NAME _______________________________________________
Astronomy 121
MW class
Final
Write your name on the test and the Scantron form. Write your student
ID number in the appropriate area and bubble in the appropriate
numbers on the Scantron form.
When you finish the exam, turn in the test and the Scantron
form at the front desk.
Multiple Choice Questions (100 questions--2 points per question).
Select the best answer.
1. Aristarchus showed that the distance from the Earth to the Sun was
much larger than the size of the Moon's orbit by _____ .
a. precisely measuring the length of the sidereal month
b. measuring the times taken by the Moon to go from first to third quarter
and from third to first quarter
c. precisely measuring the distance between Syrene and Alexandria
d. showing that the Sun moved across the sky on a nearly circular path
e. by measuring precisely the circumference of the Earth
2. The heliocentric theory for the Solar System was first
proposed by _____ .
a. Aristotle
b. Aristarchus
c. Ptolemy
d. Copernicus
e. Galileo
3. Of the following, which has not been used to probe
the interior of a planet?
a. Density
b. Shape of the planet
c. Magnetic Field
d. Atmospheric pressure
e. Seismology
4. Comparative planetology _____ .
a. helps us to understand the physics of the Earth
b. helps us to understand how the Solar System formed
c. helps us to learn which planets are suitable for
life as we know it
d. helps us to understand planetary physics
e. All of the above are true.
5. The concept of the Celestial Sphere was originated by _____ .
a. the ancient Eqyptians
b. the Mayans
c. the ancient Greeks
d. the early inhabitants of Australia
e. decree of the International Astronomical Union in 1918
6. The altitude of the North Celestial Pole (NCP)
above the horizon _____ .
a. is given by the longitude of the observer
b. depends on the season. It is higher in the summer than in the winter
c. is always 90o. The NCP is at the zenith.
d. varies between 23.5o and 66.5o
e. is the latitude of the observer
7. A large reason why the Heliocentric theory was not accepted for
more than 1,700 years was _____ .
a. that no one could understand why the seasons varied annually
b. that the scientific community allowed themselves
to be driven by politics, not science
c. that the ancient Greeks were considered to be primitive
and not capable of science
d. that annual trigonometric parallax was not observed
e. that the Geocentric theory for the Solar System
matched the observations much
more closely than did the Heliocentric theory
8. A newly discovered comet has an orbit of size 4 astronomical units. What is
its orbital period?
a. 1 year
b. 2 years
c. 4 years
d. 8 years
e. 64 years
9. The large rotating interstellar medium cloud that formed the
Solar system, _____ as it contracted.
a. spun faster and flattened
b. heated up and spun more slowly
c. stopped spinning
d. spun faster and ejected rings of gas that became the planets
e. broke apart, forming hundreds of planets
10. The Center-of-Mass of the Solar System lies _____ .
a. at the center of the Sun
b. just outside the surface of the Sun
c. at the center of the Earth
d. around the orbit of Jupiter
e. halfway between the Earth and the Sun
11. For an observer in Eugene, a day with equal hours of daylight and
darkness occurs _____ .
a. on the vernal equinox
b. on the summer solstice
c. on the winter solsitce
d. on the day the Earth is closest to the Sun
e. It occurs on the summer solstice during a leap year
12. Suppose Mars was on the Celestial Meridian at midnight last night. When
will Mars next
be on the Celestial Meridian at midnight?
a. in around six months
b. in exactly one year
c. in around 1.88 years
d. in around 2.1 years
e. in around 18.3 years
13. Copernicus explained the lack of observed Annual Trigonometric Parallax by
_____ .
a. saying that the Earth was stationary at the center of the Solar System
b. saying that the Sun was stationary at the center of the Solar System
c. assuming that the stars were very distant
d. suggesting that the Earth moved, but only very slowly
e. placing each star on an epicycle
14. The Celestial Equator is _____ .
a. where the projection of the Earth's equatoral plane stikes the
Celestial Sphere
b. the cone the Earth's rotational axis marks on the Celestial Sphere
c. the apparent path of the Moon through the stars
d. the apparent path of the Sun through the stars
e. the path traced out by the slow motion of the line-of-nodes about the Sun
15. Yesterday I went outside and saw star Z rise at around 8 p.m.
One month ago, when did star Z rise?
a. around 8 p.m.
b. around 9 p.m.
c. around 10 p.m.
d. around 7 p.m.
e. around 6 p.m.
