AST 111 - Exam 3 elaborations 2024
1. What are the Jovian planets in our solar system?: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
2. What are the Jovian planets compositions?: Jupiter & Saturn
-Made of mostly hydrogen and helium
-Very small components of rock and metal
Uranus & Neptune
-Much smaller than Jupiter and Saturn
-Smaller compounds of hydrogen and helium
-Hydrogen compounds such as
-Water
-Methane
-Ammonia
-Smaller components of rock and metal
3. How are Jovian planets different?: -Mass
-Density
-Overall composotion
4. What are Jovian planets like on the inside?: Often called "gas giants"
5. How were Uranus and Neptune discovered?: Uranus
-Recorded as a star in 1781 by the Herschel's
-Named after the mythological father of Saturn
Neptune
-Discovered 60 years later
-Discovered by Urbain Leverrier
-Played a huge part in Newton's universal law of gravitation
6. What is the weather like on Jovian planets?: -Winds
-Colorful clouds
-Enormous storms
7. Do Jovian planets have magnetospheres like Earth?: Yes, and of the 4 Jovian planets, Jupiter has the strongest
magnetic field
8. What kind of moons orbit the Jovian planets?: We know there are more than 170 moons orbiting the Jovian
planets
-Jupiter & Saturn have the most, each with more than 60 moons
9. T / F
Do all 4 of the Jovian planets have rings?: True
, AST 111 - Exam 3 elaborations 2024
10.What are Saturn's rings like?: -Spacecraft images reveal these "sheets" to be made of many individual rings, each
separate from the next by a narrow gap
-Made up of countless icy particles ranging in size form dust grains to large boulders, sometimes clumped together by
gravity
11.What are characteristics of ring particles?: -Reflective water ice
-Look bright where they contain enough particles to intercept sunlight and scatter back at us
12.How do the other Jovian ring systems compare to Saturn's?: -The rings of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune are
much fainter than Saturn's
-All rings lie in their planet's equatorial plane
-Took centuries to discover the rings on the other planets in comparison to Saturn
13.Io experiences tidal heating primarily because : Io's elliptical orbit causes
the tidal force on Io to vary as it orbits Jupiter
14. We cannot see tidal forces or tidal heating; rather, we predict that they must occur based on the orbital
characteristics of the moons. What observational evidence confirms that tidal heating is important on Io?: Active
volcanoes on Io
15.The orbital resonance also gives Europa an elliptical orbit, so it also experiences tidal heating. However,
Europa experiences less tidal heating than Io, because Europa than Io.: Is farther away from Jupiter
16.We now know of many Jupiter-size planets around other stars. Suppose that future observations show that
one of these planets has two orbiting moons. What additional information, if any, would we need to decide
whether these moons experience tidal heating?: We need to know their orbital periods.
17.Rank the planets from left to right based on their distance from the Sun, from closet to farthest: Earth,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
18. Rank these planets from left to right based on their size (average equatorial radius), from smallest to largest:
Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter
19.Rank these planets from left to right based on their mass, from lowest to highest.: Earth, Uranus, Neptune,
Saturn, and Jupiter
20.Saturn's rings are composed of : Lots of individual particles of ice and rock
21.Saturn's rings look bright because : Light form the Sun reflects off the material in the
rings
22.Which of the following statements correctly describes the motion of the particles in Saturn's rings?:
Particles in the inner rings orbit Saturn at a faster speed than particles in the outer rings
23.Which of the following gases is NOT a significant ingredient of the Jovian planet atmosphere?: Helium
, AST 111 - Exam 3 elaborations 2024
Hydrogen
Water
Carbon Dioxide***
24.Jupiter and the other Jovian planets are sometimes called "gas giants." In what sense is this term
misleading?: They actually contain relatively little material in the gaseous state
25.According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less
massive than Jupiter and Saturn?: Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that
accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula.
26.Which of the following most likely explains why Jupiter's interior releases so much heat?: Jupiter is
contracting very gradually.
27.What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass?: Its density would increase but its
diameter would barely change.
28.Which planet may have helium rain in its interior, and what does this rain do?: Saturn, where it generates
heat as it falls downward.
29.Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds?: The three layers represent clouds made of gases that
condense at different temperatures.
30.Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn?:
The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker
clouds.
31.Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains why?:
Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense.
32.Which Jovian planet should have the most extreme seasonal changes?: -
Saturn
Uranus***
Neptune
Jupiter
33.Why is the radiation so intense in the region that traces Io's orbit around Jupiter (the Io torus)?: The region
is full of gases that become ionized after they are released from volcanoes on Io.
34.Which of the following best explains why many jovian moons have been more geologically active than the
Moon or Mercury?: Jovian moons are made mostly of ice that can melt or deform at lower temperatures than can the
rock and metal that make up the Moon and Mercury.
