Astronomy Exam Study Guide
The first 4 objectives are in the form of matching questions and there will be about
50 of them
1. Be able to chose between characteristics of Jovian and Terrestrial planets
such as:

numbers of moons
i. Jovian planets have more moons (100s)
ii. Terrestrial planets only have three moons

rings or lack of
i. Jovian planets have rings and terrestrial planets do not

relative thickness of atmospheres,
i. Jovian planets have thicker atmospheres because it is made of
more gases than rocks

relative radii,
i. Jovian are much larger than Terrestrial
ii. The smallest Jovian planet is nearly 4 times larger than the
largest terrestrial planet

relative masses,
i. Jovian planets are more massive

chemical composition of atmospheres
i. Jovian: 75% Hydrogen, 25% helium, trace of methane and
ammonia
ii. Terrestrial: carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases

averaged density
i. Jovian planets have low density

Surfaces
i. Jovian are gaseous
ii. Terrestrial rocky surfaces
2. Identify properties of the different Jovian planets such as

diameters (largest/smallest)
i. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

masses
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Jupiter: 318
Saturn: 95
Neptune: 17
Uranus: 14

ring properties
i. Jupiter: consists of very small particles, about the size of dust
grains and are probably silicate; unsubstantiated
ii. Saturn: particles are large, up to the size of boulders;
temperatures are cold enough at Saturn for grains of ice to
remain frozen, resulting in bright, icy ring particles; wide and
separated by narrow gaps
iii. Uranus: particles are of the four on average and they are dark;
they could have a coating of carbon rich material due to the
greater abundance of methane in our outer solar system;
narrow and separated by large gaps
iv. Neptune: particles are also dark and large; narrow and
separated by large gaps

inclination of rotational axes
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Jupiter: 3
Saturn: 27
Uranus: 98
Neptune: 29

moon systems
i. Jupiter: Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto) large
and high density
ii. Saturn: small and low density; icy; co-orbital
iii. Neptune: Triton

relative distance from the Sun
i. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

average densities
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Jupiter: 1.3
Saturn: 0.7
Uranus: 1.3
Neptune: 1.6

orbital periods
i. Very fast in comparison to Terrestrial planets
ii. Jupiter: 10 hours
iii. Saturn: 11 hours
iv. Uranus: 17 hours
v. Neptune: 16 hours
3. Identify properties and processes of the Terrestrial planets such as
Atmosphere

intensity of the greenhouse effect

did it rain or not

chemical composition of clouds and atmospheres
Earth
-atmosphere via outgassing
-it rained globally at first
-continuous geological
activity
Volcanism ceased early
-moderate greenhouse effect
-life evolved and produced
oxygen
Surface froze
Breathable nitrogen-oxygen
atmosphere
Dioxide atmosphere
Venus
Atmosphere via
outgassing
Mercury
Atmosphere via
outgassing
Too hot to rain
It rained globally at
first
Continuous geological
activity
Volcanism ceased
Runaway greenhouse
effect
Minimal greenhouse
effect
Thick carbon dioxide
atmopshere
Surface froze
Thin carbon dioxide
atmospehre
Nightside to dayside
Circulation
Hemispheric cells equator to
poles hemispheric cells
Pole to pole
Clouds
Water clouds
Sulfuric acid clouds
Carbon dioxide and
water clouds
Temperatures
Moderate temperatures
Very hot temperatures
750 K= 890 F
Very cold
temperatures avg -80

evidence of water
i. Mars: outflow channels, and branching channels

atmospheric temperatures

relative diameters
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Mercury: .38
Mars: .53
Venus: .95
Earth: 1
4. Pair up a named feature with the Terrestrial planet or the Moon.
 Moon has no atmosphere
 Ages of oldest rocks greater than oldest terrestrial
 Entire EM spectrum strikes surface of moon
 Temperature 100 K- 400K
 Earth: internal activity (volcanoes, tectonics), mostly young surface
 Moon: external processes (craters, maria), geologically inactive today,
mostly older surfaces (older than 3 billion years)
5. After those matching questions be able to distinguish between
 Look at dinosaur example in chapter 4

