Geography Quiz: Astronomy (Set - 1)
1. The colour of the star is an indication of its
(a) Distance from the earth
(b) Distance from the sun
(c) Temperature
(d) Luminosity
2. The planet nearest to the sun is
(a) Mercury
(b) Earth
(c) Venus
(d) Pluto
3. The group of stars arranged in a definite
pattern is called
(a) Milky way
(b) Constellation
(c) Andromeda
(d) Solar system
4. The Asteroid belt is found between which of the
following?
(a) Earth and Mars
(b) Jupiter and Saturn
(c) Mars and Jupiter
(d) Saturn and Uranus
5. Which one of the following is the largest
satellite in solar system?
(a) Ganymede
(b) Titan
(c) Europa
(d) Triton
6. Methane is present in the atmosphere of
(a) Moon
(b) Sun
(c) Jupiter
(d) Mars
7. Which planet takes the longest time to go
around the sun?
(a) Earth
(b) Jupiter
(c) Uranus
(d) Neptune
8. The principle of Black hole was enunciated by
(a) C.V. Raman
(b) H.J. Bhabha
(c) S. Chandrashekhar
(d) H. Khurana
9. The planet which is called twin sister of the
Earth is
(a) Mercury
(b) Venus
(c) Mars
(d) Uranus
10. The distance of Moon from the Earth is
(a) 364 thousand kms.
(b) 300 thousand kms.
(c) 350 thousand kms.
(d) 446 thousand kms.
11. Who discovered the solar system?
(a) Aryabhatta
(b) Newton
(c) Copernicus
(d) Kepler
12. Which planet was named after the Roman God
Zeus?
(a) Earth
(b) Mars
(c) Venus
(d) Jupiter
13. Which of the following planets is smaller in
size than the Earth?
(a) Venus
(b) Uranus
(c) Saturn
(d) Neptune
14. The largest planet in our solar system is
(a) Earth
(b) Uranus
(c) Jupiter
(d) Saturn
15. Which of the following planets has largest
number of satellites or moons?
(a) Jupiter
(b) Neptune
(c) Earth
(d) Saturn
16. Which of the following planets is called “Blue
planet”?
(a) Venus
(b) Earth
(c) Uranus
(d) Mercury
17. The approximate diameter of Earth is
(a) 4200 km
(b) 6400 km
(c) 3400 km
(d) 12800 km
18. The Earth becomes maximum distance from the
sun on
(a) January 30th
(b) December 22nd
(c) September 22nd
(d) July 4th
19. The Earth rotates around its axis from
(a) North to South
(b) South to North
(c) East to West
(d) West to East
20. Which one of the following is called
terrestrial planet?
(a) Mercury
(b) Earth
(c) Mars
(d) Saturn
Answers with Explanations:
1. (c) The colour of the star is an
indication of its temperature. The glowing is caused by something called
Black-Body radiation, which has to do with the heat energy trying to radiate
away in more and more energetic wavelengths. Red stars are relatively cool at
only a few thousand degrees Celsius, white stars are hot at about ten thousand
degrees, and blue stars are the hottest.
2. (a) The
planet nearest to the sun is mercury. Mercury is the smallest and closest to
the Sun of the eight planets in the Solar System, with an orbital period of
about 88 Earth days.
3. (b)
The group of stars arranged in a definite pattern is called constellation. In modern
astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial
sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, which are patterns formed by
prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth’s night sky.
4. (c)
The Asteroid belt is found between Mars and Jupiter. The large majority of
known asteroids orbit in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter, or are co-orbital with Jupiter.
5. (a)
Ganymede is the largest satellite in solar system. Ganymede is a satellite of
Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and
third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly
seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons
Europa and Io, respectively. It has a diameter of 5,268 km (3,273 mi), 8%
larger than that of the planet Mercury, but has only 45% of the latter’s mass.
6. (c)
Methane is present in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The atmosphere of Jupiter is
the largest planetary atmosphere in the Solar System. It is mostly made of
molecular hydrogen and helium in roughly solar proportions; other chemical
compounds are present only in small amounts and include methane, ammonia,
hydrogen sulphide and water.
7. (d)
Neptune takes the longest time to go around the sun. Neptune orbits the Sun at
an average distance of 4.5 billion km. Like all the planets in the Solar
System, Neptune follows an elliptical path around the Sun, varying its distance
to the Sun at different points along its orbit.
8. (c) The
principle of Black hole was enunciated by S. Chandrashekhar. A Black Hole is a
region of space-time from which gravity prevents anything, including light,
from escaping. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently
compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole,
there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that marks the
point of no return. The hole is called “black” because it absorbs all the light
that hits the horizon, reflecting nothing, just like a perfect black body in
thermodynamics.
9. (b) The
planet which is called twin sister of earth is Venus. Venus is known as the
Earth’s twin because of its similar size, chemical composition and density.
However, due to its toxic atmosphere, Venus is not habitable.
10. (a) The
distance of moon from the Earth is 364 thousands kms. The Moon is the only
natural satellite of the Earth and the fifth largest moon in the Solar System.
It is the largest natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System relative to
the size of its primary, having 27% the diameter and 60% the density of Earth,
resulting in 1⁄81 its mass.
11. (c)
Copernicus discovered the solar system. Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance
mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the
universe which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center.
12. (d) Jupiter
was named on the Roman God Zeus. Zeus is the “Father of Gods and men” who rules
the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father rules the family according to the
ancient Greek religion. He is the God of sky and thunder in Greek mythology.
Zeus is etymologically cognate with and, under Hellenic influence, became
particularly closely identified with Roman Jupiter.
13. (a) Venus
is smaller in size than the Earth. Diameter of earth is12,742 km while that of
Venus is12,100 km
14. (c) The
largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter. Jupiter is the fifth planet from
the Sun and the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass
one-thousandth of that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all
the other planets in the Solar System combined.
15. (a) Jupiter
has largest number of satellites or moons. The planet Jupiter has 67 confirmed
moons. This gives it the largest retinue of moons with “reasonably secure”
orbits of any planet in the Solar System.
16. (b) Earth
is called the ‘Blue Planet’ due to the abundant water on its surface. This is
because liquid water covers most of the surface of the planet. The Earth has
the right mass, chemical composition, and location can support liquid water.
17. (d) The
approximately diameter of Earth is 12800 km. The rotation of the planet has
slightly flattened it out, so it has a larger diameter at the equator than at
the poles. The equatorial diameter of Earth is 12,756 km, its polar diameter is
12,713 km, and its average diameter, which is referred to in common usage, is
12,742 km or 7,926 miles.
18. (b) The
Earth becomes maximum distance from the sun on 22nd December. The aphelion is
the point in the orbit of a planet or comet where it is farthest from the Sun.
The Earth reaches its aphelion when the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing
summer.
19. (d) The
Earth rotates around its axis from west to east. Earth’s rotation is the
rotation of the solid Earth around its own axis. The Earth rotates from the
west towards the east. As viewed from the North Star or polestar Polaris, the
Earth turns counter-clockwise.
20. (a) Mercury
is called terrestrial planet. There are four terrestrial planets in our Solar
System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
