ASTR 1510 Final Exam Questions with Complete Solutions

The earth is made mostly of rocky material and metals such as iron, whereas jupiter is motly hydrogen and helium. What is the main reason that Earth's composition is different from Jupiter's? Compared to Jupiter, Earth formed in a hotter region, where only rocks and metals could exist as solids most planets fall into one of two catergories in terms of composition. How would you best define these categories? Planets that are mostly rock and metal versus those that have a lot of H and HE How does the composition relate to size for most of the planets? Rock/Metal planets are small, where as planet with abundant H and HE are large How does the composition relate to position in the solar system? The inner planets are mostly rocks and metals and the outer planets have a lot of H and HE Which of the following object fits neither the terrestrial nor jovian categories? Pluto Which solar system bodies contain significant amounts of H and HE gases? The sun and the jovian planets Which of the following would you identify as patterns (there may be more than one)? - All the planets orbit in the same direction as the sun rotates -Most orbits are nearly circular -most planets orbit in nearly the same plane Looking at how planets rotate on their own axes, which of the following do you see (there may be more than one)? -Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit the sun -For most planets, the axis of rotation is roughly perpendicular to the orbital plane Why does the cloud heat up as it collapses? Gravitational potential energy is converted into heat and other forms of energy If a star-forming cloud had absolutely no initial net rotation (which is highly unlikely), would it flatten into a disk as it collapsed? No, it would not flatten Which region of the disk is the hottest? The innermost region