Unit 10 Quiz Outer Solar System Planets Circle the ONE most comprehensive response - ON THE ANSWER SHEET. Turn in only the answer sheet. 1. What is thought to lie at the center of both Jupiter and Saturn? a. Around 10 earth mass of material that once had a comet-like composition. b. A sea of of super-hot liquid hydrogen. c. Gaseous hydrogen and helium, as is found throughout the entire planet. d. An icy core with a mass of about one earth mass. 2. Which of the following played the most important role in Saturn’s ring formation? a. Saturn’s differential rotation. b. Saturn’s largest moon. c. Saturn’s large spin rate. d. Saturn’s Roche limit. 3. How is the Roche limit defined? a. The maximum density that a body can have, depending on its composition. b. The critical distance from a planet, inside of which a moon can be tidally destroyed. c. The maximum distance from a planet that a moon can be and still experience synchronous rotation. d. The maximum mass a moon can have and still be classified as a moon. 4. The atmosphere of Titan is composed mostly of a. Methane. b. Carbon dioxide. c. Nitrogen. d. Hydrogen. 5. Shepherd satellites are defined as: a. Moons that orbit inside the system of rings. b. A type of moon that orbits another moon. c. Moons that follow the exact orbit of another, larger, moon. d. Moons that confine a narrow ring. 6. What are Saturn’s rings? a. Small icy particles (from dust size to a few meters) moving in orbit around Saturn. b. Large rocky boulders (100 km or more) moving in orbit around Saturn. c. A great disk of liquid helium. d. A solid thin disc of material encircling Saturn, with dark dust lanes 7. Titan is an interesting moon because: a. Beneath its clouds, Titan may be Earth-like, with an oxygen/nitrogen lower atmosphere. b. It is known to have active ice volcanism on its surface. c. It has a rich atmosphere that may resemble that of early Earth. d. All of the above 8. Which of the following is true concerning the Cassini mission? a. The satellite began orbiting Saturn in 2004 to study its rings & moons, and dispatched a probe to study Titan's atmosphere and surface. b. The satellite is studying all the outer planets from 2004-2008 and will investigate Pluto and its moon. c. The satellite flew by and photographed the outer planets and is now headed out of the solar system. d. None of the above 9. Jupiter is noticeably oblate (larger at the equator than pole-to-pole) because a. it has a strong magnetic field. b. it has such powerful gravity. c. it rotates rapidly. d. it undergoes a gravitational attraction from each of its various moons. e. Nonsense - Jupiter is spherical. 10. What is the source of Jupiter’s excess energy? a. The decay of radioactive elements. b. Helium rain falling through its interior. c. Nuclear fusion. d. The slow escape of gravitational energy released during the planet’s formation. e. Actually, Jupiter does not exhibit excess energy. 11. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the Galileo mission? a. The satellite’s power supply is a radioactive plutonium heat source. b. The satellite released a probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere to study atmospheric turbulence and conditions. c. The satellite is the first to orbit an outer Jovian planet. d. The satellite has carefully studied Jupiter’s Galilean moons on its dozens of orbits around Jupiter. e. The satellite is flying around Saturn and Jupiter to study all the moons of both planets. 12. What is thought to be the main cause of Io’s volcanoes? a. Heating caused by orbiting in Jupiter’s strong magnetosphere. b. Heating caused by sulfur ions co-orbiting with Io (the ring current). c. Heating due to tidal stresses from Jupiter and Europa. d. Heating from radioactive decay in Io’s interior. 13. Which Galilean moon has a surface composed mostly of frozen water, with very few craters? a. Europa b. Io c. Ganymede d. Callisto 14. The bands of Jupiter and Saturn, their oval storm systems, and their turbulent flow patterns are powered by: a. The Greenhouse effect. b. A liquid hydrogen interior. c. Intense magnetic fields similar to those we observe on the Sun. d. Convective motion and rapid rotation. 15. The density of the Galilean moons decreases with increasing distance from Jupiter because a. the outer moons are less active geologically, resulting in no mass loss. b. the outermost moons differentiated less than the inner moons. c. the inner moons formed in a higher temperature region than the outer moons. d. the inner moons formed in a region of higher magnetic field than did the outer moons. e. Nonsense - all the moons have about the same composition and material density. 16. Jupiter and Saturn both have extensive magnetospheres and strong magnetic fields because a. they spin fast and have a rocky core that is a good electrical conductor. b. they spin fast and have a large region of liquid metallic hydrogen that is a good electrical conductor. c. they have ionized clouds in an atmosphere that has high winds, and these moving charged particles create a strong field. d. the bigger a planet is, the larger its magnetic field regardless of interior structure or spin rate. 17. The outer Jovian planets have a bluish tint because: a. They are far away and distance makes objects appear bluish. b. They are cold enough that their atmospheres contain methane. c. The atmospheres contain atomic hydrogen and helium. d. The ices in their atmospheres appear bluish upon reflection of sunlight. 18. Which of the following is true about the seasons on Uranus? a. The seasons on Uranus are not unlike those on Earth or Mars. b. From Uranus’ equator, the Sun would appear to pass overhead every day of Uranus’ year. c. Uranus’ rotation axis produces some extreme and unique seasonal effects. d. Uranus does not have seasons. 19. Of the Jovian planets, which does not have an internal source of excess energy? a. Uranus b. Neptune c. Jupiter d. Saturn e. Actually, none of the Jovian planets exhibit any excess energy. 20. What is thought to lie at the center of both Uranus and Neptune? a. A hot liquid sea of hydrogen. b. A massive core of rocky material larger than Earth. c. Gaseous hydrogen and helium, as is found throughout the entire planet. d. Hydrogen fusing into helium.