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Planets Midterm Study Guide
Planets Midterm Study Guide
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Questions
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1
Within out Solar System, the size gap between terrestrial and gas giants exist between Earth and Neptune
False
True
2
The parsec is a unit of length used to measure large distances
True
False
3
The drake equation is used to estimate the number of civilizations in the universe
False
True
4
The approximate maximum size of a terrestrial (rocky) planet is twice the size of Earth
True
False
5
A giant planet in a planetary system can change the rate of impacts on rocky planets
True
False
6
Which planet in the solar system is tilted on its side?
Mercury
Uranus
Jupiter
Pluto
7
The major way in which we currently discover exoplanets is using indirect methods
False
True
8
Astrometry and Doppler techniques can be used to detect planets when...
The planet causes the star to wobble
The planet makes the background star brighter
The planet reflects light from the star
The planet passes in front of the star
9
Challenges with terraforming Mars include...
All of the Above
Atmospheric Erosion
Low surface gravity
Low levels of sunlight
10
Drake Equation Variable: R* = rate of star formation in galaxy
False
True
11
Drake Equation Variables: Fp = fraction of stars with planets (1.0)
True
False
12
The Expanse is a sci-fi movie that has the most accurate representation of Venus
False
True
13
A serious problem of Arrakis (Planet from Dune) orbiting Canopus, a star 8x more massive than the Sun, is ____
The star is too far away
The lifetime of the star is very short
The star is too bright
The star should not exist
14
The Habitable Zone is the region around a star where planets are guaranteed to have life
False
True
15
What is the largest planet in the solar system ?
Pluto
Saturn
Mercury
Jupiter
16
What is the primary ingredient for a planet to be habitable?
Geological activities
Presence of a moon
Rotational axis tilt
Liquid water
17
Venus has a much stronger magnetic field than the Earth
True
False
18
Percival Lowell popularized the idea of intelligent life on Mars
True
False
19
The brightness of a star affects a planet when it transits the star
True
False
20
The giant wave portrayed in interstellar was likely caused by ___
The tidal forces from its moon
The rotation of the planet
Massive Earthquakes
Tidal forced from the black hole it orbits
21
The tilt of Mars' rotational axis is approximately the same as Earth's
False
True
22
You can see a crescent moon at midnight
True
False
23
Present day atmospheric pressure on Mars is __ of the atmospheric pressure on Earth
20%
50%
10%
<1
24
From Earth we see Venus go through phases similar to the Moon
False
True
25
The climate of a city planet would be characterized by heavy rainfall and storms
False
True
26
Place these in order of brightest to lowest in the sky
Moon, Venus, Mars, Sun
Sun, Venus, Mars, Moon
Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars
Mars, Moon, Venus, Sun
27
Why is Pluto no longer classified as a planet?
NASA hates Pluto
It is too small
It is too far away from the Sun
It has not cleared its neighborhood
28
The more massive the star, the shorter its lifespan
True
False
29
A substantial moon can enhance planetary habitability through tidal effects and tidal pools
False
True
30
The Astronomical Unit (AU), the average distance between the Earth and the Sun, is mostly used in The Solar System
False
True
31
Average temp of Earth is around 50-60 degrees
False
True
32
Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet
False
True
33
The velocity of Voyager 2 is traveling (15km/s), how long will it take the spacecraft to reach Alpha Centauri
True
False
34
Mars is __ the size of Earth
2x
1/4
1/2
The Same
35
Ideas about possible life on the surface of Venus persisted until about 1995
True
False
36
What is an orrery?
A phase of the moon
A model of the solar system
A type of planet
A type of space telescope
37
Direct imaging observations are best carried out from space
True
False
38
A city planet is called a ____
Ecumenopolis
Necropolis
Krapopolis
Metropolis
39
An exoplanet is a planet outside of our solar system
False
True
40
The gravitational effect of a planet on a star allows us to measure the planet mass
True
False
41
The first picture returned from the surface of another planet occurred on Mars
True
False
42
Our solar system consists of four giant planets close to the Sun and four terrestrial planets farther from the Sun
True
False
43
Why is water important for life?
