. It is the process in which bubbles of gas move upward through a liquid.
    4. It is the process in which warm material expands and rises while cool material contracts and falls.
    5. It is the process in which warm material gets even warmer and cool material gets even cooler.

16. 
    
    Question 16

    4 PointsWhich of the following is the most basic definition of a greenhouse gas?

    1. a gas that absorbs infrared light
    2. a gas that makes a planet much hotter than it would be otherwise, even in small amounts
    3. a gas that reflects a lot of sunlight
    4. a gas that keeps warms air from rising, and therefore warms the surface

17. 
    
    Question 17

    4 PointsThe three principal sources of the internal heat of terrestrial planets are

    1. conduction, differentiation, and accretion.
    2. accretion, differentiation, and eruption.
    3. accretion, differentiation, and radioactivity.
    4. conduction, convection, and eruption.
    5. convection, differentiation, and eruption.

18. 
    
    Question 18

    4 PointsEarth is the only planet in the solar system known to have plate tectonics.

    1. True
    2. False

19. 
    
    Question 19

    4 PointsThe core, mantle, and crust of a planet are defined by differences in their

    1. strength.
    2. geological activity.
    3. density.
    4. temperature.

20. 
    
    Question 20

    4 PointsThe planet closest in size to Earth is

    1. Venus.
    2. Mercury.
    3. Mars.
    4. Pluto.
    5. the Moon.

21. 
    
    Question 21

    4 PointsWhich of the following lists the planets of our solar system in the correct order from closest to farthest from the Sun?

    1. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
    2. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus
    3. Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
    4. Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus

22. 
    
    Question 22

    4 PointsThe planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is ________.

    1. Earth
    2. Mercury
    3. Venus
    4. Neptune

23. 
    
    Question 23

    4 PointsWhich planet (besides Earth) has been visited by the largest number of robotic spacecraft?

    1. Jupiter
    2. Mars
    3. Saturn
    4. Venus

24. 
    
    Question 24

    4 PointsHow do scientists determine the age of the solar system?

    1. radiometric dating of the oldest Earth rocks
    2. radiometric dating of Moon rocks
    3. Theoretical calculations tell us how long it has taken the planets to evolve to their present forms.
    4. radiometric dating of meteorites

25. 
    
    Question 25

    4 PointsWhich jovian planet does not have rings?

    1. Jupiter
    2. Neptune
    3. Uranus
    4. All the jovian planets have rings.
    5. Mars