Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Our most detailed knowledge of the jovian planets comes from
A) spacecraft exploration.
B) the Hubble Space telescope.
C) ground based visual telescopes.
D) ground based radio telescopes.
E) manned missions.
Page Ref: 7.1
2) The spacecraft Cassini went into orbit around
A) Jupiter.
B) Saturn.
C) Uranus.
D) Neptune.
E) Pluto.
Page Ref: 71.
3) The Galileo mission put a spacecraft into orbit around Jupiter. Which statement is true?
A) The spacecraft crashed into the moon Europa.
B) The spacecraft used a gravity assist from both Venus and Earth.
C) A saltwater ocean was discovered on Jupiter.
D) Intense magnetic fields were discovered in the asteroid belt.
E) A probe was released which soft landed on Io.
Page Ref: 7.1
4) One of the discoveries made by the Voyager probes at Jupiter was
A) Io has a featureless surface that never changes.
B) a thin ring of dust around the equator.
C) the absence of a magnetic field around the giant planet.
D) that the Great Red Spot is uniform and featureless.
E) each of the four large moons produces a strong magnetic field.
Page Ref: 7.1
5) Which three played a role in the finding of Neptune?
A) Herschel, Hubble, and Einstein
B) Newton, Einstein, and Tombaugh
C) Adams, Leverrier, and Galle
D) Bode, Herschel, and Fraunhofer
E) Shapley, Hubble, and Whipple
Page Ref: 7.2
6) Small deviations in a planet's orbital motion
A) show we don't fully understand gravitational forces yet.
B) indicate the presence of an extensive atmosphere.
C) indicate the presence of a powerful magnetic field.
D) imply the nearby presence of a massive body.
E) show the planet's orbit isn't stable.
Page Ref: 7.2
7) Adams and Leverrier predicted the position of Neptune, based on its perturbations of
A) Jupiter.
B) the Sun.
C) Saturn's rings.
D) Uranus
E) Pluto
Page Ref: 7.2
8) Uranus was discovered
A) by Galileo
B) thousands of years ago.
C) with a radio telescope.
D) after examining perturbations in Neptune's orbit.
E) less than 250 years ago.
Page Ref: 7.2
9) At which planet can the pole remain in darkness for 42 years, then have 42 years of constant daylight?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) Pluto
Page Ref: 7.3
10) In terms of axial tilt, which of the jovians shows us the largest inclination?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) Pluto
Page Ref: 7.3
11) If you found a bathtub big enough to hold Saturn, then
A) it would precipitate helium into the tub.
B) Saturn could float.
C) Saturn would explode upon contact with water.
D) Saturn would sink like a rock, due to its denser core.
E) Saturn would drown, because it does not know how to swim.
Page Ref: 7.3
12) The planet whose pole was facing the Sun when Voyager 2 approached in 1986 was
A) Jupiter.
B) Saturn.
C) Uranus.
D) Neptune.
E) Pluto.
Page Ref: 7.3
13) Jupiter and the other jovian planets are noticeably oblate because
A) they all have strong magnetic fields that deform their shape.
B) their powerful gravity acts stronger on the closer poles than the distant equator.
C) they are fluid bodies that are spinning rapidly.
D) they are tidally distorted by the pulls for their satellite systems.
E) All of the above are correct.
Page Ref: 7.3
14) What would Jupiter have needed to be a star?
A) a larger satellite system.
B) more uranium to ignite nuclear fission chain reactions in its core
C) enough more mass to make the planet hotter.
D) a slower spin, similar to the Sun's 25 days, instead of its present 10 hours
E) a different chemical composition
Page Ref: 7.3
15) Which of these is true about the seasons of Uranus?
A) With a tilt of 29 degrees, they are not that different from our solstices and equinoxes.
B) Its strange tilt produces extreme seasonal variations, especially at the poles.
C) At the Uranian equator, the Sun would pass overhead every sixteen hours.
D) At the Uranian pole the Sun sets every 16 hours during the summer and winter.
E) There are nor season at the poles.
Page Ref: 7.3
16) The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their
A) rapid rotation.
B) strong magnetic fields.
C) ring systems.
D) large mass.
E) many moons.
Page Ref: 7.3
17) Compared to Saturn, Jupiter is about
A) half as massive and more dense.
B) three times more massive and denser.
C) 100 times more massive.
D) twice the diameter, but less dense.
E) half as dense, but the same mass since it is larger.
