NAME:_________________________________________________ 7/21/1995 Astronomy 212 Hour Examination Instructions: Write the letter of the correct answer in the blank space at the left of each item. 1. The most abundant molecule in the atmosphere of Earth: A. carbon dioxide B. oxygen C. nitrogen D. water E. sulfuric acid 2. The most abundant molecule in the atmospheres of both Venus and Mars: A. carbon dioxide B. oxygen C. nitrogen D. water E. sulfuric acid 3. The rocks called "stromatolites" are thought to be fossils of these: A. cabbages B. dinosaur feces C. sea weeds D. bacteria colonies E. matresses 4. In the Gaia Hypothesis movie, Lynn Margulis calls this as "bizarre" as a bicycle or personal computer would be if discovered on Mars: A. Mercury's orbit B. the clouds of Venus C. Earth's atmosphere D. plate tectonics E. life's diversity on Earth 5. Much of the _______ that dominated Earth's early atmosphere has been converted to limestone by living organisms. A. water B. argon C. hydrogen D. oxygen E. carbon dioxide 6. It is circulation of the air in the _______ that causes lower temperatures at higher altitudes. A. aesthenosphere B. troposphere C. corona D. stratosphere E. mantle 7. At a given temperature, the lighter molecules in a planet's atmosphere _______, which allows them to escape more easily. A. oxidize B. move faster C. osculate D. dissociate E. evaporate 8. The greater the _______ of a planet, the more easily it can retain an atmosphere. A. gravity B. density C. temperature D. pressure E. magnetic field 9. The atmosphere of Mars is about _____ times less dense than the atmosphere of Earth. A. 10 B. 100 C. 1000 D. a million E. a billion 10. This planet has virtually no atmosphere: A. Mercury B. Mars C. Venus D. Saturn E. Jupiter 11. Every time Mercury orbits the Sun, it rotates on its axis _____ times. A. 1.5 B. 3 C. 5 D. 12 E. 25 12. This is the lightest molecule found in planetary atmospheres: A. helium B. carbon C. oxygen D. iron E. hydrogen 13. The preferential scattering of the short wavelengths in sunlight by its atmosphere is responsible for the color of this planet: A. Venus B. Mercury C. Earth D. Mars E. Pluto 14. The iron oxides in its soil are responsible for the color of this planet: A. Venus B. Mercury C. Earth D. Mars E. Pluto 15. The very center of the Earth is composed of this: A. solid iron-nickle alloy B. liquid iron-nickle alloy C. oxides of Mg and Fe D. oxides of Si & Al E. hot rocks 16. The region between the Earth's crust and its core is an 800-mile- thick layer composed primarily of this: A. solid iron-nickle alloy B. liquid iron-nickle alloy C. oxides of Mg and Fe D. oxides of Si & Al E. hot rocks 17. Earth and ______ are the only planets of the inner solar system with significant magnetic fields: A. Moon B. Venus C. Mars D. Mercury E. Ceres 18. Mercury has the _____ of all the planets. A. most elongated orbit B. most rapid rotation C. highest mountain D. highest surface temperature E. highest density 19. Venus has the _______ of all the terrestrial planets. A. most elongated orbit B. most rapid rotation C. highest mountain D. highest surface temperature E. highest density 20. Mariner 10 instruments discovered a very thin "atmosphere" of ______ on Mercury. A. CO2 B. Helium C. Lithium D. Nitrogen E. Hydrogen 21. The largest crater on Mercury has this name: A. Olympus B. Elysia C. Alpha Regio D. Caloris E. Ceres 22. We have a few closeup pictures of the rocky surface of Venus thanks to this program of space exploration: A. Galileo B. Venera C. Magellan D. Pioneer E. Viking 23. One result of the Pioneer Venus 1 & 2 missions was the discovery that the _____ effect isn't the complete explanation for the high temperatures on the surface of Venus, although it certainly is a major factor. A. greenhouse B. caloric C. metabolism D. Jupiter E. Uranus 24. It isn't certain why, but the rotation of Venus on it's axis is precisely correlated with this: A. its perihelion passages B. sunspot activity C. Jupiter's motion D. its passages near Earth E. lunar cycles 25. The length of a siderial day on Venus is 243 Earth days, and the length of a solar day on Venus is about _____ Earth days. A. 25 B. 7 C. 250 D. 117 E. 4 26. The upper atmosphere of Venus rotates once every _____ days. A. 25 B. 7 C. 250 D. 117 E. 4 27. The surface temperature at night (i.e. on the dark side) on Venus is ______ that on the bright side. A. nearly as hot as B. much cooler than C. a little hotter than D. much hotter than E. The answer depends on the season of the year. 28. The infrared measurements by one of the Pioneer Venus probes required an expensive window made of ______, which turns out to be transparent in the infrared. A. rock salt B. graphite C. bismuth D. diamond E. mica 29. We know the composition of the surface of Venus because of this ] space program: A. Pioneer B. Mariner C. Viking D. Apollo E. Venera 30. On Venus, there is lightning, thunder and rain made of _____, but the raindrops vaporize before ever reaching the surface. A. liquid CO2 B. sulfur C. sulfuric acid D. ammonia E. liquid nitrogen 31. Whether a planet can retain an atmosphere or not is determined largely by its gravity and its ________. A. topography B. temperature C. rotation rate D. surface composition E. history of meteor impacts 32. A recent theory is that the _______ of Mercury is (are) the result of a large collision, which caused it to break apart and reassemble itself from the larger fragments. A. liquid iron core B. cratered surface C. volcanoes D. white color E. albedo 33. In the Heaven and Hell movie, Carl Sagan says this was witnessed by Canterbury monks in 1178: A. Halley's Comet B. a supernova C. an impact explosion on the Moon D. a solar eclipse E. the Tunguska Event 34. In 1950 the psychiatrist Emmanuel Velikovsky published a popular book in which he claimed that Venus started out as a _______ only a few thousand years ago. A. captured star B. comet C. planet more like Earth D. ring around the Sun E. figment of the imagination 35. The first astronomer to observe Venus through a telescope: A. Galileo B. Percival Lowell C. Carl Sagan D. Johannes Kepler E. Rush Limbaugh 36. The simulated flight over features of the surface of Venus viewed in class was produced by computer processing of data from the ______ radar mapping program. A. Pioneer B. Mariner 10 C. Viking D. Magellan E. Venera 37. The bright areas visible in the above simulated flights over the Venus surface were regions of high radar reflectivity, caused by ________, inclination or composition. A. high temperature B. sandy soil C. moisture D. low temperature E. surface roughness 38. Because Venus has no magnetic field, its atmosphere is exposed directly to ______, and it has nothing like Earth's Van Allen belts. A. ultraviolet radiation B. infrared rays C. x-rays D. the solar wind E. meteor impact 39. Venus has the _______ orbit around the Sun of all planets the inner solar system. A. most elongated B. most circular C. closest D. slowest E. fastest 40. In the Earth's stratosphere, the ______ increases with increasing altitude. A. density B. moisture C. temperature D. pressure E. ergodicity