How does the Sun's mass compare with that of the planets?
answer
It is a hundred times more massive than all the planets combined
question
Where does nuclear fusion occur in the Sun?
answer
predominantly in its core
question
Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
answer
Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
question
Which planet, other than Earth, has visible water ice on it?
answer
Mars
question
Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past?
answer
There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
question
Which of the following is not an exception to the general patterns of motion in the solar system?
answer
the rings of Saturn
question
Which is the most and least dense planet in the solar system?
answer
Earth and Saturn
question
The planet closest in size to Earth is
answer
Venus
question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the inner planets?
answer
They all have substantial atmospheres.
question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the outer planets?
answer
They have very few, if any, satellites
question
What are the main constituents of the jovian planets?
answer
hydrogen and helium
question
Pluto is different from the other outer planets in all of the following ways except which one?
answer
It has a very low surface temperature
question
Where are most of the known asteroids found?
answer
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
question
Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?
answer
a comet in the Oort cloud
question
As of August, 2006, Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Instead, it is now classified as a large member of
answer
the Kuiper belt
question
Where did the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium come from?
answer
They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
question
Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?
answer
As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
question
Why did the solar nebula flatten into a disk?
answer
As particles within the nebula collided, the momentum components along the axis of spin tended to cancel, changing random motions into more orderly motion in the plane.
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?
answer
The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
question
Which of the following lists the ingredients of the solar nebula in the correct order, from highest to lowest percentage of mass of the nebula?
our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
question
According to modern science, what was the approximate chemical composition of the solar nebula?
answer
98 percent hydrogen and helium, 2 percent everything else
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, what three major changes occurred in the solar nebula as it shrank in size?
answer
It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
question
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?
answer
It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
question
What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?
answer
the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
question
What do we mean by the period of heavy bombardment in the context of the development of our solar system?
answer
The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
question
What is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Moon?
answer
The Moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
question
According to modern scientific dating techniques, approximately how old is the solar system?
answer
4.6 billion years
question
What is an "extrasolar planet"?
answer
a planet that orbits a star besides our own Sun
question
Which of the following best describes how we have discovered nearly all of the more than 900 extrasolar planets known to date?
answer
We have not seen the planets directly, but rather have seen slight motions of stars that we attribute to the gravitational influence of orbiting planets.
question
Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is
answer
much larger
question
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth?
answer
both planets are nearly the same size.
question
Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system?
answer
Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
question
The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system?
answer
The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth.
question
About 2% of our solar nebula consisted of elements besides hydrogen and helium. However, the very first generation of star systems in the universe probably consisted only of hydrogen and helium. Which of the following statements is most likely to have been true about these first-generation star systems?
answer
There were no comets or asteroids in these first-generation star systems.
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size?
answer
the law of conservation of angular momentum
question
According to our present theory of solar system formation, why were solid planetesimals able to grow larger in the outer solar system than in the inner solar system?
answer
Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
question
According to our basic scenario of solar system formation, why do the jovian planets have numerous large moons?
answer
As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
question
Which of the following is not evidence supporting the idea that our Moon formed as a result of a giant impact?
answer
The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
question
We know that Earth has water. However, according to our theory of solar system formation, the inner solar system was too hot for hydrogen compounds like water to condense. What do we conclude?
answer
We conclude that Earth's water likely was brought here by asteroids or comets that formed beyond the frost line.
question
Which of the following statements is not true about the planets so far discovered around other stars?
answer
Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
question
You observe a star very similar to our own Sun in size and mass. You find that this star wobbles very slightly back and forth once every 4 months, and you attribute this motion to the effect of an orbiting planet. What can you conclude about the orbiting planet?
answer
The planet must be closer to the star than Earth is to the Sun.
question
The region of our solar system between Mercury and Mars has very few asteroids, while the region between Mars and Jupiter has many asteroids. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars?
answer
There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed.
question
Based on everything you have learned in this chapter, which of the following statements seems unlikely to be true?
answer
Only a tiny percentage of stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation.
question
Which of the following explains why Pluto is no longer considered a planet?
answer
Its orbit crosses that of Neptune.
question
What kind of material in the solar nebula could remain solid at temperatures as high as 1,500 K, such as existed in the inner regions of the nebula?
answer
metals
question
Which of the following has not yet (as of Feb 2014) been detected around other stars in the Galaxy?
answer
terrestrial planets
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, why do we find some exceptions to the general rules and patterns of the planets?
answer
Most of the exceptions are the result of giant impacts or close gravitational encounters
question
Based on our current theory of Earth's formation, the water we drink comes from
answer
comets that impacted Earth.
question
The heavy bombardment phase of the solar system lasted
answer
several hundreds of millions of years
question
Which of the following puzzles in the solar system cannot be explained by a giant impact event?
answer
the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
question
Suppose you find a rock that contains some potassium-40 (half-life of 1.3 billion years). You measure the amount and determine that there are 5 grams of potassium-40 in the rock. By measuring the amount of its decay product (argon-40) present in the rock, you realize that there must have been 40 grams of potassium-40 when the rock solidified. How old is the rock?
