CHAPTER 23—JUPITER AND SATURN
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. Both Jupiter and Saturn
a. have liquid metallic hydrogen in their interiors.
b. have rings.
c. emit more energy than they absorb from the sun.
d. have belt and zone circulation.
e. all of the above
2. Belt and zone circulation
a. has been observed only on Jupiter.
b. is caused by the planet's magnetic field.
c. is caused by rising and sinking gases.
d. is more obvious on Saturn than Jupiter.
e. explains the formation of Cassini's division.
3. Jupiter does not have
a. a hot interior.
b. convention occurring in its atmosphere.
c. crustal plates on its surface.
d. a dynamo effect.
e. any rings.
4. The particles in Jupiter's ring
a. must be silicate particles
b. must be particles of ices
c. must be metallic particles.
d. must be pieces of captured comets.
e. must be material from eruptions of volcanoes on Io.
5. Europa has few craters because
a. it is protected from impacts by Jupiter's gravity.
b. it does not have a solid surface.
c. it has erased craters nearly as fast as they have formed.
d. its surface is not strong enough to support craters.
e. it keeps one face always pointed toward Jupiter which screens it from incoming
meteorites.
6. Saturn's atmosphere is
a. more brightly marked than Jupiter's.
b. rich in free oxygen.
c. hazy above the clouds.
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
7. Saturn's rings are
a. composed of ice particles.
b. in the plane of the planet's equator.
c. within the planet's Roche limit.
d. all of the above
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e. none of the above
Spokes in Saturn's rings are peculiar because
a. they should freeze out very quickly.
b. differential rotation should erase them quickly.
c. the solar wind should blow small particles away.
d. the magnetic field should prevent such features from forming.
e. they are found only in the inner most ring.
Saturn's F ring and the rings of Uranus are similar in that they
a. are made of dark material.
b. are made of icy material.
c. are found near large moons.
d. show well defined spokes.
e. are very narrow
Though Titan is small, it is able to retain an atmosphere because
a. it is very cold.
b. it is very dense.
c. it rotates very slowly.
d. it attracts gas from the solar wind.
e. it has a very strong magnetic field.
_______________ in Saturn's rings is/are produced by the gravitational interaction of Mimas with the
particles in the rings and appears as a large gap in the rings.
a. Spokes
b. Spiral density waves
c. Bending waves
d. The Io torus
e. Cassini's division
The surfaces of old icy satellites
a. appear dark in color with few impact craters.
b. appear dark in color with many impact craters.
c. appear very bright because ice is very reflective.
d. generally show long bright grooves and a modest number of impact craters.
e. generally have small volcanoes that are active.
Which of the Galilean satellites are geologically active?
a. Io and Callisto
b. Ganymede and Titan
c. Titan and Callisto
d. Europa and Io
e. Ganymede and Callisto
The graph below indicates the temperature of Saturn's atmosphere as a function of distance from the upper
cloud layer. Water will condense to form droplets at a temperature of approximately 270 K in the atmosphere
of Saturn. At what distance from the upper cloud layer will clouds of water vapor form?
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a. -250 km
b. -150 km
c. 0 km
d. 150 km
e. 250 km
Liquid metallic hydrogen
a. is found in the atmosphere of Jupiter.
b. is believed to exist on the surface of Titan.
c. is believed to exist on Io.
d. does not conduct electricity very well.
e. none of the above
Jupiter is oblate. This means that
a. Jupiter's radius is much larger than Earth's radius.
b. Jupiter's radius is larger at its equator than at its poles.
c. Jupiter rotates very slowly.
d. Jupiter has belts and zones in its upper atmosphere.
e. the density of the atmosphere increases until it is a liquid and no solid surface exists.
Which of the following objects may have organic particles on its surface as a result of the interaction of
sunlight with methane in its upper atmosphere.
a. Io
b. Titan
c. Hyperion
d. Ganymede
e. Metis
What evidence is there that supports the suggestion that Enceladus is adding material to Saturn's E ring?
a. The E ring is densest at the orbit of Enceladus.
b. Impacts by meteorites have been observed that put material into the E ring.
c. Volcanic eruptions have been observed that released material into the E ring.
d. Enceladus' magnetic field captures particles from the solar wind and deposits them in the
E ring.
e. Enceladus' mass has decreased over the last fifty years while the mass of the E ring has
increased.