16. Pluto is ____ .
a. considered to be a small Terrestrial planet
b. considered to be a Jovian planet
c. considered to be an icy planet
d. now considered to be a moon of Neptune rather than a planet
e. now considered to be a comet rather than a planet
17. The day with the greatest number of hours of daylight
for an observer in Santiago, Chile is _____ .
a. the summer solstice
b. the winter solstice
c. the vernal equinox
d. the autumnal equinox
e. groundhog day
18. Tycho Brahe's observations _____ .
a. clearly favored the helio-centric model over the geo-centric model
b. finally revealed annual trigonometric parallax
c. showed that both the Copernican and Ptolemaic models were incorrect
d. showed that the stars were extremely distant
e. showed that the laws of physics, as understood in his day, favored
the geo-ocentric model
19. Which of the following must all theories for the formation of
our Solar System explain?
a. the highly non-circular orbits of the outer planets
b. the existence of the asteroid belt
c. the roughly co-planar orbits of the planets
d. the fact that some planets rotate in the clockwise sense, as
viewed from the North Celestial Pole
e. Any theory must be able to explain all of the above.
20. Which of the following is a FALSE statement about
the motions of the planets?
a. The planets move through the Zodiac constellations.
b. Only the planets whose orbits are larger in size than that of the Earth
exhibit retrograde motion
c. The planets orbit roughly in the ecliptic plane.
d. Only planets whose orbits are smaller in size than that of the Earth
exhibit a new phase for observers on or near
the Earth.
e. The planets rise in the east and set in the west, even when they undergo
retrograde motion.
21. According to Copernicus, retrograde motion _____ .
a. could only be understood if the Earth was stationary
b. was due to the epicyclic motion of the planet
c. would occur when a faster moving inner planet caught up and passed a
slower moving outer planet
d. occurred because of the slow drift of the Earth's rotation axis caused by
precession
e. cannot be easily understood in a helio-centric model
22. Kepler's third law (the Harmonic Law) may be applied to ______ .
a. a comet orbiting about the Sun
b. the raising of the tides on the Earth by the Moon
c. the formation of the Jovian planets
d. the formation of the belt and zone circulation patterns
e. low-pressure storms
23. The daily rising and setting of celestial objects is due to _______ .
a. the Earth's revolution about the Sun
b. the Earth's rotation on its axis
c. the motion of the Moon about the Earth
d. the precession of the Earth's axis of rotation
e. the Sun's motion through the stars
24. The Solar day is longer than the sidereal day
because _______ .
a. of tidal forces exerted on the Earth by the Moon
b. the rotation axis of the Earth is slowly precessing
c. the Moon orbits slowly about the Earth
d. the line-of-nodes slowly precesses
e. the Earth orbits about the Sun
25. The seasons at mid-northern latitudes are caused by _____ .
a. the tilt of the rotation axis of the Earth to the perpendicular to the ecliptic
b. the variation in the directness with which sunlight hits the ground
c. the varying distance of the Earth from the Sun
d. only a & b
e. a, b, & c
26. In the Condensation Theory for the formation of the Solar System,
there is a natural explanation for _____ .
a. the unusual chemical composition of Mercury
b. the formation of the Moon
c. the three classes of planets
d. the development of life
e. the unusual spin of Uranus
27. The Titius-Bode Relation led to the discovery of _____ .
a. the Moon
b. comets
c. asteroids
d. Neptune
e. Pluto
28. Our understanding of the motion of the planets in our Solar System was
finally considered complete after _____ .
a. Tycho had amassed his large and accurate set of observations
b. the numerous discoveries made by Galileo using his telecope
c. Kepler found his three laws of Planetary Motion
d. Newton formed his three laws of motion and his law of gravity
e. Copernicus proposed his helio-centric theory for the Solar System
29. The composition of the interior of Jupiter is most similar to _____ .
a. the interior of the Earth
b. the atmosphere of Venus
c. the Sun
d. a comet
e. the atmosphere of the Earth
30. Jovian planets _____ .
a. only started to form after the formation of the Terrestrial planets had
finished
b. were formed by the merger of millions of Pluto-like planets and comets
c. formed beyond the point where water froze in the Solar Nebula
d. are thought to be mainly water ice and ammonia
e. formed after a large comet struck Venus
31. The planet with the largest uncompressed density is _____ .
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Earth
d. Mars
e. Moon
32. The Sun _____ .
a. moves along the ecliptic
b. moves in the counter-clockwise sense on the Celestial Sphere
as viewed from the North Celestial Pole
c. follows a path that moves through the Zodiac constellations on the
Celestial Sphere
d. only a & b
e. a, b, & c
33. The Moon _____ during a total Solar eclipse.
a. must be full
b. may be either first or third quarter
c. must be new
d. may be either full or new
e. A total Solar eclipse may occur during any Lunar phase.