answer
3.9 billion years
question
The first planets around other Sun-like stars were discovered
answer
1990's
question
The astrometric technique of planet detection works best for
answer
massive planets around nearby stars
question
The transit method of planet detection works best for
answer
big planets in edge-on orbits around around small stars.
question
The depth of the dip in a star's brightness due to the transit of a planet depends most directly on
answer
the planet's size
question
Which planet search technique is currently best suited to finding Earth-like planets?
answer
transit
question
Most of the planets discovered around other stars
answer
are more massive than Earth and orbit very close to the star.
question
How do we think the "hot Jupiters" around other stars were formed?
answer
They formed as gas giants beyond the frost line and then migrated inwards
question
Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's north pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?
answer
All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.
question
Which of the following statements about our Sun is not true?
answer
Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
question
The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is
answer
Venus.
question
When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all the following chemicals except:
answer
carbon dioxide
question
Which of the following types of material can condense into what we call ice at low temperatures?
answer
hydrogen compounds
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets?
answer
leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
question
How is Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2, important in understanding the Sun?
answer
It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy by losing some 4 million tons of mass each second
question
Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system?
answer
Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
question
Suppose you start with 1 kilogram of a radioactive substance that has a half-life of 10 years. Which of the following statements will be true after 20 years pass?
answer
You'll have 0.25 kilogram of the radioactive substance remaining.
question
Which new idea has been added into our theory of solar system formation as a result of the discoveries of extrasolar planets?
answer
Jovian planets can migrate from the orbits in which they are born.
question
In essence, the nebular theory holds that
answer
our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
question
Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
answer
Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
How does the Sun's mass compare with that of the planets?
answer
It is a hundred times more massive than all the planets combined
question
Where does nuclear fusion occur in the Sun?
answer
predominantly in its core
question
Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
answer
Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
question
Which planet, other than Earth, has visible water ice on it?
answer
Mars
question
Which of the following observations indicates that conditions on Mars may have been suitable for life in the past?
answer
There are dried-up riverbeds on Mars.
question
Which of the following is not an exception to the general patterns of motion in the solar system?
answer
the rings of Saturn
question
Which is the most and least dense planet in the solar system?
answer
Earth and Saturn
question
The planet closest in size to Earth is
answer
Venus
question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the inner planets?
answer
They all have substantial atmospheres.
question
Which of the following is not a characteristic of the outer planets?
answer
They have very few, if any, satellites
question
What are the main constituents of the jovian planets?
answer
hydrogen and helium
question
Pluto is different from the other outer planets in all of the following ways except which one?
answer
It has a very low surface temperature
question
Where are most of the known asteroids found?
answer
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter
question
Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?
answer
a comet in the Oort cloud
question
As of August, 2006, Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Instead, it is now classified as a large member of
answer
the Kuiper belt
question
Where did the elements heavier than hydrogen and helium come from?
answer
They were produced from nuclear fusion inside stars and during supernova explosions.
question
Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?
answer
As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
question
Why did the solar nebula flatten into a disk?
answer
As particles within the nebula collided, the momentum components along the axis of spin tended to cancel, changing random motions into more orderly motion in the plane.
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?
answer
The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.
question
Which of the following lists the ingredients of the solar nebula in the correct order, from highest to lowest percentage of mass of the nebula?
our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
question
According to modern science, what was the approximate chemical composition of the solar nebula?
answer
98 percent hydrogen and helium, 2 percent everything else
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, what three major changes occurred in the solar nebula as it shrank in size?
answer
It got hotter, its rate of rotation increased, and it flattened into a disk.
question
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?
answer
It is the orbital distance to the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low enough for ices to condense.
question
What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?
answer
the growth of planetesimals from smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
question
What do we mean by the period of heavy bombardment in the context of the development of our solar system?
answer
The first few hundred million years after the planets formed, which is when most impact craters were formed
question
What is the giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Moon?
answer
The Moon formed from material blasted out of Earth's mantle and crust by the impact of a Mars-size object.
question
According to modern scientific dating techniques, approximately how old is the solar system?
answer
4.6 billion years
question
What is an "extrasolar planet"?
answer
a planet that orbits a star besides our own Sun
question
Which of the following best describes how we have discovered nearly all of the more than 900 extrasolar planets known to date?
answer
We have not seen the planets directly, but rather have seen slight motions of stars that we attribute to the gravitational influence of orbiting planets.
question
Compared to the distance between Earth and Mars, the distance between Jupiter and Saturn is
answer
much larger
question
In what way is Venus most similar to Earth?
answer
both planets are nearly the same size.
question
Which of the following is not a major pattern of motion in the solar system?
answer
Nearly all comets orbit the Sun in the same direction and roughly the same plane.
question
The following statements are all true. Which one counts as an "exception to the rule" in being unusual for our solar system?
answer
The diameter of Earth's Moon is about 1/4 that of Earth.
question
About 2% of our solar nebula consisted of elements besides hydrogen and helium. However, the very first generation of star systems in the universe probably consisted only of hydrogen and helium. Which of the following statements is most likely to have been true about these first-generation star systems?
answer
There were no comets or asteroids in these first-generation star systems.
