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MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1) The Manicouagan reservoir near Quebec is an example of A) cometary debris. B) a volcanic event. C) a micrometeorite impact. D) a large meteorite impact. E) Earth's interaction with a comet's dust tail. 2) Exoplanets known as super-Earths A) orbit extremely massive stars. B) have yet to be observed. C) have masses comparable to that of Jupiter. D) have masses comparable to that of Neptune. E) have masses 2-10 times that of Earth. 3) A meteorite is A) a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground. B) an icy body with a long tail extending from it. C) an irregularly shaped body, mostly found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. D) a streak of light in the atmosphere. E) a chunk of space debris orbiting the Earth. 4) Which of the following have an icy composition? A) most asteroids B) comets C) the surface of Mars D) meteoroids E) meteorites and most asteroids 5) Which planet by itself contains the majority of mass of all the planets? A) Saturn B) Jupiter C) Uranus D) Venus 6) If a comet's ion tail is pointing perpendicular to its direction of travel, the comet is A) close to or at aphelion. B) moving away from the Sun. C) A comet's tail never points perpendicular to its motion. D) moving closer to the Sun. E) close to or at perihelion. 7) Objects in the Kuiper belt A) lie beyond the orbit of Neptune and perpendicular to the ecliptic. B) are dense, like the iron meteorites. C) are the sources of long-period comets. D) are in random orbits at all inclinations to the ecliptic. E) lie beyond the orbit of Neptune, and close to the ecliptic. 1)

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8) Relative to the comet, the direction of the ion tail tells us A) the velocity of the comet. B) the direction of the Sun. C) where the comet came from. D) where the ecliptic is. E) the direction the comet is traveling. 9) So far, beyond the solar system the extrasolar planets found have been mostly A) large jovians very close to their star. B) terrestrials with very elongated, distant orbits like comets. C) terrestrials very close to their star, and transiting its disk. D) brown dwarfs much more massive than Jupiter. E) large jovians orbiting solar-type stars about where our jovians are found. 10) Planetary orbits A) are spaced more closely together as they get further from the Sun. B) are evenly spaced throughout the solar system. C) have the Sun at their exact center. D) are almost circular, with low eccentricities. E) are highly inclined to the ecliptic. 11) The orbits of most comets A) lie almost entirely beyond the orbit of Neptune. B) are shorter than the 76-year period for Comet Halley. C) have perihelions within the orbits of Mercury. D) are like the planets, fairly circular and in the ecliptic plane. E) go no farther out than Pluto, then return to the sun again. 12) What is true about solar system densities? A) In differentiated bodies, the denser materials lie near their surfaces. B) The asteroids all have about the same density. C) Saturn has the same density as water. D) Planetary density increases with increasing distance from the Sun. E) The denser planets lie closer to the Sun. 13) Meteor showers are A) usually annual events, as the orbits again intersect. B) caused by the Earth passing near the orbit of an Earthgrazing asteroid. C) caused by the Earth passing near the orbit of an old short-period comet. D) Both A and B are correct. E) Both A and C are correct. 14) The Trojan asteroids are found A) sixty degrees ahead or behind Jupiter, sharing its orbit about the Sun. B) with the others, between Mars and Jupiter; their red color gives them their name. C) orbiting around the Kuiper Belt body Hector. D) beyond Neptune, with orbits similar to Pluto's. E) closer on average to the Sun than is the Earth.

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15) The Oort Cloud is believed to be A) a flattened belt of cometary nuclei just beyond the orbit of Neptune. B) the great nebula found just below the belt stars of Orion. C) a grouping of asteroids and meteoroids between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. D) a spherical cloud of cometary nuclei far beyond the Kuiper Belt. E) the circular disk of gas around the Sun's equator from which the planets formed. 16) A meteor is A) a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground. B) a chunk of space debris orbiting the Earth. C) an irregularly shaped body, mostly found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. D) a streak of light in the atmosphere. E) an icy body with a long tail extending from it. 17) The jovian planets A) are all much more dense than any of the terrestrial planets. B) all lie less than 5 AU from the Sun. C) have satellite systems with less than 4 moons. D) all spin slower than the Earth. E) all have rings around their equators. 18) The Kuiper Belt is found where in the solar system? A) beyond the orbit of Neptune B) between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter C) between the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus D) among the orbits of the terrestrial planets E) sixty degrees ahead or behind Jupiter 19) Which of these bodies are most likely to break up over time? A) asteroids in the main belt B) jovian satellites C) Kuiper Belt bodies D) Trojan asteroids E) comet nuclei 20) Density is defined as A) size divided by weight. B) mass per unit volume. C) mass times weight. D) weight per square inch. E) weight divided by the planet's radius. 21) As the solar nebula contracts, it A) flattens out into the ecliptic plane around the Sun's poles. B) reverses its direction of rotation. C) loses angular momentum. D) cools due to condensation. E) spins faster due to conservation of angular momentum.

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22) Which of the following are the jovian planets? A) only Jupiter and Saturn B) everything past Mars and the asteroid belt C) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune only D) Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto E) only Jupiter 23) Which statement about asteroids is not true? A) Earthgrazers can cross not only our orbit, but even those of Venus and Mercury. B) Some have satellites of their own. C) Most stay between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. D) They vary considerably in composition, reflectivity, and size. E) Their images become blurry due to outgassing as the Sun heats them up. 24) Meteorites are important because A) some come from the Moon and Mars, as well as the asteroid belt. B) large ones may cause mass extinctions. C) they contain pristine material from the solar nebula. D) All of the above are true. E) None of the above are true. 25) Which of the following does not fall into the category of interplanetary debris? A) rings around the jovian planets. B) Kuiper Belt bodies C) meteoroids D) Trojan asteroids E) comets 26) The tail of a comet always points A) away from the Sun and disappears at perihelion. B) toward the Sun and disappears at perihelion. C) away from the Sun and becomes longest and brightest at perihelion. D) toward Earth and never varies. E) in the direction of the comet's motion. 27) Long-period comets are believed to originally come from A) the Kuiper belt. B) the Oort cloud. C) the interstellar medium. D) the satellite system of Jupiter. E) the asteroid belt.

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Answer Key Testname: A5-POST

1) D 2) E 3) A 4) B 5) B 6) E 7) E 8) B 9) A 10) D 11) A 12) E 13) E 14) A 15) D 16) D 17) E 18) A 19) E 20) B 21) E 22) C 23) E 24) D 25) A 26) C 27) B