Notice: As for test 1, the second test this year will have 30 multiple-choice questions and 10 short-answer questions, rather than 40 multiple-choice ones; Also, that time we had not covered matter, light and telescopes yet. I do not have a file with the correct answers indicated for this test.

University of Mississippi
ASTR 103 Sections 09-12, Fall 2002

Test 3

(1) Have we proved or disproved the existence of life on Mars?
a. No, we have no conclusive evidence either way yet.
b. Yes, we know that there are microorganisms living on Mars.
c. Yes, we know that microbial life once existed on Mars but is now extinct.
d. Yes, we know that it is impossible for life to have arisen on Mars.

(2) Which is the most abundant element in the Sun?
a. Helium.
b. Oxygen.
c. Nitrogen.
d. Hydrogen.

(3) How large are the largest asteroids?
a. The largest known ones are football-sized.
b. Like boulders, at most 2-3 meters.
c. Between 100 and 200 m wide.
d. Several hundreds of km wide.

(4) What are the "maria" on the Moon?
a. Extended dark, flat areas made of solidified lava.
b. Large glaciers found near the polar regions.
c. Extended seas of liquid water found in the warmer regions.
d. Heavily cratered regions, that have suffered many impacts.

(5) What is the Great Red Spot?
a. An Earth-sized elevated rocky portion of Jupiter's surface.
b. A giant, centuries old hurricane on Jupiter's clouds.
c. A huge lava flow coming from one of Jupiter's volcanoes.
d. A huge hole in Jupiter's surface through which we can see part of the core.

(6) What do we mean by the greenhouse effect on Venus?
a. That the conditions are appropriate for the growth of plants.
b. That the atmosphere is transparent to sunlight, like a glass cover.
c. That the atmosphere traps the heat released by the planet.
d. That the filtering of the sunlight makes the planet look green.

(7) Which are the inner solar system planets?
a. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
b. Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter.
c. Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
d. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

(8) Which are the gas giants in the solar system?
a. Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
b. Mars, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
c. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
d. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.

(9) Why are craters on the Moon not as eroded as those on Earth?
a. The crust of the Moon is harder than the Earth's.
b. The Moon lacks winds and running water.
c. The Moon is younger than the Earth.
d. There are no tidal forces acting on the Moon.

(10) Why does the surface of Mars appear red?
a. The color is an effect due to ancient microorganisms.
b. Because of highly corrosive rain that burned the surface.
c. Because of the high content in iron, which rusts.
d. The red is just a false color we see from Earth.

(11) What is remarkable about Jupiter's moon Io?
a. The active volcanoes on its surface.
b. The probable existence of water below its icy surface.
c. A very large chunk of its surface is missing, possibly from a collision.
d. It is the fastest spinning moon in the solar system.

(12) How can the volcanoes on Mars be taller than the Earth's?
a. There is no plate tectonics to move mountains around and make them crumble.
b. Since Mars is smaller, its gravity is weaker and taller mountains can grow.
c. Since Mars is larger, its surface can support the weight of taller mountains.
d. The mountains are less eroded by the atmosphere.

(13) Why are most asteroids not round like planets are?
a. Because they have been carved by many collisions.
b. Because their gravity is not strong enough to make them round.
c. Because they are irregularly shaped pieces of a planet that broke up.
d. Because they are exposed to a larger amount of radiation and solar wind.

(14) Which of the following has a surface that most resembles that of Mercury?
a. Earth.
b. The Moon.
c. Venus.
d. Mars.

(15) What is unusual about the rotation of Venus?
a. Venus does not rotate at all.
b. The rotation rate is increasing over time.
c. It is the fastest rotating planet.
d. It rotates in a retrograde direction.

(16) How far are we from the Sun, approximately?
a. 150,000 km.
b. 150 million km.
c. 150 billion km.
d. 150 million light years.

(17) In what does Saturn's appearance differ from Jupiter's?
a. Saturn shows more weather and cloud patterns of different colors.
b. Saturn shows fewer surface features, but its rings are much brighter.
c. Saturn's color is blue-green, rather than reddish-orange.
d. Saturn is a rocky and icy planet, while Jupiter is a gas giant.

(18) Why is Venus so bright in the sky?
a. Its surface is so hot that it glows from the radiation it emits.
b. It is relatively close to us, and its thick cloud cover is very reflective.
c. It has constant thunderstorms and lightning in its atmosphere.
d. It is the largest planet in the solar system.

(19) Where in the solar system (other than Earth) do we think there is liquid water?
a. Jupiter.
b. Europa.
c. Mimas.
d. Venus.

