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THE SOLAR SYSTEM
A hydrogen and helium B carbon dioxide C methane D ammonia
- The atmosphere of Venus is composed primarily of Base your answers to questions 2 through 6 on the diagram below, which shows a portion of the solar system. A B C D
- Which graph best represents the relationship between a planet's average distance from the Sun and the time the planet takes to revolve around the Sun? A Mercury B Venus C Earth D Mars
- Which of the following planets has the lowest average density?
A elliptical, with Earth at one of the foci B elliptical, with the Sun at one of the foci C circular, with Earth at the center D circular, with the Sun at the center
- The actual orbits of the planets are A B C D
- Which scale diagram best compares the size of Earth with the size of Venus? A revolve around the Sun inside Earth's orbit B rotate more slowly than Earth does C are eclipsed by Earth's shadow D pass behind the Sun in their orbit
- Mercury and Venus are the only planets that show phases when viewed from Earth because both Mercury and Venus A one revolution of Earth around the Sun B one revolution of Venus around the Sun C one rotation of the Moon on its axis D one rotation of Venus on its axis
- Which event takes the most time? A decrease B increase C remain the same
- When the distance between the foci of an ellipse is increased, the eccentricity of the ellipse will
A Mercury B Venus C Mars D Jupiter
- The diagram below shows several planets at various positions in their orbits at a particular time. Which planet would be visible from the Earth at night for the longest period of time when the planets are in these positions? A less than 40 days B greater than 40 days C 40 days
- The diagram below shows the orbits of planets A and B in a star-planet system. The period of revolution for planet B is 40 days. The period of revolution for planet A most likely is
A 129 B 189 C 503 D 85
- Base your answer to the following question on the diagram below. This diagram shows a portion of the solar system. What is the average distance, in millions of kilometers, from the Sun to the asteroid belt? A The planets' orbits lie pretty much in the same plane. B The planets revolve around the sun in the same direction. C The Solar system revolves around the center of our galaxy. D The planets' orbits are mostly close to being circular.
- In describing a model for the origin of our solar system, which one of the following facts would not be included?
Base your answers to questions 20 and 21 on the diagram below, which represents the current locations of two planets, A and B , orbiting a star. Letter X indicates a position in the orbit of planet A. Numbers 1 through 4 indicate positions in the orbit of planet B. A Mercury B Jupiter C Earth D Mars
- If the diagram represents our solar system and planet B is Venus, which planet is represented by planet A? A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4
- As planet A moves in orbit from its current location to position X , planet B most likely moves in orbit from its current location to position
Base your answers to questions 22 and 23 on the graphs below. The graphs show the composition of the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. A Venus B Mercury C Earth D Mars
- Which planet has an atmosphere composed primarily of CO^2 and a period of rotation greater than its period of revolution? A argon (Ar) B methane (CH 4 ) C hydrogen (H^2 ) D water vapor (H^2 0)
- Which gas is present in the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars but is not present in the atmosphere of Jupiter? A Earth B Uranus C Saturn D Jupiter
- Which is the largest planet in our solar system?
A degree of tilt of the planet’s axis B distance between the planet and the Sun C planet’s period of rotation D amount of insolation given off by the Sun
- One factor responsible for the strength of gravitational attraction between a planet and the Sun is the A Constellations move within our galaxy. B Constellations have elliptical orbits. C Earth revolves around the Sun. D Earth rotates on its axis.
- Why are some constellations visible to New York State observers at midnight during April, but not visible at midnight during October? Base your answers to questions 31 and 32 on the diagrams below. The diagrams represent the events that occur when a large meteor, such as the one believed to have caused the extinction of many organisms, impacts Earth's surface. Diagram A shows the meteor just before impact. Diagram B represents the crater forming, along with the vapor and ejecta (the fragmented rock and dust) thrown into the atmosphere. A stars B asteroids C planets D moons
- Many meteors are believed to be fragments of celestial objects normally found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These objects are classified as
A Large quantities of ejecta in the atmosphere would block insolation and lower global temperatures. B An increase in vapor and ejecta would allow radiation to escape Earth's atmosphere and lower global temperatures. C Ejecta settling in thick layers would increase the absorption of insolation by Earth's surface and raise global temperatures. D Forest fires produced from the vapor and ejecta would raise global temperatures.
- Which statement best explains how global climate would most likely be affected after this large meteor impact? A B C D
- Which diagram most accurately represents the relative diameters of Earth and Mercury? A 0.22 B 0.47 C 0.68 D 1.
