Form A

Which of the following is NOT from the coriolis effect?
(a) hurricanes rotate the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere
(b) toilets flush the opposite direction in the souther hemisphere
(c) Foucault pendulums in science museums change their plane of swing
(d) the Great Red Spot of Jupiter has persisted for so long
Passenger airlines must control the temperature to keep air travelers comfortable because jets fly through air that is
(a) at low pressure which requires low temperature
(b) above most of the greenhouse warming
(c) closer to the Sun
(d) at a lower inclination angle to the Sun
Earth has a mostly nitrogen atmosphere because
(a) H20 is in the ocean which dissolves CO2
(b) nitrogen is the most common volatile molecule in the solar system
(c) H20 and CO2 freeze out
(d) nitrogen is emitted by plants and algaes
If an asteroid is pulverized by a collision and breaks into pieces, some of which are almost pure metal, this implies
(a) it must have formed outside Jupiter's orbit
(b) it must have formed near Earth's orbit
(c) it must have been large enough to melt and differentiate
(d) it must have been small enough to melt and differentiate
We rarely see comets from Earth because
(a) there are very few icy/rocky objects in the solar system
(b) most of them are so close to the Sun they are lost in its glare
(c) they are only visible when close enough to the Sun to evaporate
(d) we can only see them as they orbit Earth
The direction a comet tail points is
(a) away from the Sun
(b) away from the Earth
(c) propelling the comet in its direction like an airplane contrail
(d) into the direction the comet is moving like headlights
Titan has a nitrogen atmosphere much like the Earth, but it's because
(a) H2O is in its oceans which dissolves CO2
(b) nitrogen is the most common volatile molecule in the solar system
(c) H2O and CO2 freeze out
(d) nitrogen is emitted by plants and algaes
The belts and zones that stripe Jupiter are related to what on Earth?
(a) the reason tides go up and down on beaches
(b) the reason sedimentary rocks have layers
(c) the reason trees have rings
(d) the reason we have a jet stream and trade winds
Species killing asteroids hit the Earth about every
(a) 100 years
(b) 100 thousand years
(c) 100 million years
(d) 100 billlion years
Which of the following helps protect the Earth from the electrons and protons in the solar wind?
(a) the Earth's magnetic field
(b) the Earth's gravity
(c) the Sun's magnetic field
(d) the Sun's gravity
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is sometimes frozen on Mars but never Venus because of these two reasons:
(a) distance to the Sun and how much greenhouse effect there is
(b) distance to the Sun and whether CO2 is dissolved in oceans
(c) whether CO2 is dissolved in the ocean and how much greenhouse effect
(d) none of those things matter to whether CO2 is frozen
The phase (solid, liquid, gas) of the water (H2O) molecule is relevant to the atmosphere of the Earth because it helps explain why
(a) water is the dominant component of the atmosphere
(b) illumination from the Moon has so many effects on Earth
(c) water is rarely found as liquid on Earth
(d) there is so little carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere
According to the ideal gas law, if you double both the temperature and the density of a gas, the pressure will
(a) be only half as large
(b) stay the same
(c) double
(d) go up by a factor of 4
Where does the bulk of the gases in the atmosphere of a planet like Mars come from?
(a) they are in the atmosphere from the start
(b) they are outgassed from the planet's interior and comets
(c) they are contributed by living organisms
(d) they are pulled gradually into the planet from the gas in space
Where does the bulk of the gases in the interior of a planet like Jupiter come from?
(a) they form with the planet from the gaseous disk around the Sun
(b) they are outgassed from the planet's rocky center
(c) they are contributed by living organisms
(d) they are captured gradually over the whole age of the solar system
The reason the sky is blue is related to why
(a) sunsets are red
(b) prisms bend light of different colors a different angle
(c) a blue shirt absorbs light that isn't blue
(d) something moving toward you at very high speed looks blueshifted
The speed an air molecule needs in order to escape from a particular planet is
(a) the same for all gases at all heights
(b) a function of the mass of the molecule
(c) dependent only on how high up the molecule is already
(d) dependent on both the molecule's mass and height in the atmosphere
Which of the following is not intimately related to the other three in Jupiter?
(a) the visible stripes
(b) the planet's rotation
(c) the winds in the atmosphere
(d) the presence of four large moons
What will happen to the Sun when its core runs out of hydrogen to fuse?
(a) it will rapidly darken and shrink
(b) it will rapidly brighten and expand
(c) its core will collapse and the star will explode
(d) its core will immediately begin fusing helium
Your ears "pop" when you drive up a mountain because
(a) the temperature gets colder
(b) the weight of the air above you is reduced
(c) the gravity gets weaker
(d) the height makes you feel anxious
At the end of its life the central core of the Sun will
(a) collapse making the star explode
(b) itself explode like a bomb
(c) cool down and become a white dwarf
(d) continue to balance its losses with fusion
The tops of mountains are
(a) cold because they are above most of the greenhouse gases
(b) cold because the pressure is low
(c) warm because they are closer to the Sun
(d) warm because the sunlight is more direct
Why do metals and the molecules in rocks form planets closer to the Sun?
(a) they stick together even if the conditions are hot
(b) they are pulled in by the gravity of icy bodies
(c) they dominate the composition of the solar system
(d) they require high temperature to be able to fuse together
Why do certain meteor showers happen on the same day every year?
(a) they don't really, it's just a story that gets repeated
(b) the Earth's magnetic field lets them in on those days
(c) because each comes from the dust from a given comet orbit
(d) they come from the right angle to be seen on those days
When do particularly strong tides happen at beaches?
(a) when the Sun and Moon line up
(b) when the Sun and Moon are perpendicular
(c) when the Moon is in a crescent phase
(d) when the Moon is in a gibbous phase

Answers: (note, on Form A, questions 2, 16, 17, and 23 were deemed unnecessarily difficult, so everyone was given credit for them)
(1-5): BBACC
(6-10): ACBCA
(11-15): ADDBA
(16-20): AADBB
(21-25): CAACA