Answer Key for Galileo Curriculum Module: Volume 1

What do YOU Know About Jupiter Already? Find out...

The statement "Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all have rings" is TRUE.

The "Great Red Spot" is (D) a big storm.

The best answers to the "Jupiter tourist" question are (D) and (E). The generally cloudy conditions (and frequent lightning) would suggest rain is on its way. Cool temperatures and high pressure also describe the conditions at Jupiter. Because the planet has no solid surface the "tourists" would need a spacecraft / submarine to explore within the clouds and below the clouds. By the time they reach 130 km below the cloud tops the pressure would be 20 times the pressure felt at sea level on Earth. The other answers are incorrect for these reasons: there are no rocks on this Gas Giant planet, the air smells like ammonia and one would gain weight in Jupiter's gravity field.

The true statements are (A) Jupiter has 16 moons, (C) About 400 years ago, Galileo saw 4 of Jupiter's largest moons and (E) One of Jupiter's moons has active volcanoes on it. (B) is incorrect because Jupiter's moons are named: Metis, Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae and Sinope. (D) is incorrect because only the 4 largest moons are comparable in size to Earth's Moon (the rest are much smaller).

For the "Stranded at Jupiter" exercise the better items to have from the list are:

(B) Nuclear-powered engine: there's very little sunlight at Jupiter with which to run a solar-powered engine
(A) Scuba gear: the lack of oxygen at Jupiter makes it a good idea to bring your own; for the same reason fire is not a big worry
(A) Hot-air balloon: there's no solid surface on which to drive a dune buggy
(B) Compass: Jupiter's huge magnetic field would make a compass useful; the lack of oxygen would prevent matches from lighting
(B) Food: there's water but no food
(A) Chapstick: the windy conditions would be hard the lips; there's not enough sunlight to require sun-tan lotion; just being at Jupiter's distance is equivalent to a Sun Protection Factor of 27!

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