34. Protoplanets started to form _____ .
a. with the collision and coalescence of dust particles
b. with the merging of planetesimals
c. with the capture of gas from the Solar Nebula by dust particles
d. with the capture of gas from the Solar Nebula by comets
e. during the stage of Final Heavy Bombardment
35. Spring tides (the highest high tides) occur _____ .
a. when the Moon is at first or third quarter
b. only when the Moon is new
c. only when the Moon is full
d. when the Moon is new or full
e. when the Moon first rises
36. On the vernal equinox, _______ .
a. the Sun crosses the Celestial equator moving southward
b. the Sun crosses the Celestial equator moving northward
c. the shortest day of the year occurs
d. the Sun reaches its furthest point south of the Celestial equator
e. the Sun circles parallel to the horizon for an observer at the equator
37. The rotation period of the Earth ______
tidal forces exerted by the Moon on the Earth.
a. is varying erratically because of the
b. was thought to longer than 1 week 2 billion years ago because of the
c. is not affected by the
d. periodically changes in length from 23 h 56 min to 24 h because of the
e. is increasing in length because of the
38. An observer on the Moon is looking at the Earth. The Earth is full. What
is the phase of the Moon?
a. new
b. first quarter
c. full
d. third quarter
e. The Earth does not go through phases for an observer on the Moon.
39. Terrestrial planets _____ than are Jovian planets.
a. are less massive and more dense
b. are less massive with smaller escape speeds
c. are smaller in size
d. are composed of relatively larger amounts of rocky materials
(when compared to hydrogen and helium)
e. All of the above are true.
40. The conditions in the current atmosphere of Mars are _______ .
a. such that water cannot exist in any form on the surface of
Mars
b. such that one expects a substantial stratosphere to form
c. such that liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars
d. such that one expects that life could exist near the
equator on Mars during the summer months
41. When Mars was young, its climate was believed to be similar
to the current climate of the Earth. Its atmosphere then evolved
to what it is today. The current wisdom says
that this was because of _______ .
a. the impact of a large object which caused the
Martian atmosphere to boil-off
b. the lack of large-scale plate tectonics on Mars
c. a stage of intense volcanism, as has also been postulated
for the Moon
d. the rapid cooling of the interior of Mars
e. the depletion of the Martian ozone layer
42. The searches for extra-Solar planets that have yielded the
most discoveries of planets were based on the detection of _____ .
a. annual trigonometric parallax
b. Doppler shifts
c. epicyclic motions
d. gravitational micro-lensing
e. transits of planets across stars
43. The Jovian-like planets found in extra-Solar planetary systems _____ .
a. are all located at distances larger than 3-4 A.U. from their stars
b. all have orbits with very small eccentricities
c. were mainly found as they transited their stars
d. do not seem to obey Kepler's 3rd Law of Planetary Motion
e. in many instances appear to be too close to their stars based on our
understanding of how planetary systems form
44. Continental plate make up about _____ of the surface of the Earth.
a. 25 %
b. 45 %
c. 55 %
d. 80 %
e. 95 %
45. Of the following, which suggests that Mars has a permafrost layer?
a. Valles Marineris
b. splosh craters
c. seasonal polar ice caps
d. sinuous dried riverbeds
e. the residual northern polar ice cap
46. In the Greenhouse Effect on Earth, carbon dioxide traps _____ in the
atmosphere
a. x-rays
b. ultra-violet radiation
c. infrared radiation
d. visible light
e. microwaves
47. Of the following, which would you expect to show the most active geology
today?