All of the above
Water extremely common
Water can be a liquid state at reasonably high temps enabling faster rates
Water is a neutral solvent in which biochemical reactions can take place
44
Runaway greenhouse occurs when greenhouse gasses produce a positive a positive feedback loop
True
False
45
The major lesson learned from the Kepler mission is that rocky planets are more common than giant planets
True
False
46
Earth is the largest terrestrial planet
True
False
47
The high temps, at the surface of Venus are caused by a runaway greenhouse
True
False
48
An alien megastructure could be detected by its unique signature as it passes in front of its star
True
False
49
The methods that has discovered the most exoplanets is the transit methods
False
True
50
Direct detection is responsible for most of the currently known exoplanets
False
True
51
The primary component in the Venusian atmosphere is Carbon Dioxide
True
False
52
What is the smallest gas planet?
Saturn
Jupiter
Uranus
Neptune
53
Exoplanets are planets in our solar system
False
True
54
The purpose of the Drake equation is to provide a precise number of planets with life that want to communicate with us
False
True
55
The smaller the planet, the less gravity
False
True
56
What is the nearest star to the sun (Our nearest stellar neighbor)
Proxima Centeuri
?
?
?
57
A planet in the habitable zone means the planet is habitable
False
True
58
Mars is commonly known as the god of...
Agriculture
War
Love
The underworld
59
Earth's ability to recycle carbon from its atmospheric into its interior is enabled by...
Plate tectonics
Climate change
Tidal effects
UV light from the Sun
60
Why is Jupiter important for Earth maintaining life over its history?
Jupiter reduces the amount of large impacts on Earth
Jupiter increases the amount of large impacts on Earth
Jupter serves as a secondary light and heat source for Earth
Jupiter helps regulate Earth's climate by influencing atmospheric condition
61
Neptune is the largest planet in the solar system
True
False
62
Earth is the terrestrial body you would weigh the least on
False
True
63
What causes the gaps in the asteroid belt?
Tractor beams from mining vessels
Orbital resonances with Jupiter
Gravitational influence of Earth and Mars
Collisions with each other
64
Observations of other planetary systems have shown that the distribution of planets in the solar system is normal
True
False
65
When a planet transits its star, we measure the size of the planet
True
False
66
Direct exoplanet detection methods use light reflected from or emitted by the planet
False
True
67
A dyson sphere is a megastructure that, in theory, would capture all the energy from a ___
Galaxy
Power Plant
Star
Planet
68
Earths water primarily originated from ___
Deposits from comets and other impactors
Material it gathered during its formation
Both A and B
Neither A nor B
69
We can see phases of Venus through a telescope because Venus is closer to the Sun than the Earth
False
True
70
The main result from the Kepler mission is that giant planets are more common than rocky planets
False
True
71
What is Terraforming?
Turning base metals into gold
Modifying a planet so that it is able to support life
Artificially creating earthquakes
Modifying a planet's orbit
72
Mars is hotter than Earth
False
True
73
What is approximately the maximum size of a terrestrial/rocky planet?
5x the size of Earth
The size of Earth
10x the size of Earth
Twice the size of Earth
74
Almost all large bodies orbit the Sun in a clockwise direction
False
True
75
The origin of the asteroid belt is the gap between mars and Jupiter
True
False
76
The luminosity of the Sun increases with time
True
False
77
The Arecibo Message sent a signal to Proxima Centauri that was written in Latin
True
False
78
The general cause of why intelligent species may not progress to become space-faring is know as "The Great Filter"
False
True
79
Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface is covered in oceans
False
True
80
Exoplanets are named in order of time of discovery
False
True
81
War of the Worlds depicts Earth being invaded by...
Venusians
Plutonians
Jupiterians
Martians
82
Venus most frequently appears in the night sky right after sunset or right before dawn
False
True
83
Its 9pm, you look up in the sky and see a moon with half its face bright and half dark. It is in its third quarter
False
True
84
The present-day atmospheric pressure on Mars is less than 1% of the atmospheric pressure on Earth
True
False
85
How many moons does Venus have?
0
2
1
3
86
What is the final variable in the Drake equation?
Fraction of habitable planets that develop life
Fraction of stars with planets
The length of time that civilization would survive
Average number of habitable planets per star
87
The number of known exoplanets now number in the thousands
True
False
88
What message is attached to both the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft?
Picture of the spacecraft
Messages from all countries
Distances to pulsars
Popular music on Earth
89
What is a potential disadvantage of using nuclear weapons to release the polar cap CO2 on Mars into its atmosphere?