- The diagram below shows the elliptical orbit of a planet revolving around a star. The star and F 2 are the foci of this ellipse. What is the approximate eccentricity of this ellipse?
Base your answers to questions 38 and 39 on on the data table below, which shows information about the four largest asteroids found in our solar system. A one-fourth of the Moon’s diameter B one-half of the Moon’s diameter C twice the diameter of the Moon D four times the diameter of the Moon
- Compared to the diameter of Earth’s Moon, the diameter of Ceres is about A Venus and Earth B Earth and Mars C Mars and Jupiter D Jupiter and Saturn
- The asteroids shown in the data table are located between the orbits of A Earth’s Moon, Pluto, Mars, Mercury B Pluto, Earth’s Moon, Mercury, Mars C Mercury, Mars, Earth’s Moon, Pluto D Mars, Mercury, Pluto, Earth’s Moon
- Which list of three planets and Earth’s Moon is arranged in order of increasing equatorial diameter? A B C D
- In each diagram below, the mass of the star is the same. In which diagram is the force of gravity greatest between the star and the planet shown?
A a collision with a giant gas cloud B capturing gases from a nearby planet C vaporizing comets that impacted Earth’s surface D the escape of gases from Earth’s molten surface
- Scientists infer that most of Earth’s earliest atmosphere was produced by A Jupiter B Saturn C Mars D Neptune
- Which of the following planets is a terrestrial planet? A the gas surrounding Earth at the time of its formation B gas released from the interior of our planet C gas captured as Earth passed through a gas cloud D escaped gas from the sun
- Most of a Earth's atmosphere comes from A orbital speed B mass C distance from the sun D temperature
- Whether a planet or moon has an atmosphere depends mostly upon its A A B B C C D D
- The diagram below shows four positions of a planet in its orbit around the Sun. At which position is the planet's orbital speed greatest?
A heliocentric model B geocentric model C sidereal model D lunar model
- Which kind of model of the solar system is represented by the diagram? A shorter its period of rotation B shorter its period of revolution C longer its period of rotation D longer its period of revolution
- According to Kepler's Harmonic Law of Planetary Motion, the farther a planet is located from the Sun, the A The Sun follows an apparent daily path, rising in the east and setting in the west. B A Foucault pendulum appears to shift its direction of swing in a predictable manner. C The stars appear to follow circular paths around the North Star ( Polaris ). D The seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter repeat in a pattern.
- Which statement provides the best evidence that Earth revolves around the Sun? A shape of Earth's Moon B shape of an elliptical orbit C path of an earthquake wave D path of a projectile deflected by Earth's rotation
- The diagram below represents a student's constructed laboratory drawing. The student's drawing best represents the
A The Moon's gravity is stronger than Earth's gravity. B The Moon has little or no atmosphere. C The rocks on the Moon are weaker than those on Earth. D The Moon rotates at a slower rate than Earth does.
- Why are impact structures more obvious on the Moon than on Earth? A They have the same period of revolution. B They are perfect spheres. C They exert the same gravitational force on each other. D They have elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus.
- In what way are the planets Mars, Mercury, and Earth similar? A an asteroid B Neptune C Earth's Moon D Mercury
- The solar system object in the photograph below is 56 kilometers long. The object in the photograph is most likely A 2.80 g/cm^3 B 5.52 g/cm^3 C 9.55 g/cm^3 D 12.0 g/cm^3
- What is the approximate average density of the Earth?
A Earth B Sun C Moon D Polaris
- The diagram below represents a simple geocentric model. Which object is represented by the letter X? A Earth B Jupiter C Pluto D Saturn
- Which planet has an orbit with an eccentricity most similar to the eccentricity of the Moon’s orbit around Earth? A larger masses B larger equatorial diameters C shorter periods of revolution D shorter periods of rotation
- Compared to Jovian planets, terrestrial planets have A Mercury B Neptune C Pluto D Venus
- Which planet’s orbit around the Sun is most nearly circular?
A B
C D
- Which graph best shows the general relationship between a planet's distance from the Sun and the Sun's gravitational attraction to the planet? A Gravitational pull would decrease and period of revolution would increase. B Gravitational pull would decrease and period of revolution would decrease. C Gravitational pull would increase and period of revolution would increase. D Gravitational pull would increase and period of revolution would decrease.
- If the average distance between Earth and the Sun were doubled, what changes would occur in the Sun's gravitational pull on Earth and Earth's period of revolution?
