Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system? |
Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in same direction and roughly the same plane. |
Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system? |
Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not. |
Consider the following statement: "Rocky asteroids are found primarily in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt while icy comets are found primarily in the Oort cloud." What's wrong with this statement? |
The Kuiper belt contains icy comets, not rocky asteroids. |
Which of the following is not a real difference between asteroids and comets? |
Asteroids orbit the Sun while comets just float randomly around in the Oort cloud. |
The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system? |
The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth. |
Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is ______. |
much larger |
How is Einstein's famous equation, E=mc2, important in understanding the Sun? |
It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy to shine by losing some 4 million tons of mass each day. |
Venus has a higher average surface temperature than Mercury. Why? |
Because its surface is heated by an extreme greenhouse effect. |
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth? |
Both planets are nearly the same size. |
Which of the following statements about the object called Eris is not true? |
It is thought to be the first example of a new class of object. |
Mars has two moons that are most similar in character to: |
small asteroids |
Imagine that an alien spaceship crashed onto Earth. Which statement would most likely be true? |
It would crash in the ocean. |
Which planet listed below has the most extreme seasons? |
Uranus |
In what way is Pluto more like a comet than a planet? |
It is made mostly of rock and ice. |
Why was it advantageous for the Voyager mission to consist of flybys rather than orbiters? |
Each individual spacecraft was able to visit more than one planet. |
Why has NASA sent recent orbiters to Mars (such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) on trajectories that required them to skim through Mars's atmosphere before settling into their final orbits? |
It saves money because the spacecraft uses atmospheric drag to slow down rather than needing to carry enough fuel to slow by firing rocket engines. |
Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's North Pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true? |
All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun. |
The terrestrial planets in our solar system are: |
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. |
The jovian planets in our solar system are: |
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. |
When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all the following chemicals except ______. |
carbon dioxide |
Which of the following most clearly distinguishes asteroids and comets from planets? |
Asteroids and comets are much smaller than planets. |
What is the Kuiper belt? |
A region of the solar system beginning just beyond the orbit of Neptune that contains many icy comets. |
What is the Oort cloud? |
It's not really a cloud at all, but rather refers to the trillion or so comets thought to orbit the Sun at great distances. |
Which of the following statements about our Sun is not true? |
The Sun's diameter is about 5 times that of Earth. |
Which of the following is not true of Mercury? |
It has been studied closely by more than a dozen NASA spacecraft. |
Which of the following statements about Mars is not true? |
We could survive on Mars without spacesuits, as long as we brought oxygen in scuba tanks. |
The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is |
Venus. |
Which jovian planet does not have rings? |
All the jovian planets have rings |
Which moons are sometimes called the Galilean moons? |
The four largest moons of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. |
Which of the following statements about Pluto is not true? |
It is the largest and most massive object that is considered to be a dwarf planet. |
The Cassini mission to Saturn consists of: |
An orbiter that orbits Saturn and a probe that descended to the surface of Titan. |
The spacecraft called Curiosity is _____. |
a rover on Mars |