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. the Moon
d. Mars
e. Pluto
48. The asthenosphere and lithosphere of the Earth are defined by _____ .
a. their chemical composition
b. their mechanical properties
c. their temperatures
d. their ages
e. their thicknesses
49. S waves are seismic waves. S waves ______ .
a. can only travel through solid material
b. are examples of transverse waves
c. have large shadow zones
d. travel more slowly than P waves through the Earth
e. All of the above describe S waves
50. The Greenhouse Effect _____ .
a. explains why Venus's surface temperature is 800-900 F
b. explains why the Earth has an average temperature of 70 F and not -4 F
c. helps us to understand why the Earth was warmer in the past when the
Sun was less bright
d. only a & b are true
e. a, b, & c are all true
51. The current atmospheres of the Terrestrial planets are _______ .
a. the result of outgassing
b. the capture of many comets
c. the gases captured originally from the Solar Nebula
d. A combination of a & b
e. The combination of a, b, & c
52. The majority of the Moon's surface is best described as _______ .
a. rolling plains
b. highland regions
c. lowlands
d. maria
e. lava plains and shield volcanos
53. Continental plates on the Earth _______.
a. are much younger than oceanic plates
b. make up the plastic portion of the lithosphere
c. are less dense than oceanic plates
d. flow easily because they are molten iron
e. are found only near the poles of the Earth
54. The Tharsis region on Mars _______ .
a. is a large impact basin that lies, for the most part,
below sea level on Mars
b. is the oldest region on Mars
c. was formed by a large impact, similar to the one that formed our Moon
d. contains both heavily cratered and relatively uncratered regions
e. was likely formed by an uplift of Mars's crust
55. Uranium 235 decays to lead 207 with a half-life of around 700,000
years. A rock contains one-eighth of its original uranium. How old is the
rock?
a. 700,000 years
b. 1,400,000 years
c. 2,100,000 years
d. 2,800,000 years
e. 5,600,000 years
56. The reason the atmospheres of Venus and Earth have followed such
different evolutionary paths is _____ .
a. at birth, Venus was rich in carbon dioxide while the Earth was not
b. the Earth is more massive than Venus
c. Venus is closer to the Sun than is the Earth
d. the day is longer on Venus than it is on the Earth
e. Venus does not exhibit active plate tectonics
57. Of the following, which best describes the planet
most likely to have an atmosphere?
a. large mass, small radius, low temperature
b. low mass, small radius, low temperature
c. large mass, large radius, high temperature
d. low mass, large radius, high temperature
e. large mass, large radius, low temperature
58. The early atmosphere of Venus may have been as hot as 2,700 F because _____ .
a. of an anomalously large amount of carbon dioxide present in its atmosphere when it
was young
b. the Sun was much brighter 4.5 billion years ago
c. there was a large amount of water vapor in Venus's early atmosphere
d. it is believed that Venus developed a technologically advanced civilization in
its early history
e. Venus had an extensive Ozone layer when it was born
59. The impact that formed the Caloris basin on Mercury also formed
the _______ .
a. weird terrain
b. large maria seen on the hot side of Mercury
c. numerous volcanos seen on Mercury
d. large uplift region found on Mercury
e. large canyon found on Mercury
60. Near a subduction zone, we expect _______ .
a. to find large changes in the level of the oceans
b. to find active volcanism
c. to see the formation of volcanic island chains (like Hawaii)
d. to observe the creation of new continental crustal material
e. to see sea-floor spreading
61. A transform fault is _____ .
a. where a continental plate runs into another continental plate
b. where two plates slide along each other
c. a region where crust is destroyed
d. an uplift, like the coronae and arachnoids on Venus
e. the liquid part of the Earth's core
62. The bulk of the carbon dioxide initially present in the
atmosphere of the young Earth _______ .
a. has been lost to space
b. is now contained in green plants and plankton
c. is now tied up in the crust of the Earth
d. is now contained in the oceans of the Earth
e. is now contained in the polar caps
63. Of the following statements about Venus, which is NOT correct?
a. The surface of Venus is young, less than 1 billion years old
b. There is an underabundance of craters with diameter less than 30
km on Venus
c. The surface of Venus is covered primarily by rolling plains
d. The surface of Venus may show signs of recent geological activity
e. Maxwell Montes, the largest shield volcanos on Venus, is also the largest volcano in
the Solar System
64. The Valles Marineris _____ .
a. was likely formed by water erosion, similar to how the
Grand Canyon formed
b. was likely formed by the impact of a protoplanet
that cracked Mars's lithosphere
c. is likely the remains of a large rift zone
d. is likely the remains of ancient subduction zone formed by Mars's
only oceanic plate
e. was formed by cracking that occurred during the formation of the
Tharsis Bulge
65. Lunar maria _______ .
a. resulted from the flooding of large impact basins by lava flows
b. have much higher crater densities than the surrounding
regions
c. are spread uniformly over the surface of the Moon
d. are unique to the Moon; they have no counterparts on
other planets
e. All of the above are correct statements about the lunar
maria
66. Strong evidence that the Moon was geologically active in the past comes
from the ____ .
