AST 1002
Test 2, Spring 2006
QQ 1 With the Doppler effect, a positive radial velocity means that 
the source is moving 
AA S 1 (1) away from the observer
(2) towards the observer
(3) northwards
(4) southwards
(5) NVA

QQ 2 Which type of telescope is afflicted with chromatic aberration?
AAS 1 (1) refractor 
(2) reflector
(3) NVA
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 3 Which of the following instruments is used to take a picture 
of a source's spectrum?
AA S 1 (1) spectrograph 
(2) photometer 
(3) eyepiece
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 4 In which of the following regions of the electromagnetic 
spectrum is the Earth's atmosphere {\bf least} transparent to 
radiation from space?
AA S 1 (1) X ray
(2) infrared
(3) visible
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 5 Which of the following has the best resolution at a given 
wavelength in the radio region?
AA S 1 (1) Very Long Baseline Array (VLBI technique)
(2) VLA in New Mexico (18 mile maximum baseline)
(3) Arecibo dish (diameter 1000 feet or 300 meters)
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 6 Which of the following statements is not completely 
correct?
AA S 1 (1) All planets rotate in the same direction.
(2) All planets revolve around the Sun in the same direction.
(3) All planets orbit the Sun in planes tilted at fairly 
small angles (less than 20 degrees) to the ecliptic plane
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 7 Which of the following is/are (a) jovian planet(s)?
AA S 1 (1) Uranus 
(2) Uranus and Pluto
(3) Mars and Saturn
(4) Venus 
(5) NVA

QQ 8 Which of the following is typical of terrestrial 
planets?
AA S 1 (1) high mean or average density
(2) high mass
(3) rapid rotation (short rotation period)
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 9 The reason why the close encounter or binary hypothesis 
for the origin of the Solar System was abandoned was 
AA S 1 (1) the impossibility of gases pulled out of the Sun 
ever condensing to form planets
(2) the extremely low probability of another star passing 
close enough to the Sun to pull material out
(3) the fact that the Sun rotates slowly now, whereas the 
hypothesis predicted that it would rotate very fast
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 10 The solution to the angular momentum problem for the 
nebular hypothesis was 
AA S 1 (1) slowing down of the Sun's rotation by its 
magnetic field
(2) slowing down of the Sun's rotation by tidal forces 
from the passing star
(3) speeding up of the Sun's rotation by the tidal forces 
of the planets
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 11 Which of the following is an example of a "refractory" 
substance in the sense of the condensation sequence?
AA S 1 (1) silicate rock 
(2) ordinary water ice 
(3) helium
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 12 The temperature in the disk from which the planets 
were to form in the early Solar System 
AA S 1 (1) decreased from the inside out 
(2) increased from the inside out
(3) was the same throughout
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 13 The region in the disk inside the "frost line" is 
where 
AA S 1 (1) only refractories condensed out 
(2) both refractories and volatiles condensed
(3) only voltailes condensed out
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 14 In the early history of the Solar System, the term 
"nebular capture" refers to 
AA S 1 (1) the gravity of jovian planetesimals pulling 
in hydrogen and helium
(2) the Sun's gravity pulling in gas from the solar 
nebula
(3) capture of moons by a planet's atmosphere 
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 15 The maria on the Moon are 
AA S 1 (1) old lava flows resulting from impacts of 
large bodies
(2) seas of liquid water (from Latin)
(3) ice fields
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 16 The Moon is believed to have formed
AA S 1 (1) from the impact of a giant planetesimal on 
the Earth
(2) in a different part of the Solar System than the 
Earth and subsequently captured
(3) from the Earth when it was unstable initially
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 17 Which is the most difficult approach to detecting 
planets around other stars (exoplanets) at present?
AA S 1 (1) seeing the planet directly
(2) measuring changes in the star's radial velocity 
due to orbital motion
(3) measuring a small dip in brightness of the star
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 18 The process by which denser material, i.e. metal, 
has settled near the centers of the terrestrial planets 
and lighter material, i.e. rock, has moved towards the 
outside is called 
AA S 1 (1) differentiation
(2) convection
(3) outgassing
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 19 The magnetic fields of planets are generated by 
AA S 1 (1) the dynamo mechanism
(2) plate tectonics
(3) the solar wind
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 20 Large shield volcanoes are found on which planets?
AA S 1 (1) Earth, Venus, and Mars
(2) Earth and Venus only
(3) Earth only
(4) Earth and Mars only
(5) NVA

