Which of the following correctly describes the meaning of albedo? A) The lower the albedo, the more light the surface reflects, and the less it absorbs. B) The higher the albedo, the more light the surface reflects, and the less it absorbs. C) The higher the albedo, the more light the surface absorbs. D) The higher the albedo, the more light the surface emits. E) The higher the albedo, the more light the atmosphere absorbs. Which of the following worlds has the most substantial atmosphere? A) Mercury B) Venus C) the Moon D) Mars E) Earth Which of the following planets has the least substantial atmosphere? A) Venus B) Earth C) Mars D) Neptune E) Mercury Which of the following worlds has the greatest difference in temperature between its "no atmosphere" temperature and its actual temperature? A) Mercury B) Venus C) Earth D) the Moon E) Mars Why does Venus have such a great difference in temperature between its "no atmosphere" temperature and its actual temperature? A) It has a slow rotation. B) It is so close to the Sun. C) It has a large amount of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere. D) It has a high level of volcanic activity. E) It has no cooling effects from oceans.
Why do jovian planets bulge around the equator, that is, have a "squashed" appearance? A) They are much more massive than the terrestrial planets. B) Their large systems of moons and rings gravitationally attract the mass around the equator more. C) Their rapid rotation flings the mass near the equator outward. D) Their internal heat sources exert a pressure against the sides of the planets. E) all of the above How much energy does Jupiter emit compared with how much it receives from the Sun? A) It emits 10 times as much. B) It emits twice as much. C) It emits half as much. D) It emits 10 percent as much. E) It emits 1 percent as much. How many more times is the atmospheric pressure in Jupiter's core greater than the atmospheric pressure at Earth's surface? A) 10 thousand B) 100 thousand C) 1 million D) 10 million E) 100 million How do astronomers think Jupiter generates its internal heat? A) radioactive decay B) internal friction due to its high rotation rate C) chemical processes D) nuclear fusion in the core E) by contracting, changing gravitational potential energy into thermal energy How does Jupiter's core compare to Earth's? A) It is the same size and mass. B) It is about 10 times larger both in size and mass. C) It is about 10 times larger in size and the same mass. D) It is about the same size but is 10 times more massive. E) Jupiter doesn't have a core!it is made entirely from hydrogen and helium.
Which of the following statements about comets and asteroids is true? A) Only asteroids collide with Earth. B) Comets are balls of ice and dust. C) Most of the trillions of comets in our solar system have tails. D) All asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. E) There are about 1 million known asteroids in the solar system. What do asteroids and comets have in common? A) Most are unchanged since their formation in the solar nebula. B) They have similar densities. C) They have similar orbital radii. D) They have a similar range of orbital inclinations. E) They have nothing in common with each other. A rocky leftover planetesimal orbiting the Sun is A) a comet. B) a meteor. C) an asteroid. D) a meteorite. E) possibly any of the above An icy leftover planetesimal orbiting the Sun is A) a comet. B) a meteor. C) an asteroid. D) a meteorite. E) possibly any of the above Why do asteroids and comets differ in composition? A) Asteroids formed inside the frost line, while comets formed outside. B) Asteroids and comets formed at different times. C) Comets formed from the jovian nebula, while asteroids did not. D) Comets are much larger than asteroids. E) Asteroids are much larger than comets. What is astrometry? A) measuring distances to stars B) searching for planets around stars C) measuring the positions of stars on the sky D) measuring the velocities of stars via the Doppler effect E) using metric units for distance (e.g. meters rather than light years) By itself, the Doppler technique provides a measure of a planet's A) minimum mass. B) orbital radius. C) orbital eccentricity. D) all of the above
Planets detected via the Doppler technique have been mostly A) Earth-mass, in Earth-like orbits. B) Jupiter-mass, in Jupiter-like orbits. C) Jupiter-mass, in very close orbits. D) Earth-mass, in very close orbits. E) a wide range of masses, in edge-on orbits. Current techniques can measure stellar motion to less than A) walking speed. B) running speed. C) freeway speed. D) cruising speed of an airplane. E) orbital speed of Jupiter. A planet's density can be measured by combining A) Doppler and astrometric observations. B) Doppler and transit observations. C) spectral observations of the planet's atmosphere. D) any method that measures the gravitational tug of the planet on the star. E) direct imaging from the new generation of space telescopes. The composition of a planet can be determined by A) the Doppler technique. B) astrometric measurements. C) transit observations. D) spectra. E) all of the above The size and shape of a planet's orbit can be determined by A) the Doppler technique. B) transit observations. C) spectral measurements. D) knowing the planet's mass by any technique and applying Newton's version of Kepler's third law. The astrometric technique of planet detection works best for A) large planets around nearby stars. B) massive planets around nearby stars. C) large planets around distant stars. D) massive planets around distant stars. E) planets in edge-on orbits.
Test 3 covers Ch 10-13 Chapter 10 Planetary Atmospheres What are the atmospheres around the various planets Greeenhouse Effect Earth's is unique Mars, Venus and Earth probably started the same, What happend? weather Chapter 11 Jovian Planets Jupiter and Saturn Uranus and Neptune What causes excess heat weather and storms Jovian planets moons Chapter 12 Astroids, Comets Astroids Comets Where were they formed, where are they now Meteor, Meteorite,... CHapter 13 Other Planets. How do we find them? (Doppler, Astronometry, Transit, Grav. Lens,...) What are the strengths of each method? What kind of systems have we found? How do we need to modify our Nebular Theory?