Question 1
Question
As the universe cooled shortly after the Big Bang, which was the first fundamental force to separate itself out from the others?
Answer
-
Electromagnetism
-
Gravity
-
The nuclear force
-
The strong force
-
The weak force
Question 2
Question
The ability for one generation to pass on its characteristics to future generations is known as:
Answer
-
Luck
-
Mutations
-
Heredity
-
Self-replication
-
Duplication
Question 3
Question
Which of the following Solar Systems objects is NOT a good candidate for future searches for life?
Answer
-
Mars, because it once had liquid water on the surface
-
Jupiter's moon Europa, because it appears to have liquid water under its frozen surface
-
Saturn's moon Titan, because it has an atmosphere containing many organic molecules
-
Pluto, because a large portion of it is made of water ice.
-
Saturn's moon Enceladus, because its cryovolcanoes indicate that it has liquid water under the surface
Question 4
Question
Why was a comet impact 65 million years ago a chance happening that benefited the evolution of humans?
Answer
-
It deposited a significant amount of nitrogen into the Earth's atmosphere
-
It led to an increase in global UV radiation, which killed off most of the forests and jungles
-
Mammals got an evolutionary boost
-
Plant life began to decline
-
It brought human DNA to Earth
Question 5
Question
In 1952, chemists Harold Urey and Stanley Miller mixed ammonia, methane, and hydrogen; in a closed container; zapped it with electrical sparks and found that:
Answer
-
They could induce cold fusion to occur
-
They could not induce any amino acids to form
-
Single-celled microorganisms had been spontaneously created
-
They had created many of the amino acids contained in DNA
-
They created life in a test tube
Question 6
Question
Why could life not have existed on land any earlier than 475 million years ago?
Answer
-
The temperature was too high
-
There was too little sunlight
-
There was too little oxygen in the atmosphere
-
Earth was covered in erupting volcanoes
-
There was no land because Earth was covered in water
Question 7
Question
Which of the following is a likely source of the energy needed to create the first life of Earth?
Answer
-
Land volcanoes
-
Asteroid impacts
-
Lightning
-
Fire
-
Earthquakes
Question 8
Question
What do astronomers mean when they say that the Sun makes energy by hydrogen burning?
Answer
-
The Sun is combusting hydrogen in a fire and releasing energy
-
The Sun is fusing hydrogen into uranium and releasing energy
-
The Sun is made of mostly hydrogen at very high temperature
-
The Sun is fusion hydrogen into helium and releasing energy
-
The Sun is accumulating hydrogen from the solar wind and releasing energy
Question 9
Question
When two atomic nuclei come together to form a new species of atom, this is called:
Answer
-
Nuclear fission
-
Nuclear recombination
-
Nuclear splitting
-
Nuclear fusion
-
Ionization
Question 10
Question
If the core of the Sun were hotter than it is now, how would the Sun's energy production change?
Answer
-
It would produce less energy per second than it does now
-
It would produce more energy per second than it does now
-
Its energy production would vary more than it does now
-
Its energy production would be more stable than it is now
-
The Sun's energy production would not change.
Question 11
Question
The energy that fuels the Sun is generated:
Question 12
Question
The detection of solar neutrinos confirms that:
Answer
-
The Sun's core is powered by proton-proton fusion
-
Energy transport by radiation occurs throughout much of the solar interior
-
Magnetic fields are responsible for surface activity on the Sun
-
Convection churns the base of the solar atmosphere
-
Sunspots are cooler than the rest of the photosphere
Question 13
Question
Sunspots appear dark because they have _____ then the surrounding gas.
Answer
-
Higher densities
-
Lower densities
-
Higher pressures
-
Lower temperatures
-
Higher temperatures
Question 14
Question
Which of the following are created by solar magnetic activity?
Answer
-
Sunspots
-
Prominences
-
Coronal mass ejections
-
Solar flares
-
All of the above
Question 15
Question
The darkest part of a sunspots is called the:
Answer
-
Penumbra
-
Umbra
-
Granule
-
Photosphere
-
Magnetic field
Question 16
Question
If you observe a maximum number of sunspots right now, how long would you have to wait to see the next solar maximum?