QQ 21 Which of the following gases is best able to 
escape from a planet's atmosphere (thermal escape)?
AA S 1 (1) helium
(2) carbon dioxide
(3) methane
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 22 Which of the following constituents of planetary 
atmospheres is a greenhouse gas?
AA S 1 (1) carbon dioxide
(2) nitrogen
(3) oxygen
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 23 Jupiter has a considerably higher mean density 
than Saturn.  Why?
AA S 1 (1) Both consist mainly of hydrogen and 
helium, but Jupiter's greater mass makes it more 
highly compressed 
(2) Saturn is mainly hydrogen compounds whereas 
Jupiter is mainly hydrogen and helium
(3) Jupiter has a much larger proportion of rock and 
metal than Saturn
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 24 Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a 
AA S 1 (1) giant anticyclonic storm (high pressure)
(2) giant iceberg floating in Jupiter's atmosphere
(3) cloud of hot volcanic gases welling up from 
below the clouds
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 25 The mean density of the four Galilean moons of 
Jupiter decreases as the distance from Jupiter 
increases.  This is because 
AA S 1 (1) the proportion of ice increases while the 
proportion of rock decreases
(2) the proportion of rock increases while the 
proportion of metal decreases
(3) the internal heating by tidal friction decreases 
as the distance increases
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 26 The geology of ice resembles that of rock: there 
are ice "volcanoes" on some of the jovian moons.  The 
most important difference between the two as far as 
where they are found is that
AA S 1 (1) ice geology works at lower temperature 
(2) rock is denser than ice
(3) rock can be magnetized, whereas ice cannot
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 27 The larger gaps in Saturn's ring system are 
caused by 
AA S 1 (1) resonances with Mimas, one of Saturn's 
medium-sized moons
(2) small "shepherd" moons among the rings
(3) Saturn's magnetic field
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 28 The Roche limit is defined as 
AA S 1 (1) the minimum distance a moon can have from 
its planet if it's held together by its own gravity
(2) the minimum distance a moon can have from its 
planet
(3) the maximum distance a moon can have from its 
planet
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 29 Which of the following is the correct term for 
an object that strikes the surface of the Earth or 
another planet?
AA S 1 (1) meteorite
(2) meteor 
(3) meteorwrong
(4) meteoroid
(5) NVA

QQ 30 Meteorites originate from a number of different 
bodies, including the Moon and Mars.  The majority, 
however, are believed on the basis of their having 
similar reflection spectra to come from 
AA S 1 (1) asteroids/minor planets
(2) comets
(3) Venus
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 31 The type of meteorite that contains organic 
molecules is the 
AA S 1 (1) carbonaceous chondrite
(2) stony-iron
(3) stony
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 32 The relatively large iron crystals known as 
Widmanstaetten figures in meteorites indicate that 
those meteorites started out 
AA S 1 (1) inside fairly large bodies that cooled 
slowly and were later broken up in collisions
(2) as small lumps that cooled rapidly
(3) inside the cores of the terrestrial planets
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 33 The straight tail of a comet pointing almost 
directly away from the Sun is pushed by 
AA S 1 (1) the solar wind
(2) solar radiation pressure
(3) the solar magnetic field
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 34 The nucleus of a comet is 
AA S 1 (1) a "dirty snowball" of ices with rock 
and dust mixed in
(2) a cloud of rocks with ice coatings ("flying 
gravel-bank")
(3) a lump of metal with an ice coating
(4) NVA
(5) NVA

QQ 35 Neptune was discovered by 
AA S 1 (1) Galle and d'Arrest
(2) Adams and Leverrier
(3) Galle alone
(4) Leverrier alone
(5) NVA

QQ 36 The point from which shower meteors originate 
is called the 
AA S 1 (1) radiant
(2) epicenter
(3) aphelion
(4) NVA
(5) NVA