35.All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal
heating that occurs on Io?: Io exhibits synchro-
1. What are the Jovian planets in our solar system?: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
2. What are the Jovian planets compositions?: Jupiter & Saturn
-Made of mostly hydrogen and helium
-Very small components of rock and metal
Uranus & Neptune
-Much smaller than Jupiter and Saturn
-Smaller compounds of hydrogen and helium
-Hydrogen compounds such as
-Water
-Methane
-Ammonia
-Smaller components of rock and metal
3. How are Jovian planets different?: -Mass
-Density
-Overall composotion
4. What are Jovian planets like on the inside?: Often called "gas giants"
5. How were Uranus and Neptune discovered?: Uranus
-Recorded as a star in 1781 by the Herschel's
-Named after the mythological father of Saturn
Neptune
-Discovered 60 years later
-Discovered by Urbain Leverrier
-Played a huge part in Newton's universal law of gravitation
6. What is the weather like on Jovian planets?: -Winds
-Colorful clouds
-Enormous storms
7. Do Jovian planets have magnetospheres like Earth?: Yes, and of the 4 Jovian planets, Jupiter has the strongest
magnetic field
8. What kind of moons orbit the Jovian planets?: We know there are more than 170 moons orbiting the Jovian
planets
-Jupiter & Saturn have the most, each with more than 60 moons
9. T / F
Do all 4 of the Jovian planets have rings?: True
, AST 111 - Exam 3 elaborations 2024
10.What are Saturn's rings like?: -Spacecraft images reveal these "sheets" to be made of many individual rings, each
separate from the next by a narrow gap
-Made up of countless icy particles ranging in size form dust grains to large boulders, sometimes clumped together by
gravity
11.What are characteristics of ring particles?: -Reflective water ice
-Look bright where they contain enough particles to intercept sunlight and scatter back at us
12.How do the other Jovian ring systems compare to Saturn's?: -The rings of Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune are
much fainter than Saturn's
-All rings lie in their planet's equatorial plane
-Took centuries to discover the rings on the other planets in comparison to Saturn
13.Io experiences tidal heating primarily because : Io's elliptical orbit causes
the tidal force on Io to vary as it orbits Jupiter
14. We cannot see tidal forces or tidal heating; rather, we predict that they must occur based on the orbital
characteristics of the moons. What observational evidence confirms that tidal heating is important on Io?: Active
volcanoes on Io
15.The orbital resonance also gives Europa an elliptical orbit, so it also experiences tidal heating. However,
Europa experiences less tidal heating than Io, because Europa than Io.: Is farther away from Jupiter
16.We now know of many Jupiter-size planets around other stars. Suppose that future observations show that
one of these planets has two orbiting moons. What additional information, if any, would we need to decide
whether these moons experience tidal heating?: We need to know their orbital periods.
17.Rank the planets from left to right based on their distance from the Sun, from closet to farthest: Earth,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
18. Rank these planets from left to right based on their size (average equatorial radius), from smallest to largest:
Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter
19.Rank these planets from left to right based on their mass, from lowest to highest.: Earth, Uranus, Neptune,
Saturn, and Jupiter
20.Saturn's rings are composed of : Lots of individual particles of ice and rock
21.Saturn's rings look bright because : Light form the Sun reflects off the material in the
rings
22.Which of the following statements correctly describes the motion of the particles in Saturn's rings?:
Particles in the inner rings orbit Saturn at a faster speed than particles in the outer rings
23.Which of the following gases is NOT a significant ingredient of the Jovian planet atmosphere?: Helium
, AST 111 - Exam 3 elaborations 2024
Hydrogen
Water
Carbon Dioxide***
24.Jupiter and the other Jovian planets are sometimes called "gas giants." In what sense is this term
misleading?: They actually contain relatively little material in the gaseous state
25.According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less
massive than Jupiter and Saturn?: Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so that
accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula.
26.Which of the following most likely explains why Jupiter's interior releases so much heat?: Jupiter is
contracting very gradually.
27.What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass?: Its density would increase but its
diameter would barely change.
28.Which planet may have helium rain in its interior, and what does this rain do?: Saturn, where it generates
heat as it falls downward.
29.Why does Jupiter have three distinct layers of clouds?: The three layers represent clouds made of gases that
condense at different temperatures.
30.Which of the following best explains why we see horizontal "stripes" in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn?:
The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker
clouds.
31.Uranus and Neptune have methane clouds but Jupiter and Saturn do not. Which factor explains why?:
Temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn are too high for methane to condense.
32.Which Jovian planet should have the most extreme seasonal changes?: -
Saturn
Uranus***
Neptune
Jupiter
33.Why is the radiation so intense in the region that traces Io's orbit around Jupiter (the Io torus)?: The region
is full of gases that become ionized after they are released from volcanoes on Io.
34.Which of the following best explains why many jovian moons have been more geologically active than the
Moon or Mercury?: Jovian moons are made mostly of ice that can melt or deform at lower temperatures than can the
rock and metal that make up the Moon and Mercury.
35.All the following statements are true. Which one is most important in explaining the tremendous tidal
heating that occurs on Io?: Io exhibits synchro-