Answer
-
24 hours
-
6 months
-
1 year
-
11 years
-
22 years
Question 17
Question
Most asteroids are located between the orbits of:
Question 18
Question
The mass of all the known asteroids combined is approximately equal to:
Question 19
Question
Most asteroids are closest in shape to:
Answer
-
A potato
-
A banana
-
A hot dog
-
A stick
-
A baseball
Question 20
Question
The one orbital characteristic both short- and long-period comets share is:
Question 21
Question
Comet Halley is unique because:
Answer
-
It was the first comet whose return was predicted
-
It is a member of the Jovian family, but has a retrograde orbit
-
Its period is less than a human lifetime
-
It was successfully visited by a spacecraft
-
It was the brightest comet ever observed by humans
Question 22
Question
A large meteor shower will often occur once a year because:
Answer
-
Earth typically has one large volcanic eruption every year
-
The Earth's orbit passes through the Apollo asteroid belt
-
The comet-keeper has a good calendar
-
Jupiter routinely disturbs the orbits of asteroids in the Jovian belt
-
The Earth passes through the debris left behind by a specific comet
Question 23
Question
In the early universe, when the Solar System had yet to be cleared of the debris out of which it formed, which type of object would have been most likely to deposit water onto Earth's surface?
Answer
-
Comets
-
Asteroids
-
A Mars-sized protoplanet
-
A rogue moon
-
A monsoon
Question 24
Question
Meteor showers appear as if they are coming from one particular place in the sky because:
Answer
-
That is the direction in which the comet is coming toward us
-
That is the direction in which the comet is moving away from us
-
That is the direction toward which Earth is traveling
-
That is the direction Earth just passed
-
That is the location in the sky from which the meteors originate
Question 25
Question
Hydrostatic equilibrium is a balance between:
Answer
-
Heat and centrifugal force
-
Core temperature and surface temperature
-
Pressure and gravity
-
Radiation and heat
-
Centrifugal force gravity
Question 26
Question
The majority of the Sun's energy comes from:
Answer
-
Gravitational contraction
-
Nuclear fission of uranium
-
Hydrogen fusion
-
Helium burning
-
Burning material as in a fire
Question 27
Question
Jupiter and Saturn are composed primarily of:
Answer
-
Hydrogen
-
Helium
-
Water
-
Ammonia
-
Carbon
Question 28
Question
Which planet received the least amount of energy from the Sun?
Answer
-
Jupiter
-
Earth
-
Neptune
-
Saturn
-
Uranus
Question 29
Question
Which of these observations would allow you to measure the mass of a planet?
Answer
-
The planet's orbital period
-
The planet's rotational period
-
The planet's distance from the Sun
-
The orbit of one of that planet's moons
-
The planet's blood pressure
Question 30
Question
Which of the giant planets was predicted to exist mathematically before it was ever seen through a telescope?
Answer
-
Jupiter
-
Saturn
-
Uranus
-
Neptune
Question 31
Question
How is the atmosphere of Saturn similar to the atmosphere of Earth?
Answer
-
They are both made of mostly hydrogen and helium
-
They both create magnetic fields
-
They both have jet streams and periods of stormy and calm weather
-
They both rotate in less than 11 hours
-
They both have a seamless transition between gas and liquid
Question 32
Question
The Great Red Spot, Jupiter's most prominent storm system, has a diameter that is _____ times the Earth's diameter.
Question 33
Question
Why aren't all clouds on Jupiter white, like on Earth?