a. mountains in the highland regions
b. existence of the continent-like highland regions
c. light color of the highland regions
d. maria
e. All of the above
67. The Ozone layer on the Earth ________ .
a. helps to protect the surface from Solar ultraviolet radiation
b. helps to trap water vapor in the lower atmosphere
c. supplies the heat that drives the convection that produces our weather
d. only a & b
e. a, b, & c
68. The Hawaiian island chain _______ .
a. is strong evidence for the recent collision of continental plates
b. was caused by a hot-spot in the mantle of the Earth and crustal motion
c. was created by a series of impacts of large objects
d. is evidence that the Moon was once part of the Earth
e. was formed in a manner similar to the Andes in South America
69. The interior of the Earth was significantly heated by _____ .
a. accretion of large bodies
b. radioactive decay
c. the absorption of Solar ultraviolet radiation
d. only a & b
e. a, b, & c
70. The mountains found on the Moon were formed _____ .
a. by impacts
b. by collisions of continental plates
c. near subduction zones
d. by volcanism
e. by uplifts driven by the outward flow of heat from the Moon's core
71. The newly discovered planets _____ .
a. have conclusively shown that life is unique to our Solar System
b. orbit in nearly circular orbits about their stars
c. do not obey Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion
d. are conclusive evidence that life exists elsewhere in our galaxy
e. are mainly Jupiter-like planets
72. The oldest rocks on the Earth are a little more than _____ old, according
to radioactive age dating.
a. 46,000 years
b. 200,000 years
c. 200 million years
d. 4 billion years
e. 460 billion years
73. Compared to the side of the Moon facing the Earth, the Lunar backside has
_____ .
a. more mountains
b. substantially fewer craters
c. substantially fewer mountain ranges
d. fewer maria
e. one active volcano, while the near side has none
74. The density of the Moon is most similar to _____ .
a. that of Mercury
b. that of Pluto
c. that of Venus
d. the crust of the Earth
e. the average density of the Earth
75. What theory of the Moon's origin is favored by most astronomers today?
a. The Moon formed as a separate object near Earth and at
about the same time.
b. The Moon formed far from the Earth and was subsequently captured.
c. The Moon was thrown off of a rapidly spinning young Earth producing the
Pacific basin
d. The Moon formed from material blasted off the Earth by the impact of a
Mars-sized body.
e. The Moon formed in the asteroid belt and was subsequently captured by
the Earth.
76. The surface of Mercury bears the strongest resemblance to _____ .
a. that of the Earth
b. that of Venus
c. that of the Moon
d. that of Mars
77. The cratering density in the Lunar highlands and maria
tells us that _____ .
a. the Moon was geologically active in the past
b. the highlands are older than the maria
c. the cratering rate on the Moon has slowed down in the last billion years
d. large impacts like the dinosaur killer on the Earth, occur every 10
million years or so on the Moon
e. plate tectonic activity on the Moon continued until
the last billion years
78. Earth and Venus are often called sister planets. In what ways are
Venus and the Earth most alike? Earth and Venus have similar _____ .
a. atmospheric composition and density
b. size, density, and escape speed
c. surface temperature and atmospheric pressure
d. size, density, and atmospheric pressure
e. interior composition and atmospheric composition
79. A large difference between Mars's northern hemisphere and its southern
hemisphere is _____ .
a. the southern hemisphere appears to be older than the northern hemisphere
b. the northern hemisphere is, on average, at higher elevation than the
southern hemisphere
c. the southern hemisphere contains nearly all the volcanos and also contains
the largest volcano on Mars, Olympus Mons
d. the southern hemisphere is dominated by maria-like regions while the
northern hemisphere is more highland-like in character
e. the northern hemisphere is strong evidence of on-going plate tectonic
activity on Mars
80. The Moon has been geologically dead for the last _____ .
a. 4 billion years
b. 3 billion years
c. 700-800 hundred million years
d. hundred thousand years
e. The Moon never showed geological activity
81. The belts of Jupiter are best described as _____ .
a. sinking regions of gas with low pressure
b. rising regions of gas with high temperature
c. turbulent, circulating regions in Jupiter's southern hemisphere
d. narrow dark regions that separate the white ovals from the zones
e. haze in Jupiter's upper atmosphere
82. The three cloud layers of Jupiter are composed of ______ .
a. water ice, methane, and carbon dioxide
b. hydrogen, helium, and water
c. ammonia, sulfuric acid, and water
d. ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water
e. methane, ammonium hydrosulfide, and water
83. The most massive planet in our Solar System is _____ .
a. Earth
b. Venus
c. Uranus
d. Jupiter
e. Saturn
84. The storm-like feature(s) primarily found near
20o N latitude on Jupiter _____ .
