The Solar System – ASTR 121

Second Midterm – May 10, 2013, 10:00-10:50

Instructions:  Print your name and student identification number at the top of this page.  Answer each of the questions A through J in the space provided.  Be clear and thorough in your answers using sentences, sketches, and formulas where appropriate.  Each question is worth two points.

 

A.  Explain how the Moon produces tides on the Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B.  Give two reasons for thinking the Earth's core is liquid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C.  What is a synchronous orbit, and how did the orbit of the Moon come to be this way?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D.  What is a scarp on Mercury, and how are scarps thought to have formed?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E.  Give two pieces of evidence for active volcanoes on Venus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F.  What are the two main constituents of the atmosphere of Venus?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G.  Why are Martian volcanoes so large?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

H.  Describe atmospheric conditions in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars during the summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.  What are two effects of Rayleigh scattering in the Earth's atmosphere?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J.  If the radius of the Moon were 1/3 that of the Earth, and its mass 1/81 that of the Earth, what would its relative density be?