(20) How far is Jupiter from the Sun?
a. About 2 AU.
b. About 5 AU.
c. About 10 AU.
d. About 20 AU.

(21) How does Jupiter's radius compare to that of the Earth?
a. It is slightly smaller than the Earth's.
b. It is about twice as large as the Earth's.
c. It is about 11 times as large as the Earth's.
d. It is about 50 times as large as the Earth's.

(22) Does the Sun rotate?
a. Yes, very fast, once every 8 minutes.
b. Yes, once every 27 days approximately.
c. Yes, once every 365 days (so the same side always faces us).
d. No.

(23) In the solar system, are all the planets larger than all the moons?
a. Yes, a "moon" larger than a planet would not be called a moon.
b. Yes, but in other planetary systems a moon could be bigger than a planet.
c. No, for example Ganymede and Miranda are larger than the Earth.
d. No, for example Ganymede and Titan are larger than Mercury.

(24) What is special about Saturn's moon Titan?
a. There are active volcanoes on its surface.
b. It is the only moon entirely made of gas.
c. There is liquid water under its icy surface.
d. It has an unusually thick atmosphere.

(25) Where did the planet Mercury get its name from?
a. Its composition, because its core is made of liquid mercury.
b. Its hot temperature, since mercury is used to make thermometers.
c. Its high pressure, since mercury is used to make barometers.
d. Its fast motion in the sky, from the messenger of the Gods.

(26) Why doesn't the Moon have an atmosphere?
a. Because the Moon is always cold, and its atmosphere froze.
b. Because its atmosphere was swept away by an impact with a large object.
c. Because its gravity is too weak for it to retain the atmospheric gases.
d. Because of the disruptive effect of Earth's magnetic field.

(27) Which are the two largest planets in the solar system?
a. Jupiter and Saturn.
b. Mars and Jupiter.
c. Mars and Saturn.
d. Jupiter and the Earth.

(28) Do we have spacecraft currently sending data from Mars?
a. Yes, two spacecraft are now in orbit around Mars.
b. Yes, there is a rover now exploring Mars' surface.
c. No, but NASA is planning several future missions.
d. No, but one mission is on its way and will reach Mars soon.

(29) Which of the Terrestrial planets have spacecraft from Earth flown by?
a. None of them (just the Moon).
b. Mars.
c. Venus and Mars.
d. All of them.

(30) How big is the radius of Venus compared to the Earth's?
a. About 1/4 the size.
b. About 95% the size.
c. About twice the size.
d. About 10 times the size.

(31) Which planets have spacecraft from Earth landed on?
a. Mars.
b. Venus and Mars.
c. All of them.
d. None of them (just the Moon).

(32) What is the Cassini division?
a. A large crack in Saturn's moon Titan.
b. A wide, dark cloud belt on the surface of Saturn.
c. The gap between the A and B rings of Saturn.
d. The 1920's debate on the nature of Saturn's rings.

(33) What does Neptune look like?
a. A cratered, rocky ball covered with ice.
b. An orange-brown gas ball, from the presence of sulphur.
c. A blue gas ball, from the presence of methane.
d. A blue liquid ball, from its oceans of water.

(34) Can planets have both moons and rings?
a. Yes, all Jovian planets do.
b. We think so, but none of the planets we know do.
c. No, but all moons eventually break up and turn into rings.
d. No, when a planet forms it produces either one or the other.

(35) What is unusual about Uranus' rotation?
a. It is the only planet that doesn't rotate at all.
b. It is the fastest rotation of all planets in the solar system.
c. It is the slowest rotation of all planets in the solar system.
d. The axis is tilted on its side, almost in the plane of the orbit.

(36) Which other planet is most similar to Earth in size and mass?
a. Mercury.
b. Venus.
c. Mars.
d. Jupiter.

(37) In what sense is Uranus' moon Miranda strange?
a. It has a thicker atmosphere than any planet.
b. It is the only moon known to have a little moon of its own.
c. It makes a full rotation every two seconds.
d. It seems to have been broken up and reassembled.

(38) Is Saturn visible with the naked eye?
a. Yes, it is the brightest of all planets in the sky.
b. Yes, easily, although it is not as bright as some stars.
c. Yes, but barely.
d. No.

(39) What kind of atmosphere does Mercury have?
a. It has essentially no atmosphere.
b. A thin one, mostly made of carbon dioxyde.
c. One as thick as Earth's, but made of hydrogen and nitrogen.
d. A very thick one, of carbon dioxyde, with thick cloud cover.

(40) Do all planets in the solar system have moons?
a. Yes.
b. No, Mercury doesn't have any.
c. No, Mercury and Venus don't have any.
d. No, only the Earth and Jupiter have moons.