a. are the white ovals
b. are the brown ovals
c. is the Great Red Spot
d. is the Great Dark Spot
e. is the Red Cloud
85. Jupiter is noticeably flattened in shape because ____ .
a. it has a very strong magnetic field
b. it has a very high mass
c. it rotates very rapidly
d. it has many large moons
e. it has a large core of liquid, metallic hydrogen
86. Of the following planets, which radiates the most energy compared
to what it receives from the Sun?
a. Venus
b. Earth
c. Mars
d. Jupiter
e. Saturn
87. The belt and zone structure on Saturn is more muted in color than
Jupiter's because _____ .
a. Saturn has a weaker magnetic field
b. Saturn has an extensive ring system
c. Saturn has five distinct cloud layers
d. Jupiter has a thick layer of haze above its clouds
e. Saturn has a thicker atmosphere than does Jupiter
88. If I am south of the equator on the Earth and I drop a ball from the top of
a tall tower, the object ______ .
a. falls straight toward the center of the Earth
b. spirals downward in the counter-clockwise sense
c. spirals downward in the clockwise sense
d. is thrown off the Earth
e. deflects to the East as it falls
89. The different colors of the belts and zones on Jupiter and Saturn
arise because the clouds _____ .
a. form at different heights and temperatures
b. are moving with different speeds
c. are slowly condensing and forming large storm centers
d. are slowly changing chemical composition; they are radioactive
e. are heating as an Ozone layer slowly forms
90. The Great Red Spot ______ .
a. was first discovered in the 1600s
b. circulates with a period of around 6 days
c. is a long-lived storm that has existed for over 300 to 400 years
d. has varied in size but is now large enough for roughly two Earths to fit across it
e. All of the above.
91. The clouds in the atmosphere of Saturn form in the _____ of Saturn.
a. asthenosphere
b. troposphere
c. stratosphere
d. thermosphere
e. ionosphere
92. Kepler's Second Law of Planetary Motion _____ .
a. is that planets have elliptical orbits
b. is a restatement of the law of Conservation of Angular Momentum
c. explains why Jupiter and Saturn are more massive than Uranus and Neptune
d. explains why Jovian planets have many moons while
Terrestrial planets do not
e. is needed for our explanation of the seasons on Earth
93. The Great Red Spot sits in the southern hemisphere of Jupiter and rotates
in the counter-clockwise sense. These imply that it _____ .
a. is at lower pressure than the surrounding atmosphere
b. is at higher pressure than the surrounding atmosphere
c. is at the same pressure as the surrounding atmosphere
d. actually straddles the equator of Jupiter
e. is the top of a volcano rising out of Jupiter's cloud layer
94. Uranus and Neptune are much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn because
_____ .
a. they formed outside the Solar System and were subsequently captured
b. they formed near Venus but then migrated outward
c. the Sun turned-on before they completed their formation process
d. the Solar Nebula was frozen beyond where Jupiter and Saturn formed
e. Jupiter and Saturn used up all of the gas in the Solar Nebula
95. The atmosphere of Saturn is composed primarily of _____ .
a. methane and helium
b. hydrogen and carbon dioxide
c. helium and water
d. hydrogen and helium
e. helium and water
96. Saturn's bands, ovals, and flow patterns are driven by _____ .
a. convective motions and rotation
b. the Greenhouse effect
c. the liquid metallic hydrogen layer in its interior
d. radioactive heating in its atmosphere
e. tides raised by its largest moons
97. The large magnetic fields of Jupiter and Saturn _____ .
a. are produced in their rotating molten iron cores
b. arise in their belt and zone atmospheric structure
c. are the result of their large cores of Terrestrial-like material
d. are produced in the layer of rotating liquid metallic hydrogen in their interior
e. are caused by the large lightning bolts observed in their atmospheres
98. The source of the excess heat radiated by Saturn is(are) _____ .
a. helium rain
b. Saturn was born hot and is still cooling today
c. radioactive heating
d. only a & b
e. a, b, & c
99. The coolest clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere are _____ in color.
a. reddish
b. bluish
c. brownish
d. yellowish
e. greenish
100. The equator-to-pole circulation on Saturn is broken into
counter-streaming belts and zones by _____ .
a. the absorption of Solar ultraviolet radiation
b. the Coriolis force
c. convection
d. gravitational micro-lensing
e. tidal forces