Name______
Earth Science Unit 2 Test
For each statement or question, select the word or expression that best completes the statement or answers the question. (4 points each)
____1. Even though Venus is farther from the sun then Mercury, Venus's surface is hotter than Mercury's. This is because Venus
a. has a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere that traps the sun's heat
b. a very weak or non-existent magnetic field
c. has an extremely old crust with volcanic features
d. rotates from west to east instead of east to west
____2. Which of the following planets can never be seen from Earth at midnight?
a. Venus
b. Saturn
c. Mars
d. Jupiter
____3. The largest known volcano in the solar system is located on
a. Earth
b. Mars
c. Jupiter
d. Pluto
____4. Which of the following planets has the lowest density?
a. Mercury
b. Jupiter
c. Venus
d. Mars
____5. The planet that moves most slowly along its orbit is
a. Mercury
b. Earth
c. Jupiter
d. Pluto
____6. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a Jovian planet?
a. composed of light elements
b. low density
c. large size
d. rocky crust
____7. Two planets that are known to radiate more energy back into space than they receive from the sun are
a. Mercury and Venus
b. Earth and Mars
c. Jupiter and Saturn
d. Uranus and Neptune
____8. Which of the following planets have ring systems?
a. Saturn
b. Jupiter
c. Neptune
d. all of the above
____9. When Pluto is nearest to the sun, its atmosphere
a. evaporates
b. thaws slightly
c. boils
d. doesn't change
____10. Mars has seasons twice as long as Earth's seasons because
a. Mars's axis is tilted twice as much as Earth's axis.
b. Mars's atmosphere is thinner than Earth's atmosphere.
c. Mars's year is twice as long as Earth's year.
d. Mars's gravity is two-fifths of Earth's gravity.
____11. Neptune was discovered after astronomers
a. predicted its position mathematically
b. detected its magnetic field
c. sent a spacecraft to the outer solar system
d. discovered Pluto
____12. Oberon, Ariel, and Miranda are three of the five largest moons of
a. Jupiter
b. Mars
c. Uranus
d. Venus
____13. Saturn's moon Titan is unusual because
a. it is very small
b. it has a moon of its own
c. it has a very hot surface
d. it has a substantial atmosphere
____14. Which of the following is not evidence that Io is geologically active?
a. active volcanoes have been observed
b. the density of Io is close to that of Earth's moon
c. the surface has no sign of impact craters
d. the <i>Galileo</i> satellite detected molten silicate rock around an iron core
____15. Comets spend most of their time
a. in orbit around Neptune
b. far beyond Neptune's orbit
c. in orbit around Earth
d. between Mars and Jupiter
____16. Halley's Comet returns to the inner solar system every
a. year
b. 7.6 years
c. 76 years
d. 760 years
____17. An asteroid's brightness may change as it rotates because it
a. is solid
b. has an irregular shape
c. has a circular orbit
d. is between Mars and Jupiter
____18. Meteor showers occur when Earth
a. passes through comet debris
b. enters the asteroid belt
c. approaches perihelion
d. approaches aphelion
____19. A rock fragment traveling in space is called a
a. meteor
b. meteorite
c. meteoroid
d. meteor shower
____20. One reason Mercury has more impact craters than Earth is because Mercury
a. has no atmosphere
b. is closer to the sun
c. rotates more rapidly
d. moves faster in its orbit
____21. The largest moon in the solar system is
a. Earth's moon
b. Uranus's moon Miranda
c. Jupiter's moon Ganymede
d. Jupiter's moon Europa
____22. Which of the following is not a basic type of meteorite?
a. iron
b. iron-sulfide
c. stony-iron
d. stony
____23. Based on the history of the moon, which solar system objects were apparently more abundant 4 billion years ago than they are today?