In what way is the rocky material of Jupiter's core different from the rocks found on Earth?
a. It is much cooler because Jupiter is further from the sun.
b. It contains more liquid water.
c. It is much hotter and more dense because of the extreme pressure at the core of Jupiter.
d. It is composed of iron and nickel because this material will settle to the core.
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e. It is composed entirely of ices that have frozen into a large rock like structure.
Jupiter rotates differentially, which in the case of Jupiter means that
a. the equator of Jupiter rotates faster than its poles.
b. the poles of Jupiter rotate faster than its equator.
c. the magnetic field rotates faster than the visible surface.
d. Jupiter rotates in the opposite direction of Earth.
e. Jupiter rotates so that one side always faces the sun.
The excess heat produced by Jupiter and Saturn is the result of
a. nuclear reactions in their liquid metallic hydrogen cores.
b. radioactive decay.
c. hot molten lava rising to the surface.
d. the planet's continual slow contraction.
e. the large number of meteorite and comet impacts that occur each year.
What is unique about the magnetic field of Saturn?
a. It rotates twice as fast as the cloud tops.
b. It is much stronger than it is expected to be.
c. It is produced by a non metallic material.
d. It isn't produced by the dynamo effect.
e. Its axis is the same as the rotation axis of Saturn.
The Io flux tube is a
a. region on Io where numerous volcanoes are found.
b. large circular region on Io associated with a meteorite impact.
c. channel of ionized gas flowing between Jupiter and Io that produces a huge electrical
current.
d. ring of material that orbits Io near a Lagrangian points in its orbit.
e. new toothpaste dispenser.
Io has an orbital period of 1.8 days and Jupiter has a mass of about 1.9 1027 kg. How far is Io from the center
of Jupiter?
a. 1.5 AU
b. 4.2 105 km
c. 7.5 1025 km
d. 7.9 103 km
e. 1.8 light days
What is the escape velocity for the surface of Titan? Titan's mass is 1.3 1023 kg and its radius is 2580 km.
a. 0.67 m/s
b. 6.7 km/s
c. 2.6 m/s
d. 2.6 km/sec
e. 6,700 km/s
True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false.
____ 26. Jupiter radiates less heat than it absorbs from the sun.
____ 27. Jupiter's interior is mostly liquid helium.
____ 28. Jupiter's intense magnetic field traps high energy particles from the solar wind and forms a radiation belt
around the planet.
____ 29. Both Jupiter and Saturn contain liquid metallic hydrogen.
____ 30. Jupiter's ring is composed of icy particles.
____ 31. Saturn's belts and zones are obscured by haze high in its atmosphere.
____ 32. Saturn's rings are composed of icy particles.
____ 33. The spokes in Saturn's rings are maintained by differential rotation.
____ 34. Shepherd satellites keep the F ring narrow.
____ 35. Satellites that lack craters are generally old, inactive bodies.
CHAPTER 23
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
ANS: E
ANS: C
ANS: C
ANS: A
ANS: C
ANS: C
ANS: D
ANS: B
ANS: E
ANS: A
ANS: E
ANS: B
ANS: D
ANS: A
ANS: E
ANS: B
ANS: B
ANS: A
ANS: C
ANS: A
ANS: D
ANS: E
ANS: C
ANS: B
Note to the Instructor: This question requires the use of mathematics and is similar to the problems at the end
of the chapter.The value of the gravitational constant may need to be provided for these problems.
G = 6.67 10-11 Ntm2/kg2.
25. ANS: D
Note to the Instructor: This question requires the use of mathematics and is similar to the problems at the end
of the chapter.The value of the gravitational constant may need to be provided for these problems.
G = 6.67 10-11 Ntm2/kg2.
TRUE/FALSE
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
F
F
T
T
F
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
T
F
F
T
F