Answer
-
Jupiter's clouds are made of methane
-
Jupiter's clouds are made of carbon dioxide
-
There are chemical impurities in the ice crystals in Jupiter's clouds
-
The Sun is not as bright when views from Jupiter compared to what it looks like from Earth
-
For the same reason that we see colors in rainbows on Earth
Question 34
Question
Uranus and Neptune are bluish green in color because they contain large amounts of:
Answer
-
Ammonia
-
Methane
-
Water vapor
-
Hydrocarbons
-
Oxygen
Question 35
Question
We refer to some of the inner regions of Jupiter and Saturn as metallic hydrogen because they:
Answer
-
Are as dense as lead
-
Are solid
-
Provide support for the upper layers of hydrogen and helium
-
Efficiently conduct electricity
-
Are found in the core like iron is found at the core of the Earth
Question 36
Question
Who first discovered moons around a planet in our Solar System other than the Earth?
Answer
-
Newton
-
Kepler
-
Galileo
-
Huygens
-
Einstein
Question 37
Question
Which property of a moon might lead you to believe it was a captured asteroid?
Answer
-
It is tidally locked
-
Its orbital axis is tilted by 5 degrees compared to the planet's rotational axis
-
It rotates in the opposite direction than its planet rotates
-
Its surface is very smooth and lacks craters
-
It is roughly the size of Earth's moon
Question 38
Question
Assume that we discover a new moon of Jupiter. It orbits Jupiter at a large distance and in the opposite direction that Jupiter rotates. It is much smaller than than most of Jupiter's other moons and has a density close to that of Earth rocks. Therefore, this moon is most likely:
Answer
-
A regular moon that formed with Jupiter in the early solar system
-
An irregular moon that is most likely a captured asteroid
-
An irregular moon that is most likely a captured comet
-
An irregular moon that is most likely a protoplanet which collided with Jupiter in the early solar system and then was caught in orbit by Jupiter's gravity
-
More information is needed before any conclusion can be made
Question 39
Question
Which of the following can be used as an indicator of the age of a moon's surface
Answer
-
Color of the surface
-
Crater density
-
Volcanic activity
-
Radioactive dating
-
All of the above
Question 40
Question
Io has the most volcanic activity in the Solar System because:
Answer
-
It is continually being bombarded with material in Saturn's E ring
-
It is one of the largest moons and its interior is heated by radioactive decays
-
Of gravitational friction caused by the moon Enceladus
-
Its interior is tidally heated as it orbits around Jupiter
-
The ice on the surface creates a large pressure on the water below
Question 41
Question
Titan is high-priority candidate for the search for life outside Earth primarily because it has:
Question 42
Question
Which of the following moons do scientists believe most closely represents the primordial Earth, although at a much lower temperature?
Answer
-
Titan
-
Europa
-
Callisto
-
Io
-
Ganymede
Question 43
Question
Two years after first being observed, astronomers reported that Saturn's rings vanished. What happened to them?
Answer
-
The old ring system dissipated, and since then a new one has formed
-
The orbital plane of the rings was seen edge-on, and the rings were too thin to be visible
-
Most telescopes used hundreds of years ago couldn't adequately resolve the ring system
-
Astronomers were looking at the wrong planet, leading to the chance discovery of Uranus
-
They were stolen by the wicked witch of the east
Question 44
Question
Which of the giant planets does NOT have rings?
Question 45
Question
Extremophiles on Earth have been found:
Answer
-
In the scalding waters of Yellowstone's hot springs
-
In the bone-dry oxidizing environment of Chile's Atacama Desert
-
In the Dead Sea
-
The deep subsurface ice of the Antarctic ice sheet
-
All of the above
Question 46
Question
Pluto has a density that is roughly equal to two times that of:
Answer
-
A feather
-
Water
-
Lead
-
A rock
-
Air
Question 47
Question
Why is hydrogen burning the main energy source for main-sequence stars?
Answer
-
Hydrogen is the most common element in stars
-
Hydrogen nuclei have the smallest positive charge
-
Hydrogen burning is the most efficient of all fusion or fission reations
-
Hydrogen can fuse at temperatures lower than other elements
-
All the above are valid reasons
Question 48
Question
When astronomers refer to "heavy elements," which elements are they talking about?
Answer
-
All elements
-
All elements more massive than hydrogen
-
All elements more massive than helium
-
All elements more massive than carbon
-
All elements more massive than iron