Question 1

Which statement is TRUE of Venus' surface?

Accepted Answer

A)   It has remained unchanged for billions of years.
B)   Atmospheric pressure is very low.
C)   There is an extensive hydrosphere.
D)   There are no shield volcanoes.
E)   There are two continent sized uplands.F) C) and D)
G) A) and C)

Question 2

The runoff channels on Mars were most likely formed by

Accepted Answer

A)   melting underground ice.
B)   catastrophic, but rare flooding
C)   the annual melting of the polar ice caps.
D)   glaciers.
E)   rain that was part of a water cycle.F) A) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 3

Why does the atmosphere of Saturn appear to have only half the helium content of Jupiter?

Accepted Answer

A)   Because Saturn is so much colder, helium does not show up as strongly in its spectrum.
B)   Saturn was formed farther from the helium rich Sun.
C)   A red dwarf, Jupiter has fused some of its hydrogen into helium, whereas Saturn, a colder planet, has not.
D)   Much of Saturn's helium has differentiated towards its center.
E)   Much of Saturn's helium has reacted with water and formed helium oxide.F) B) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 4

While it has some high volcanoes, most of Venus is relatively ________ in elevation.

Accepted Answer

The answer of While it has some high volcanoes, most...

Question 5

An important structural feature of Jupiter and Saturn, that is not found in Uranus and Neptune, is

Accepted Answer

A)   a large core with a composition similar to a terrestrial planet.
B)   a hydrosphere.
C)   plate tectonics.
D)   a thick layer of metallic hydrogen.
E)   a thick layer of molecular hydrogen.F) A) and C)
G) B) and D)

Question 6

How does the heat Jupiter radiates compare to the energy it receives from the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A)   They are equal, as you would expect for a highly reflective planet.
B)   Jupiter's dark belts absorb most of the solar radiation, so it is cooler in the infrared.
C)   Jupiter radiates back into space about twice the energy it gets from the Sun.
D)   Jupiter is a brown dwarf, about a hundred times less luminous than the Sun.
E)   Jupiter is a red dwarf, about a tenth the Sun's luminosity.F) B) and E)
G) B) and D)

Question 7

What are coronae?

Accepted Answer

large, circular volc...

Question 8

The Great Dark Spot on Neptune is probably as stable as Jupiter's famed Great Red Spot.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

The belts of Jupiter are best described as follows

Accepted Answer

A)   regions of downward moving material and low pressure.
B)   regions of upward moving material and low pressure.
C)   regions of upward moving material and high pressure.
D)   regions of downward moving material and high pressure.
E)   turbulent regions with no organized circulation pattern.F) B) and D)
G) A) and E)

Question 10

What is the source of Jupiter's excess energy?

Accepted Answer

A)   Helium rain falling through its interior
B)   The decay of radioactive elements in its dense core
C)   Nuclear fusion in its hot, sunlike core of hydrogen
D)   The slow escape of gravitational energy released during the planet's formation
E)   The tidal stresses of the large Galilean moonsF) D) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 11

Both have strangely tilted magnetic fields, but that of Uranus is even farther off the rotational axis than that of Neptune.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

The most abundant component of the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune is

Accepted Answer

A)   hydrogen.
B)   helium.
C)   methane.
D)   ammonia.
E)   nitrogen.F) B) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 13

Explain why the two outermost gas giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, appear so different from the innermost gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter.

Accepted Answer

Uranus and Neptune appear significantly ...

Question 14

If Mars' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, why isn't it as hot as Venus?

Accepted Answer

Although it has a carbon dioxi...

Question 15

Why is the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus so much higher than Earth's?

Accepted Answer

The atmosphere is much more ma...

Question 16

What is the source of Jupiter's intense magnetic field?

Accepted Answer

A)   Charged particles trapped in Jupiter's solid iron core similar to Earth
B)   Liquid metallic hydrogen swirling in the rapidly spinning mantle
C)   The ionized sulfur ejected into a torus around Jupiter by Io
D)   The auroral displays in the polar regions, just like with the Earth
E)   A liquid iron and nickel outer core, just like the Earth's magnetic fieldF) B) and E)
G) B) and D)

Question 17

In strength, the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune are

Accepted Answer

A)   very different, with flopped over Uranus having no field, and Neptune a strong one.
B)   similar, with both about 100 times stronger than our own.
C)   even stronger than that of Jupiter.
D)   perfect fits for the Dynamo theory.
E)   like Jupiter and Saturn, due to mantles of liquid metallic hydrogen.F) B) and C)
G) A) and E)

Question 18

Which statements about the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   Neither fits the Dynamo model very well.
B)   Uranus' field is tilted 60 degrees off its already tilted rotational axis.
C)   Neptune's field is tilted 47 degrees to its more conventional rotational axis.
D)   Both pass directly through the cores of their planets, like all other fields.
E)   Both may have ammonia water replacing the liquid metallic hydrogen.F) B) and D)
G) A) and D)

Question 19

Relative to the size of the planet, Mercury has the largest core of any planet.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Jupiter puts back into space twice the energy it gets from the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 5: The Eight Planets

Which statements about the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Relative to the size of the planet, Mercury has the largest core of any planet.

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Why does the atmosphere of Saturn appear to have only half the helium content of Jupiter?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Great Dark Spot on Neptune is probably as stable as Jupiter's famed Great Red Spot.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which statement is TRUE of Venus' surface?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the source of Jupiter's intense magnetic field?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is the source of Jupiter's excess energy?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

While it has some high volcanoes, most of Venus is relatively ________ in elevation.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The runoff channels on Mars were most likely formed by

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

If Mars' atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, why isn't it as hot as Venus?

Correct AnswerverifiedAlthough it has a carbon dioxi...View AnswerShow Answer

How does the heat Jupiter radiates compare to the energy it receives from the Sun?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The belts of Jupiter are best described as follows

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why is the atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus so much higher than Earth's?

Correct AnswerverifiedThe atmosphere is much more ma...View AnswerShow Answer

Both have strangely tilted magnetic fields, but that of Uranus is even farther off the rotational axis than that of Neptune.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Explain why the two outermost gas giant planets, Uranus and Neptune, appear so different from the innermost gas giant planets Saturn and Jupiter.

Correct AnswerverifiedUranus and Neptune appear significantly ...View AnswerShow Answer

An important structural feature of Jupiter and Saturn, that is not found in Uranus and Neptune, is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In strength, the magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune are

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Jupiter puts back into space twice the energy it gets from the Sun.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What are coronae?

Correct Answerverifiedlarge, circular volc...View AnswerShow Answer

The most abundant component of the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Although it has a carbon dioxi...
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The atmosphere is much more ma...
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Uranus and Neptune appear significantly ...
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large, circular volc...
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