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Astronomy 101, Exam #4
Name___________________________________________________________________
No notes, No books; You can use calculators. Pick the best answer for each question.
Constants that you may need to know:
c = 3 x 108 m/s
1 AU = 1.49 ×1011 meters
1 light year = 9.46 × 1015 meters
h = 6.626 x 10-34 J●s
G = 6.67 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2
g = 9.8 m/s2
σ = 5.67 x 10-8 W m-2 K-4
mass of Earth = 5.97 × 1024 kg
mass of Moon = 7.35 x 1022 kg
radius of Earth = 6.38 × 106 m
1 nm = 1 x 10-9 meters
mass of Sun = 1.99 x 1030 kg
mass of Jupiter = 1.90 x 1027 kg
radius of Jupiter = 7.15 × 107 m
radius of Moon = 1.74 × 106 m
1) Put the terrestrial planets in order from lowest average surface temperature to
highest average surface temperature.
Lowest  Highest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
2) Put the terrestrial planets in order from least cratered on average to most heavily
cratered on average. The numbers of craters on average refers to the total
number of craters on the surface divided by the total area of the surface.
Least  Heaviest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
3) Put the terrestrial planets in order from smallest mass to largest mass.
Smallest  Largest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
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4) Put the terrestrial planets in order from smallest diameter to largest diameter.
Smallest  Largest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
5) Put the terrestrial planets in order from lowest atmospheric surface pressure to
highest atmospheric surface pressure.
Lowest  Highest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
6) Put the terrestrial planets in order from closest to the Sun to farthest from the
Sun.
Closest  Farthest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury
Mars, Earth, Mercury, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth
7) Which is a true statement about Phoenix?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Phoenix did not return any data back to Earth
Phoenix dug trenches to look for evidence of water ice
Phoenix was a rover
Phoenix was the first spacecraft launched by the European Space
Agency to land on Mars
E) Phoenix was launched by Russia
8) What is the RAT used for on the Mars Rovers?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
To measure the abundance of CO2 in the atmosphere
To count the number of craters on the surface
To grind into the interior of rocks
To determine the elevation of features on Mars
To measure the abundances of water on Mars
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
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9) If liquid water was placed on the top of Olympus Mons, the liquid water over
time would …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Stay as liquid water
Turn into ice
Evaporate into the atmosphere
Form hematite
Form sulfates
10) A runaway greenhouse effect …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Increases the number of craters on a surface
Raises the temperature of a surface
Lowers the temperature of a surface
Increases the number of volcanoes on a surface
Increases the number of channels on a surface
11) What is a difference between the Northern and Southern hemispheres on Mars?
A) The Northern hemisphere tends to have many more craters than the
Southern hemisphere
B) The Northern hemisphere tends to have less craters than the Southern
hemisphere
C) The Northern hemisphere tends to have higher elevations than the
Southern hemisphere
D) The Northern hemisphere tends to have a stronger magnetic field than
the Southern hemisphere
E) The Northern hemisphere tends to have a taller mountains than the
Southern hemisphere
12) What elements does the mineral hematite contain?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Sulfur and oxygen
Sodium and potassium
Iron and silicon
Iron and oxygen
Iron and nitrogen
13) Why is Venus called Earth’s “sister planet”?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Venus and Earth have approximately the same diameter
Venus and Earth have similar atmospheric compositions
Venus and Earth both have life on the surface
Venus and Earth both have similar types of hurricanes
Venus and Earth both have one moon
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
14) Which of these is a rover that has studied the surface of Mars?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Phoenix
Venera 9
Viking 2
Opportunity
Beagle 2
15) The significance of finding hematite on Mars is that …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Hematite is formed during impacts of asteroids and comets
Hematite is produced by ancient lifeforms
Hematite can be formed in the presence of water
Hematite needs a magnetic field to form
Hematite is always found with sulfates on Earth
16) Hellas Basin is evidence that …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
An ancient ocean existed on the surface of Mars
Volcanic activity occurred on the surface of Mars
Life existed on Mars
Water existed on Mars
Impacts occurred on Mars
17) Which is the correct order of three of the terrestrial planets from smallest
number of moons to largest number of moons?
smallest  largest
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Venus, Mars, Earth
Earth, Mars, Venus
Mars, Earth, Mercury
Mercury, Earth, Venus
Mercury, Earth, Mars
18) Oxidation of iron minerals on the surface of Mars causes Mars’ surface to
appear …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
yellowish
blueish
violet
greenish
reddish
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Astronomy 101, Exam #4
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19) Which lander or rover landed closest to the Martian North Pole?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Viking 1
Phoenix
Spirit
Opportunity
Mars Pathfinder
20) Which is not true about Habitable Zones?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Earth is in our Solar System’s Habitable Zone
Mercury is in our Solar System’s Habitable Zone
Planets in the Habitable Zone could potentially have liquid water on their surfaces
A star larger than our Sun will have a larger Habitable Zone
A star smaller than our Sun will have a smaller Habitable Zone
21) Which is the primary reason why scientists think some meteorites originate on
Mars?
