Question 1

Why are Saturn's rings so thin?

Accepted Answer

A)  Saturn's gravity prevents particles from migrating upwards out of the rings.
B)  The current thinness is a short- lived phenomenon that is special to this time.
C)  Any particle in the ring with an orbital tilt would collide with other ring particles, flattening its orbit.
D)  Solar radiation pressure keeps particles pressed into the rings.
E)  The "gap" moons shepherd the particles and maintain its thin profile.

Question 2

Use these choices for the following questions.
-Which of the above applies to Titan?

Accepted Answer

A)  the most volcanically active body in the solar system
B)  thought to have a deep, subsurface ocean of liquid water
C)  probably a captured Kuiper Belt object
D)  the target of the Huygens probe, which landed on its surface.
E)  the largest moon in the solar system

Question 3

The water- ice particles forming Saturn's rings are frozen together into a thin sheet that rotates around Saturn like a solid body.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

What atmospheric constituent is responsible for the blue color of Uranus and Neptune?

Accepted Answer

A)  methane
B)  ammonia
C)  hydrogen
D)  water

Question 5

How do the size and mass of Jupiter's core compare to the size and mass of Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is about 10 times larger in size and the same mass.
B)  It is the same size and mass.
C)  It is about 10 times larger both in size and mass.
D)  It is about the same size but is 10 times more massive.
E)  Jupiter doesn't have a core-it is made entirely from hydrogen and helium.

Question 6

Which statement about Saturn's rings is not true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Some features of the rings are shaped by small moons that actually orbit within the ring system.
B)  The large gap known as the Cassini Division is shaped by an orbital resonance with the moon Mimas, which orbits well outside the rings.
C)  The rings must look much the same today as they did shortly after Saturn formed.
D)  The rings are so thin that they essentially disappear from view when seen edge- on.

Question 7

The Galileo spacecraft dropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere that survived 200 km, or 0.3% of Jupiter's radius. Which is the deepest layer that this probe was able to directly sample?

Accepted Answer

A)  metallic hydrogen layer
B)  gaseous hydrogen layer
C)  liquid hydrogen layer
D)  rocky core

Question 8

Explain how the resonance among Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes their orbits slightly elliptical.

Accepted Answer

For every orbit that Ganymede completes ...

Question 9

If Jupiter were 10 times more massive, it would actually have a smaller radius.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Which of the following gases is not a significant ingredient of the jovian planet atmospheres?

Accepted Answer

A)  water
B)  hydrogen
C)  helium
D)  carbon dioxide

Question 11

Which of the jovian planets has/have rings?

Accepted Answer

A)  Neptune
B)  Uranus
C)  Jupiter
D)  Saturn
E)  all of the above

Question 12

Ganymede is larger than Mercury, but it is not classified as a planet because it orbits Jupiter as opposed to the sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn?

Accepted Answer

A)  There are three different color stripes corresponding to the three different types of clouds found on these planets.
B)  The dark and light stripes correspond to alternating bands of different chemical composition.
C)  Dark stripes are those in which there is a stratosphere and light stripes are those with no stratosphere.
D)  The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker clouds.

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the composition of the particles forming Saturn's rings?

Accepted Answer

A)  volcanic rock
B)  hydrogen and helium
C)  methane ice
D)  metallic grains
E)  water ice

Question 15

Which of the following statements about the moons of the jovian planets is not true?

Accepted Answer

A)  One of the moons has a thick atmosphere.
B)  Many of the moons are made largely of ices.
C)  Some of the moons are big enough that we'd call them planets (or dwarf planets) if they orbited the Sun.
D)  Most of the moons are large enough to be spherical in shape, but a few have the more potato- like shapes of asteroids.

Question 16

Why is Neptune denser than Saturn?

Accepted Answer

A)  It has a different composition than Saturn, including a higher proportion of hydrogen compounds and rocks.
B)  The extra mass of Neptune compresses its interior to a greater extent than that of Saturn.
C)  It has a greater proportion of hydrogen than Saturn.
D)  Its hydrogen is molecular, whereas Saturn's hydrogen is atomic.
E)  It is not denser than Saturn.

Question 17

If the Jovian planets had solid surfaces, their large storms would likely dissipate faster.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

What mechanism is most responsible for generating the internal heat of Io that drives its volcanic activity?

Accepted Answer

A)  accretion
B)  tidal heating
C)  differentiation
D)  radioactive decay
E)  bombardment

Question 19

If a planet is found with a radius 5% greater than Jupiter, which is the best first estimate of that planet's mass?

Accepted Answer

A)  about 1 times Jupiter's mass
B)  about 10 times Jupiter's mass
C)  about 3 times Jupiter's mass
D)  about 0.3 times Jupiter's mass

Question 20

All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io?

Accepted Answer

A)  Io exhibits synchronous rotation, meaning that its rotation period and orbital period are the same.
B)  Io orbits Jupiter on an elliptical orbit, due to orbital resonances with other satellites.
C)  Io orbits Jupiter in the Io torus, and therefore has a surface that is bombarded by many charged particles.
D)  Io is the closest to Jupiter of Jupiter's large moons.

Exam 8: Jovian Planet System

The water- ice particles forming Saturn's rings are frozen together into a thin sheet that rotates around Saturn like a solid body.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn?

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Which statement about Saturn's rings is not true?

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What mechanism is most responsible for generating the internal heat of Io that drives its volcanic activity?

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Explain how the resonance among Io, Europa, and Ganymede makes their orbits slightly elliptical.

Correct AnswerverifiedFor every orbit that Ganymede completes ...View AnswerShow Answer

Which of the following best describes the composition of the particles forming Saturn's rings?

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How do the size and mass of Jupiter's core compare to the size and mass of Earth?

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If Jupiter were 10 times more massive, it would actually have a smaller radius.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about the moons of the jovian planets is not true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the jovian planets has/have rings?

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All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal heating that occurs on Io?

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If the Jovian planets had solid surfaces, their large storms would likely dissipate faster.

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Which of the following gases is not a significant ingredient of the jovian planet atmospheres?

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Use these choices for the following questions. -Which of the above applies to Titan?

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If a planet is found with a radius 5% greater than Jupiter, which is the best first estimate of that planet's mass?

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What atmospheric constituent is responsible for the blue color of Uranus and Neptune?

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Why are Saturn's rings so thin?

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The Galileo spacecraft dropped a probe into Jupiter's atmosphere that survived 200 km, or 0.3% of Jupiter's radius. Which is the deepest layer that this probe was able to directly sample?

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Why is Neptune denser than Saturn?

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Ganymede is larger than Mercury, but it is not classified as a planet because it orbits Jupiter as opposed to the sun.

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For every orbit that Ganymede completes ...
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