a. large meteoroids
b. planets
c. natural satellites
d. asteroids
____24. Lunar breccias are thought to be the result of
a. stream sedimentation
b. volcanic eruptions
c. meteoroid impacts
d. regional metamorphism
____25. Lunar rays are apparently the same age as lunar
a. highlands
b. craters
c. mascons
d. maria
____26. Lunar maria are thought to be dark because they
a. are impact craters that filled with water
b. were formed when lava spewed up through cracks in the surface
c. have regions of lower gravity
d. are filled with soot from the Apollo landing
____27. Only one side of the moon faces Earth because
a. the moon does not rotate
b. the moon does not revolve
c. the moon rotates at the same rate it revolves
d. the moon rotates twice as fast as it revolves
____28. Lunar soil, or regolith, is made up primarily of
a. loose rock materials
b. solid rock
c. loam
d. iron ore
____29. Early in the moon's life, its surface layers were melted by
a. heat from the sun
b. frequent meteor impacts
c. Earth's gravity
d. aluminum compounds
____30. Support for the hypothesis that the lunar highlands are the original lunar crust includes
a. rock samples from the lunar highlands that have been shown to be about the same age as the moon
b. the evidence of volcanic activity in the Mare Imbrium
c. the discovery of rilles
d. the samples of basalt and feldspar found in the maria
____31. Each day, on average, the moon
a. rises and sets about 50 minutes earlier
b. rises about 50 minutes earlier, and sets about 50 minutes later
c. rises about 50 minutes later, and sets about 50 minutes earlier
d. rises and sets about 50 minutes later
____32. Mascons are
a. regions of no gravity
b. regions of lower gravity
c. regions of higher gravity
d. regions hit by micrometeoroids
____33. When the moon is closest to Earth it is
a. at apogee
b. at perigee
c. waning
d. waxing
____34. The half of the moon that is lit by sunlight is
a. always visible from Earth
b. never visible from Earth
c. always facing the sun
d. partly or totally facing the sun, depending on the lunar phase
____35. The moon goes through phases because
a. Earth rotates
b. Earth has a tilted axis
c. the moon rotates
d. the moon orbits Earth
____36. If you see a full moon one night, when would you expect to see the next full moon?
a. about two days later
b. about a week later
c. about two weeks later
d. about four weeks later
____37. Which of the following statements about the new moon is not true?
a. The sun does not light up any of its surface.
b. It rises and sets with the sun.
c. It occurs about two weeks after the full moon.
d. It occurs about one week after the third quarter moon.
____38. An annular solar eclipse occurs
a. once a year
b. when the moon's disk is smaller than the sun's
c. when the sun's disk is smaller than the moon's
d. when the sun's disk is smaller than Earth's
____39. Which of the following is not true during a total solar eclipse?
a. The moon's umbra touches Earth.
b. The moon is in its new phase.
c. Everyone on the daylight side of Earth can see the eclipse.
d. People in the penumbra of the moon see a partial eclipse.
____40. Compared to lunar eclipses, solar eclipses
a. last for a much longer time
b. last for a much shorter time
c. last about the same time
d. can be seen from larger areas of Earth
____41. During a lunar eclipse, the moon is usually
a. a dusky red or copper color
b. a gray-green or light green color
c. a gray-blue or light blue color
d. a pale white color
____42. Why is the moon not completely darkened by Earth's shadow during a total lunar eclipse?
a. Earth's shadow is too small to completely cover the moon.
b. Earth's atmosphere bends some sunlight into the umbra.
c. The moon only passes through Earth's penumbra.
d. The moon's atmosphere bends sunlight into the umbra.
____43. You observe the moon for two nights in a row. On the second night, you notice the size of the dark region has decreased. The moon is
a. waxing
b. waning
c. eclipsed
d. in a shadow
____44. During a solar eclipse, the diameter of the umbra is, at most, about
a. 27 kilometers wide
b. 270 kilometers wide
c. 2700 kilometers wide
d. 7200 kilometers wide
Answer each question in the space provided. Use complete sentences in your answer. (8 points each)
45. Describe the relative positions of the sun, moon, and Earth during a lunar eclipse and during a solar eclipse. At what phase of the moon does each occur, and why don't eclipses occur every month?
46. Imagine that two new planets have been discovered. Planet A has an orbit that lies between Mercury and Venus. Planet B has an orbit that lies between Jupiter and Saturn. Describe and compare the general properties each planet is likely to have.
47. Earth is often called "the water planet" because most of its surface is covered by oceans. Describe the effect on Earth's oceans if Earth traveled around the sun between Mercury and Venus, and if it traveled around the sun between Jupiter and Saturn.