Hypotheses
i. Presented to explain something

predictions of hypotheses
i. contain should

verifications of a prediction
i. factual

observations of nature
i. collections, records, and data
1. where located etc.
6. Most of the rest of the test is on celestial motions, Chapters 2 and 3 … use the
Unit 1 Practice test and objectives to study for them. About 30 questions
relating to several diagrams including:

horizon diagrams showing the rising or setting of star at different
locations on Earth

orbital position of the Earth on the four first days

view of Earth diagrams showing people and cities

horizon and meridian diagrams

a diagram showing the phases of the moon (identify full moon or first
quarter moon etc)

phases of the Moon diagram show the Moon’s orbit and the Earth with
people on it at different times of the day

a diagram showing different types of eclipses
i. lunar on practice test
ii. total solar cross other solar not cross
7. Most of these diagrams are in the Unit 1 Practice Test. Some of the following
objective relate to these diagrams.
8. Given a drawing of the visible celestial sphere (see Practice Test questions 28
- 30), identify

east, west, north and south

the rising, setting, and noon positions of the Sun on solstices and
equinoxes
9. Given a drawing of the Earth at a particular season, identify

the relative length of day for any identified city and person (see the
figure in Practice Test question 37)
i. look at tabs
10. Identify the time of day seen and viewing direction (east or west) of diurnal
circles drawn near the horizon giving the direction of motion of celestial
objects and viewing angle (see the figures in Practice Test questions 35 &
36).
opposite if looking east from Clemson like arrows go left
instead of right
11. Demonstrate a clear understanding of the position of the moon in the sky at
different phases and different times of the day by

determining the time of day given a description of the position of the
moon in the sky and its phase
Phase
Rising time Setting time Meridian time
New moon
6 AM
6 PM
12 PM
Waxing crescent
9 AM
9 PM
3 PM
First quarter
12 PM
12 AM
6 PM
Waxing gibbous
3 PM
3 AM
9 PM
Full moon
6 PM
6 AM
12 AM
Waning gibbous
9 PM
9 AM
3 AM
Third quarter
12 AM
12 PM
6 AM
Waning crescent
3 AM
3 PM
9 AM
12. Define solar and lunar eclipses
Solar Eclipse – the moon’s shadow sweeps across the earth’s surface
(new moon phase)
Lunar Eclipse - the moon passes through the earth’s shadow, earth’s
shadow on the moon (full moon phase)
13. Describe the motion of the moon's shadow during a solar eclipse
 Moon’s shadow travels west to east on Earth’s surface
i. Clemson will see eclipse before Atlanta

Describe the relative motion of the Moon and Sun in the sky
i. Moon moves eastward
ii. Sun moves eastward in sky
Duration is the time it takes for the moon’s umbral shadow to move across a
spot on the earth.
Face SOUTH and imagine the moon covering the sun, it will move across
the sun’s face starting from the Western Limb, its right hand edge from your
vantage point
Totality lasts from a few to 7.5 minutes, the umbra of the moon on the earth
is not very wide – Solar
Totality lasts 1and 2/3 hours to 6 hours, because the earth’s umbra shadow
engulfs the entire moon, and the moon takes a long time to move from one
end of the earth’s shadow to another - Lunar
14. Define eclipse season
15. When the line of nodes points toward the sun, eclipses can occur –
eclipse seasons
16. Eclipse Year – containing three eclipse seasons is 346.62 days
17.
Season
Solar
Lunar
Min
Max
1-2
0-1
1
3
1
1-2
0-1
1
3
2
1
0
1
1
3
3-7
0-2
2
7
YEAR

18. A few miscellaneous questions will include:

List where inferior and superior planets can be observed in the sky
i. Inferior planets- planets with orbits closer to the sun than the
earth, Mercury and Venus, visible in the evening or morning
skies, never in the middle of the night
ii. Superior planets - The more distant planets, mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto where we see them in the sky
depends on the relative positions of the planets and the earth
in their orbits

List the order of the planets and give the relative location of all objects
in the solar system
i. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune,
Pluto