Earth Science Unit 4 Test

1. Which of these separates the outer planets from the inner planets?

• a. The Kuiper Belt
• b. The asteroid belt
• c. The Great Red Spot
• d. A large magnetic field

2. Aside from Mercury's slow rotation, what is a factor that contributes to the planet's daily temperature fluctuation of about 600 °C?

• a. Its dense atmosphere
• b. Its core of rock and ice
• c. Its close proximity to the sun
• d. Its heavy, rocky, waterless terrain

3. When early Earth’s atmosphere formed, which gases were lost because Earth’s gravity was too weak?

• a. Oxygen and helium
• b. Helium and nitrogen
• c. Hydrogen and ozone
• d. Helium and hydrogen

4. Which of these are small bodies from which planets originated during the early formation of the solar system?

• a. Comets
• b. Asteroids
• c. Planetesimals
• d. Protoplanets

5. Why does the moon have more impact craters on its surface than Earth does?

• a. Earth's gravity causes more objects to collide with the moon than with Earth
• b. Most of Earth's impact craters have been destroyed by plate tectonics and erosion
• c. Earth's magnetic field deflects more objects than the very weak magnetic field of the moon does
• d. The rocks that compose the moon's surface are more easily deformed than Earth's surface rocks.

6. Where did the materials that formed Earth come from?

• Where did the materials that formed Earth come from?
• a. The Oort cloud
• b. The Crab nebula
• c. The solar nebula
• d. The remnants of a black hole

7. In what way is Earth like the other inner planets?

• a. It has a relatively high density
• b. It has liquid water on its surface
• c. It has a mostly hydrogen and helium core
• d. It revolves around the sun in 24 hours or less

8. Which law describes the speed at which objects travel at different points in their orbits?

• a. Law of ellipses
• b. Law of periods
• c. Law of eccentricity
• d. Law of equal areas

9. What does Kepler’s first law call the paths that planets follow as they orbit the sun?

• a. Circles
• b. Periods
• c. Ellipses
• d. Epicycles

10. Kepler’s third law describes the relationship between the average distance of a planet from the sun and which property of the planet’s motion?

• a. Inertia
• b. Orbital period
• c. Gravitational pull
• d. Average temperature