In Quest of the Universe, 5e: Explorations

Title Text: In Quest of the Universe, Fourth Edition

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Study Quizzes

Please read each question and select your answer from the choices provided. You must complete all of the questions in order to view your results. At the end of each exam, you have the option to e-mail your results to your instructor.

1: The planets in our solar system orbit the Sun in a _____ direction and most of them spin around their axis in a _____ direction, as seen from far above the Earth's north pole.
	A: clockwise, counterclockwise
	B: counterclockwise, clockwise
	C: clockwise, clockwise
	D: counterclockwise, counterclockwise
	E: retrograde, retrograde

2: Compared to the terrestrial planets, which of the following best describes the Jovian planets?
	A: They are close to the Sun.
	B: They have a small number of satellites.
	C: They have high average densities.
	D: They are made of mostly heavy chemical elements.
	E: (None of the above.)

3: Which of the following pairs of planets differ the most in density?
	A: Earth and Neptune
	B: Venus and Mercury
	C: Jupiter and Uranus
	D: Venus and Earth
	E: Saturn and Uranus

4: Observations show that a Sun-like star has two Earth-like planets that seem to be identical in all respects. Planet X is orbiting at a distance of 1 AU and planet Y is orbiting at a distance of 2 AU. As time goes on, and compared to planet Y,
	A: planet X will lose more of its atmosphere because its molecules experience a gravitational force from the Sun that is 4 times stronger.
	B: planet X will lose more of its atmosphere because the kinetic energy of its atmospheric molecules is higher.
	C: planet X will lose more of its atmosphere because it has a lower escape speed.
	D: (Both A and C.)
	E: planet X will keep the same amount of atmosphere.

5: The diameter of planet X is the same as that of Earth, but its mass is 5.5 times smaller than the mass of the Earth. The average density of planet X is
	A: about equal to that of water.
	B: 5.5 times smaller than that of water.
	C: 5.5 times smaller than that of Earth.
	D: the same as Earth's since average density depends only on size, not mass.
	E: (Both A and C.)

6: A star has a planetary system for which Bode's law (as used for our solar system) is observed to apply exactly. How far from the star would the tenth planet be in this system?
	A: Its distance is the same as Pluto's from our Sun.
	B: Its distance is ten times greater than Saturn's distance from our Sun.
	C: 77.2 AU
	D: 10 AU
	E: (None of the above.)

7: Kepler's third law as modified by Newton can be used for any two objects orbiting each other. We apply the law to the system of two galaxies orbiting each other and then to a satellite of Jupiter's orbiting the planet. The law says that the cube of the orbit's semimajor axis is proportional to the square of the orbital period. Which of the following is correct about the value of the constant of proportionality in the law?
	A: It is a universal constant and therefore it does not depend on the system studied.
	B: It is greater for the system of the two galaxies.
	C: It is greater for the case of Jupiter and its satellite.
	D: It is the same for these two cases but its value is not universally constant.
	E: (None of the above.)

8: The astrometric method of detecting the presence of a planet around a star depends on
	A: the detection of a Doppler wobble in the star's spectrum.
	B: the detection of a wobble in the star's position in the sky relative to other stars.
	C: the star's light curve.
	D: careful measurements of the star's brightness.
	E: (None of the above.)

9: Evolutionary theories lost favor early in the 20th century because they could not explain the observed angular momentum distribution in our solar system. Which of the following best describes this problem?
	A: The size distribution of the planets.
	B: The mass distribution of the planets.
	C: The presence of satellites around the planets.
	D: The Sun's low rate of rotation.
	E: The rotational rates of the planets.

10: The protoplanets that formed the terrestrial planets had a different chemical composition than the protoplanets that formed the Jovian planets. That is mainly because
	A: the terrestrial planets are less massive than the Jovian planets.
	B: the terrestrial planets are smaller in diameter than the Jovian planets.
	C: the two groups of protoplanets were formed from very different elements.
	D: of the temperature distribution in the solar nebula.
	E: (The statement is misleading. Both groups of protoplanets were composed of the same elements.)

11: We currently consider Pluto to be
	A: a dwarf planet.
	B: a member of the Kuiper belt.
	C: in hydrostatic equilibrium.
	D: (All of the above.)
	E: (None of the above.)

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