All of the Above
It only raises the average temp. by 10 degrees
There may be substantial nuclear fallout
It may inadvertently remove evidence of past life on Mars
90
The climate of water worlds would be more dependent on latitude then for the Earth
False
True
91
If we moved Mars to the orbit of the Earth, it would lose the vast majority of its atmosphere
False
True
92
If a person were to stand on Kepler-22b, they would be heavier than if there were on Earth
False
True
93
At the present point in time, Earth's radio transmissions have traveled a distance of ___
100,000 miles
1,000,000 parsecs
100 light years
The length of the milky-way galaxy
94
Mercury is the biggest planet
True
False
95
Approximately what percentage of energy received from the sun makes it to Earth's Surface?
100%
50%
0%
20%
96
The surface temp. on Venus is approximately 850 degrees F.
True
False
97
Ideas about life on the surface of Venus persisted up until the...
1970s
1980s
1960s
1950s
98
Which of the following is a factor that affects habitability...
Substantial Moon
Abundance of bio-essential elements
All of the Above
Climate stability
99
The causes of gaps in the asteroid belt are from the orbital resonances with Jupiter
True
False
100
The variables in the Drake Equation are increasingly well known from left to right in the equation
True
False
101
The astrometric methods is difficult because of the Earth's atmosphere
True
False
102
What is the largest planet in the Solar System
Neptune
Saturn
Earth
Jupiter
103
Almost all large bodies orbit the Sun in different direction
True
False
104
We currently observe strong evidence of plate tectonics on Venus
True
False
105
The moon is bright because it reflects light from the sun
True
False
106
The highly successful Soviet Venus program that sent landers to the surface was called "Vanera"
False
True
107
The surface pressure on Venus is equivalent to an ocean depth of almost 1,000 meters
True
False
108
How many planets have been discovered around other stars?
100-1000
5000+
1000-5000
1-100
109
An example of an exoplanet is TRAPPIST. It is the name of the star, but what determines the letter that is given
The size of planet
How far the planet is from the star
The number of moon the planet has
The order of discovery
110
Challenges to terraforming Mars are...
Low levels of sunlight
All of the above
Low surface gravity
Atm erosion
111
A significant disadvantage of stars more massive than the Sun for habitability is that they are relatively short-lived
False
True
112
The Fermi paradox is based on the apparent contradiction between number of space civilizations and lack of contact
False
True
113
Drake Equation Variable: N(e) = average number of habitable planets per star (0.5)
False
True
114
What is the main planetary property that we measure with the transit method?
Mass
Rotation period
Radius
The type of clouds that the planet has
115
The major scientific problem with the intro scene for The Martian is the pressure exerted by the wind is too strong
True
False
116
Compared with the Earth, Venus is about double the size of Earth
False
True
117
What would happen if Mars were moved to the orbit of the Earth?
It would lose a vast majority of its atmosphere
?
?
?
118
Venus may have had surface liquid water in the past
False
True
119
The TRAPPIST-1 system is primarily special because it has 3-4 terrestrial planets in the habitable zone
True
False
120
How many moons does Mars have?
4
1
0
2
121
The Fermi Paradox speculates on why we have not yet encountered another intelligent species
False
True
122
The planet of Venus was named after the goddess of war
True
False
123
The dominant factor that serves as an explanation for the Fermi paradox is...
The colossal question
Theory of evolution
The giant barrier
The great filter
124
Within our solar system, the size gap between terrestrial and gas giant planets exist between...
Mercury and Triton
Venus and Saturn
Mars and Uranus
Earth and Neptune
125
Many of the planetary systems found have planetary orbits that would fit inside the orbit of Mercury
False
True
126
The primary requirement for planetary habitability is surface liquid water
False
True
127
The more planets in the system, the easier days are to interpret
False
True
128
If we placed a starshade between the Sun and Venus, the temp. would drop to allow CO2 to condense into liquid and rain
False
True
129
Ideas about life on other planets existed for a few thousand years
True
False
130
A fundamental problem that science fiction movies have to solve is doing interstellar travel in a certain amount of time
True
False
131
The primary cause of Earth's sessions is because its orbit is slightly elliptical
True
False
132
On which solar system body would you weigh the least?
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Pluto
133
Why are desert planets so popular in SciFi movies?
It is a harsh environment which allows for character development
Deserts are extreme and unfamiliar to most people
It provides an interesting backstory for the evolution of a planet
All of the Above
134
If a planet has substantially more water than Earth, then it means that the planet is even more likely to have life
True
False
135
E=mc2 relates to energy, mass, and speed of light
True
False
136
The architecture of the TRAPPIST-1 system is exceptional because...
Three planets could have liquid water
The entire system would fit within the orbit of Mercury
All of these are correct
The TRAPPIST-1 star is much fainter than the sun