A) Martian meteorites contain olivine
B) Glasses in Martian meteorites have gases whose abundances match the
abundances of gases determined for the Martian atmosphere
C) Martian meteorites have ages older than the Solar System
D) Martian meteorites usually contain 10% water and most meteorites have a
much lower abundance of water
E) Spacecraft have retrieved samples from Mars and these Martian samples
can be directly compared to Martian meteorites
22) Which country or countries have sent spacecraft or spacecrafts to Mars and used
these spacecraft or spacecrafts to return samples of Mars back to Earth?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
No country has used a spacecraft to return samples directly from Mars
Just the United States
Just the Soviet Union
Just China
Just the United States and the Soviet Union
23) Shergotty and ALH 84001 are meteorites that are thought to be samples of …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Jupiter
Mars
Mercury
Phobos
Venus
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
24) What is the most probable reason why Mars’ magnetic field is weaker than
Earth’s?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Earth has more water
Earth has less hematite
Earth has less sulfates
Earth has less Moons
Mars’ core is solid
25) Which two spacecrafts or landers had the primary goal of studying Venus?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Venera 9 and Magellan
Mariner 10 and Viking 1
Messenger and Viking 2
Galileo and Viking 2
Voyager 1 and Mariner 10
26) What has destroyed many of the craters that presumably formed on Venus’
surface?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The high atmospheric pressure
Volcanic activity
Erosion by water
Erosion by ice
The magnetic field of Venus
27) Olympus Mons is a volcanic feature on what planet?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Earth
Deimos
28) Which spacecrafts have taken images of Mercury’s surface?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Viking 1 and Messenger
Viking 2 and Messenger
Magellan and Messenger
Messenger and Mariner 10
Beagle 2 and Mariner 10
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Astronomy 101, Exam #4
29) Mars’ North Pole is composed primarily of …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Carbon dioxide with a coating of frozen nitrogen
Water ice with a coating of carbon dioxide
Carbon monoxide with a coating of frozen argon
Frozen nitrogen with a coating of frozen lithium
Hematite with a coating of sulfates
30) Which is not a characteristic of life?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Growth
Metabolism
Radioactivity
Reproduction
Motion
31) Noachian, Hesperian, and Amazonian are all ..
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Geologic eras on Earth
Volcanic features on Venus
Geologic features on Mercury
Geologic epochs on Mars
Geologic periods on Venus
32) Scientists find evidence for significant amounts of hydrogen underneath the
surface of Mars. What do most scientists think that this evidence indicates?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
That there are substantial amounts of hematite beneath the surface
That there are substantial amounts of water ice underneath the surface
That there are substantial amounts of sulfates underneath the surface
That there are substantial amounts of percholates underneath the surface
That there are substantial amounts of hydrochloric acid beneath the surface
33) Mars’ atmosphere has a composition most similar to …
A) Earth
B) Jupiter
C) Mercury
D) The Moon
E) Venus
D
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
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34) What is the primary reason why the largest volcano on Mars is much larger than
the largest volcano on Earth?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Mars has a less dense atmosphere
Mars has many more impact craters
Mars doesn’t seem to have plate tectonics
Mars has a weaker magnetic field
Mars has a much colder interior
35) The Beagle 2 is a lander …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
That landed on Mars in 1976 but is not currently functioning
That landed on Mars in 1997 but is not currently functioning
That landed Mars in 2004 and is currently functioning
That crashed on the surface of Mars
That is currently getting readied to launch to Mars in the future
36) The Mars Science Laboratory is a rover …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
That landed on Mars in 1976 but is not currently functioning
That landed on Mars in 1997 but is not currently functioning
That landed Mars in 2004 and is currently functioning
That crashed on the surface of Mars
That is currently getting readied to launch to Mars in the future
37) What is the primary reason why liquid water is not stable on the surface of
Venus?
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
The atmospheric pressure is too low
Liquid water will react with hematite on the surface of Venus
The surface temperature is too high
Liquid water will react with sulfates on the surface of Venus
The atmosphere is too CO2-poor
Astronomy 101, Exam #4
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38) What is the primary advantage of a rover investigating the interior of a crater on
Mars?
A) Craters allows the rover to function year-round and not have to hibernate
during the Martian winter
B) Craters allow you to study the core of Mars
C) Craters always have a high concentration of hematite
D) Craters are formed by active volcanoes
E) Craters allow the rover to study layers of rock that were deposited at
different times
39) Caloris Basin was thought to have been formed by …
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
Large volcano
An ocean
An earthquake
An asteroid impact
A magnetic field
40) The significance of finding salts on Mars is that …
A) Salts are formed primarily during asteroid impacts
B) Salts are the primary constituents of Martian meteorites and are evidence
that these meteorites originated on Mars
C) Salt could be evidence of water that was originally there and evaporated
D) Salts needs a magnetic field to form
E) Salts indicate that life had to have been present