Page Ref: 7.3
18) Studying the magnetospheres of the jovians has allowed us to measure their
A) rotation rates.
B) orbital period.
C) orbital radius.
D) gravity.
E) ring system diameters.
Page Ref: 7.3
19) Essentially, the Great Red Spot is
A) Neptune's largest atmospheric feature.
B) a large cyclonic storm (hurricane).
C) always located within 10 degrees of Jupiter's north pole.
D) composed primarily of iron oxide.
E) traveling north and south across jupiter's face.
Page Ref: 7.4
20) Alternating zones of rising and sinking gas in Jupiter's atmosphere
A) create light and dark bands.
B) cause Jupiter's magnetic field to ripple.
C) produced the ring system discovered by Voyager.
D) generate their own magnetic fields.
E) circle the planet from pole to pole.
Page Ref: 7.4
21) The only probe into the atmospheres of any jovian planet was launched by
A) Voyager 2 into Titan's atmosphere.
B) Pathfinder into Mars' atmosphere.
C) Cassini into Saturn's clouds.
D) Galileo into Jupiter's equatorial zone.
E) Huygens into Saturn's equatorial belt.
Page Ref: 7.4
22) The two outer jovians appear bluish in color because
A) methane gas in their atmospheres absorbs red light well.
B) ammonia absorbs blue light well.
C) hydrogen and helium are both blue in large concentrations.
D) dust motes in their atmospheres scatter blue well, just as in our own blue sky.
E) from their distance, the Sun would appear hotter and bluer than from Earth.
Page Ref: 7.5
23) Which common gas is less abundant in the top of Saturn's atmosphere, compared to what we observe at Jupiter?
A) hydrogen
B) helium
C) nitrogen
D) methane
E) argon
Page Ref: 7.5
24) Why does Saturn radiate even more excess heat than Jupiter?
A) Only Saturn is still radiating heat left over from its formation.
B) Saturn's thick clouds give it a stronger greenhouse effect.
C) Helium rain falling inward generates heat as it descends.
D) Saturn's atmosphere contains much methane, which is very flammable.
E) Saturn is more massive than Jupiter, so its gravitational compression is stronger.
Page Ref: 7.5
25) Which planet had the Great Dark Spot in 1989, but had lost it by 1995?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) Pluto
Page Ref: 7.5
26) Of the Jovian planets, which generates the least internal heat?
A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune
E) Pluto
Page Ref: 7.6
27) The magnetic field tilts of which two bodies are the most unusual?
A) Mercury and Earth
B) Jupiter and Saturn
C) Uranus and Neptune
D) Saturn and Pluto
E) Mars and Saturn
Page Ref: 7.6
28) What is the source of Jupiter's intense radio waves and magnetism?
A) charged particles trapped in Jupiter's solid iron core similar to Earth
B) liquid metallic hydrogen swirling in the rapidly spinning mantle
C) the ionized sulfur ejected into a torous around Jupiter by Io
D) the auroral displays in the polar regions, just like with the earth
E) a liquid iron and nickel outer core, just like the earth's magnetic field
Page Ref: 7.6
29) Jupiter gives back into space twice the energy it gets from the distant Sun. Where is this energy coming from, for the most part?
A) the impact energy of comets like SL-9
B) helium rain descending into its mantle and core
C) the slow escape of gravitational energy left from its formation
D) the radioactive decay of U-238 in its iron-rich core, just as with the earth
E) the combined tidal stress of all four large Galilean moons
Page Ref: 7.6
30) What is true of Jupiter's magnetosphere?
A) Although its surface field is greater, since the planet is larger the total field is actually weaker than Earth's.
B) It does not trap protons and electrons, as Earth's Van Allen belts do.
C) It has a tail that extends at least to Saturn's orbit.
D) It is most extensive on the sunward side of the planet.
E) It is only slightly stronger than Saturn's.
Page Ref: 7.6
31) What is thought to lie at the center of Jupiter?
A) a hot sea of liquid metallic hydrogen
B) a solid core of crystalline helium
C) a massive core of rocky materials with some iron mixed in
D) gaseous hydrogen and helium, for Jupiter is not differentiated like Earth
E) a fusion core like the Sun's, with hydrogen being turned into helium
Page Ref: 7.6
32) Which two jovians have magnetic field tilts that are not along their rotation poles?
A) Jupiter and Saturn
B) Jupiter and Uranus
C) Saturn and Neptune
D) Uranus and Neptune
E) All jovians have magnetic fields close to their rotational axes.
Page Ref: 7.6