Multiple Choice
Identify the
letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1.
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Bodies of interplanetary debris that orbit the Sun with most in the area between Mars
and Jupiter are called ____. a. | meteors | c. | asteroids | b. | comets | d. | meteorites | | | | |
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2.
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Small, icy bodies that have highly eccentric orbits and can be found in the Oort cloud
or the Kuiper belt are called ____. a. | meteors | c. | asteroids | b. | comets | d. | meteorites | | | | |
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3.
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Interplanetary material that enters the Earth's atmosphere and collides with the
ground rather than burning up is called a(n) ____. a. | meteor | c. | asteroid | b. | comet | d. | meteorite | | | | |
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4.
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The
eccentric orbit of ____ is 50 AU from the Sun at aphelion and almost 30 AU from the Sun at
perihelion. a. | Jupiter | c. | Uranus | b. | Pluto | d. | Neptune | | | | |
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5.
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What
two gas giants appear blue because of the methane in their atmosphere? a. | Jupiter and
Saturn | c. | Neptune and
Uranus | b. | Saturn and Uranus | d. | Jupiter and Neptune | | | | |
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6.
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The
result when Earth intersects a cometary orbit is a(n) ____. a. | asteroid
shower | c. | loss of
satellite communication | b. | aurora borealis | d. | meteor shower | | | | |
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7.
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What
causes the sideways push that is responsible for precession? a. | the Moon’s
gravitational force on Earth | b. | Earth’s nearly circular orbit | c. | Earth’s
distance from the Sun | d. | the Sun's gravitational force on
Earth | | |
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Matching
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Match each item with the correct statement below. a. | Kepler’s
second law | d. | Solar
nebula | b. | Law of universal gravitation | e. | Retrograde motion | c. | Interstellar
cloud | f. | Planetismals | | | | |
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8.
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Can
condense and become concentrated enough to form a star and possibly planets
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9.
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The
movement of a planet in an opposing direction across the sky
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10.
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The
disk of dust and gas that formed the Sun and planets
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11.
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An
imaginary line between the Sun and a planet that sweeps out equal amounts of area in equal amounts of
time
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12.
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The
statement that describes the relationship among the masses of two bodies and the force and distance
between them
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Match
each item with the correct statement below. a. | meteor | d. | comet | b. | interstellar cloud | e. | 1 astronomical unit | c. | belt | f. | precession | | | | |
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13.
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Earth’s
average distance from the Sun: 1.496 ´ 108 km
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14.
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The wobble
of Earth’s axis caused by the Moon’s gravitational force on Earth
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15.
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Cloud of gas
and dust from which stars and planets are formed
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16.
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Interplanetary material that burns up and becomes a bright, glowing streak of light in
Earth’s atmosphere
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17.
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Small, icy
body made of ice and rock that has a highly eccentric orbit around the Sun
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Short Answer
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18.
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Describe an ellipse and how it differs from a circle.
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19.
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Discuss the current hypothesis regarding the origin of Saturn’s ring
system.
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20.
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Which are
the gas giant planets?
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21.
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Which planet
has a reddish color caused by a high iron content?
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Possible
Present-Day Sources of Water on Mars
In recent years, the
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft observed features that suggest there may be current sources of
liquid water at or near the surface of Mars. These small features—about the size of a sport
utility vehicle—have been compared to the features left by flash floods on Earth. The features
look like gullies formed by flowing water and the deposits of soil and rock transported by these
flows.
The gully landforms on both Mars and Earth are divided into three
parts: the alcove, the channel, and the apron. The alcove is a deep channel with a collapsed region
at its upper end. At the other end is an apron, or area of accumulated debris that appears to have
been transported down the slope. The Mars gullies have been observed on cliffs and appear to be
extremely young.
The presence of liquid water on Mars has implications for the
questions of past and present life. If life did develop on Mars, and if it survives, these landforms
are the place to look for it. If water is available, human exploration crews to Mars could access and
use it. The water could be used for drinking, creating breathable air, and extracting oxygen and
hydrogen for rocket fuel.
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22.
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Why is the
presence of liquid water on Mars important? How could it help humans?
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