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size?
answer
the law of conservation of angular momentum
question
According to our present theory of solar system formation, why were solid planetesimals able to grow larger in the outer solar system than in the inner solar system?
answer
Because only metal and rock could condense in the inner solar system, while ice also condensed in the outer solar system.
question
According to our basic scenario of solar system formation, why do the jovian planets have numerous large moons?
answer
As the growing jovian planets captured gas from the solar nebula, the gas formed swirling disks around them, and moons formed from condensation accretion within these disks.
question
Which of the following is not evidence supporting the idea that our Moon formed as a result of a giant impact?
answer
The Pacific Ocean appears to be a large crater--probably the one made by the giant impact.
question
We know that Earth has water. However, according to our theory of solar system formation, the inner solar system was too hot for hydrogen compounds like water to condense. What do we conclude?
answer
We conclude that Earth's water likely was brought here by asteroids or comets that formed beyond the frost line.
question
Which of the following statements is not true about the planets so far discovered around other stars?
answer
Photographs reveal that most of them have atmospheres much like that of Jupiter.
question
You observe a star very similar to our own Sun in size and mass. You find that this star wobbles very slightly back and forth once every 4 months, and you attribute this motion to the effect of an orbiting planet. What can you conclude about the orbiting planet?
answer
The planet must be closer to the star than Earth is to the Sun.
question
The region of our solar system between Mercury and Mars has very few asteroids, while the region between Mars and Jupiter has many asteroids. Based on what you have learned in this chapter, what is the most likely explanation for the lack of asteroids between Mercury and Mars?
answer
There were very few planetary leftovers in this region, because most of the solid material was accreted by the terrestrial planets as the planets formed.
question
Based on everything you have learned in this chapter, which of the following statements seems unlikely to be true?
answer
Only a tiny percentage of stars are surrounded by spinning disks of gas during their formation.
question
Which of the following explains why Pluto is no longer considered a planet?
answer
Its orbit crosses that of Neptune.
question
What kind of material in the solar nebula could remain solid at temperatures as high as 1,500 K, such as existed in the inner regions of the nebula?
answer
metals
question
Which of the following has not yet (as of Feb 2014) been detected around other stars in the Galaxy?
answer
terrestrial planets
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, why do we find some exceptions to the general rules and patterns of the planets?
answer
Most of the exceptions are the result of giant impacts or close gravitational encounters
question
Based on our current theory of Earth's formation, the water we drink comes from
answer
comets that impacted Earth.
question
The heavy bombardment phase of the solar system lasted
answer
several hundreds of millions of years
question
Which of the following puzzles in the solar system cannot be explained by a giant impact event?
answer
the orbit of Triton in the opposite direction to Neptune's rotation
question
Suppose you find a rock that contains some potassium-40 (half-life of 1.3 billion years). You measure the amount and determine that there are 5 grams of potassium-40 in the rock. By measuring the amount of its decay product (argon-40) present in the rock, you realize that there must have been 40 grams of potassium-40 when the rock solidified. How old is the rock?
answer
3.9 billion years
question
The first planets around other Sun-like stars were discovered
answer
1990's
question
The astrometric technique of planet detection works best for
answer
massive planets around nearby stars
question
The transit method of planet detection works best for
answer
big planets in edge-on orbits around around small stars.
question
The depth of the dip in a star's brightness due to the transit of a planet depends most directly on
answer
the planet's size
question
Which planet search technique is currently best suited to finding Earth-like planets?
answer
transit
question
Most of the planets discovered around other stars
answer
are more massive than Earth and orbit very close to the star.
question
How do we think the "hot Jupiters" around other stars were formed?
answer
They formed as gas giants beyond the frost line and then migrated inwards
question
Suppose you view the solar system from high above Earth's north pole. Which of the following statements about planetary orbits will be true?
answer
All the planets orbit counterclockwise around the Sun.
question
Which of the following statements about our Sun is not true?
answer
Its diameter is about 5 times that of Earth
question
The planet in our solar system with the highest average surface temperature is
answer
Venus.
question
When we say that jovian planets contain significant amounts of hydrogen compounds, we mean all the following chemicals except:
answer
carbon dioxide
question
Which of the following types of material can condense into what we call ice at low temperatures?
answer
hydrogen compounds
question
According to our theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets?
answer
leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
question
How is Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2, important in understanding the Sun?
answer
It explains the fact that the Sun generates energy by losing some 4 million tons of mass each second
question
Which of the following is not a major difference between the terrestrial and jovian planets in our solar system?
answer
Terrestrial planets contain large quantities of ice and jovian planets do not
question
Suppose you start with 1 kilogram of a radioactive substance that has a half-life of 10 years. Which of the following statements will be true after 20 years pass?
answer
You'll have 0.25 kilogram of the radioactive substance remaining.
question
Which new idea has been added into our theory of solar system formation as a result of the discoveries of extrasolar planets?
answer
Jovian planets can migrate from the orbits in which they are born.
question
In essence, the nebular theory holds that
answer
our solar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust.
question
Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
answer
Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
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