Quiz 8: The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

Flows of material surrounding Martian craters suggest A) volcanism in its interior. B) the presence of water in surface rocks. C) active plate tectonics at the time of impact. D) a very thin crust. E) the presence of ice.

Which of the following statements is an example of comparative planetology? A) Mercury should have more craters than Earth because it is closer to the Sun. B) Geological features and the chemical composition of some rocks on Mars suggest liquid water flowed on the surface in the past, but not at the present time. C) Venus should be cooler than Earth because it is smaller. D) Jupiter's colored bands are evidence of tectonic activity. E) The Moon has big, dark "seas," which are evidence of water having existed on its surface at one time.

Secondary craters are A) craters formed by water impact. B) craters formed by ejecta during another impact. C) a crater that forms later, inside a larger crater. D) craters formed on a new surface. E) craters formed on planets other than Earth.

The small peak found in some meteor craters is A) the leftover piece of the meteor. B) a small volcano formed by the molten meteor. C) rebounding material from the larger object. D) the remains of a mountain that was hit by the meteor. E) formed by later wind erosion.

Rays and secondary craters are created by ________ when craters are formed during a collision. A) ejecta B) water flows C) lava flows D) rebounding material E) sunlight

Rocks less than 100 meters (m) in diameter are called ________ when they are in space. A) meteorites B) meteoroids C) meteors D) asteroids E) comets

Space rocks less than 100 m in diameter, when they hit the ground, are called A) meteorites. B) meteoroids. C) meteors. D) asteroids. E) comets.

Space rocks less than 100 m in diameter, when they burn up in the atmosphere, are called A) meteorites. B) meteoroids. C) meteors. D) asteroids. E) comets.

To survive passage through Earth's atmosphere without burning or breaking up before it hits the ground, an asteroid must be A) at least 1 m in size. B) at least 10 m in size. C) at least 100 m in size. D) at least 1 kilometer (km) in size. E) at least 1,000 km in size.

Which of the following is a factor that helps explain Earth's lack of craters compared to the Moon? A) wind erosion B) distance from the Sun C) higher-density interior D) surface temperature E) magnetic field strength

Based on the number of impact craters observed per square meter on their surface, place these terrestrial planets in order from youngest to oldest surface. A) Earth, Venus, Mercury B) Venus, Earth, Mercury C) Mercury, Venus, Earth D) Earth, Mercury, Venus E) Venus, Mercury, Earth

According to studies of impact cratering, which of these terrestrial objects has, on average, the oldest surface? A) Mercury B) Venus C) Earth D) Mars E) the Moon

Compared to the dark-colored regions of the surface of the Moon, the light-colored regions are approximately A) 1 billion years older. B) 1 billion years younger. C) 1 million years older. D) 1 million years younger. E) a few thousand years younger.

Mars, Venus, and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon.This is explained by the fact that A) the rate of cratering in the early Solar System was strongly dependent on location. B) Mars, Venus, and Earth have thicker atmospheres. C) Earth and Venus were shielded from impacts by the Moon, and Mars was protected by the asteroid belt. D) Mars, Venus, and Earth were geologically active for a longer period of time than Mercury and the Moon. E) Mars, Venus, and Earth are much larger in size than Mercury and the Moon.

The smallest number of craters per square meter are found on the surface of A) Mercury. B) Mars. C) Venus. D) Earth. E) the Moon.

Which of these three lunar surfaces shown in the figure below is the oldest? A) A B) B C) C D) A and C are probably about the same age and are older than B. E) It is impossible to tell without radioactive dating.

Which of the three lunar surfaces shown in the figure below is the youngest? A) A B) B C) C D) A and C are probably about the same age and are younger than B. E) It is impossible to tell without radioactive dating.

Which answer gives the correct order of the age of the three lunar surfaces shown in the figure below, from youngest to oldest? A) A, B, C B) A, C, B C) B, A, C D) B, C, A E) C, B, A

Based on the age of the light- and dark-colored regions of the Moon and the number of craters observed in these regions, we know that impacts in the inner Solar System A) rapidly decreased approximately 1 billion years ago. B) rapidly decreased approximately 3 billion years ago. C) were very rare in the last 4.6 billion years. D) occurred at approximately a constant rate throughout most of the age of the Solar System. E) never occur anymore.

Studies of the amount of cratering at different locations on the Moon indicate that A) the rate of cratering in the Solar System has changed dramatically over time. B) the younger lunar surfaces are hundreds of billions of years younger than the oldest surfaces. C) the Moon has never been geologically active at any point in its history. D) most of the heavy cratering in the Solar System occurred before Earth formed. E) cratering is no longer occurring in the Solar System.

Which object would have the least effect on our planet if it were to strike Earth? A) a 1-kg asteroid traveling at 30 km/s B) a 5-kg asteroid traveling at 10 km/s C) a 100-kg comet traveling at 10 km/s D) a 1,000-kg small car traveling at 100 miles/h, which is 0.05 km/s E) a 3,000-kg truck traveling at 35 miles/h, which is 0.02 km/s

Which object would have the largest impact if it were to strike Earth? A) a 1-m-diameter asteroid moving at 100 m/s B) a 1-m-diameter comet moving at 100 m/s C) a 10-m-diameter comet moving at 10 m/s D) a 10-m-diameter asteroid moving at 10 m/s E) a 1-m-diameter comet moving at 50 m/s

The observation that the Moon's average density is similar to the density of Earth's ________ supports the collision theory of the Moon's origin. A) oceans B) average density C) core D) atmosphere E) mantle

Venus' slow retrograde (backward) rotation is most likely due to A) the decay of radioisotopes on the surface. B) tidal forces from the Sun. C) extreme volcanic activity. D) an impact with a giant object. E) magnetic field interactions.

What is the age of our Solar System? A) 4.6 billion years B) 4.6 million years C) 13.7 trillion years D) 13.7 billion years E) 13.7 million years

Of the following methods, the age of the Solar System can be determined most accurately by A) measuring the number of craters per square meter on Mercury. B) radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon. C) carbon dating of rocks from mountains on Earth. D) measurement of the magnetic field variations in rocks under Earth's oceans. E) measuring the rate of energy production in the Sun.

If you start with 16 atoms of a parent radioisotope, after how many half-lives will only one atom of the parent remain, on average? A) 2 B) 4 C) 8 D) 15 E) 16

If a radioactive element has a half-life of 10,000 years, what fraction of it is left in a rock after 40,000 years? A) 1/2 B) 1/4 C) 1/8 D) 1/16 E) 1/32

If you obtained a sample of a meteorite and determined the abundances of uranium (²³⁸U) and lead (²⁰⁷Pb) in it, and found that for every 1 uranium atom there were 15 lead atoms, what would be the age of this rock? Note that this form of uranium decays to this form of lead with a half-life of 700 million years.For simplicity, you can assume that there were no lead atoms of this specific isotope in the rock when it originally formed. A) 1.4 billion years B) 2.8 billion years C) 4.0 billion years D) 10.5 billion years E) 3.6 billion years

If you obtained a sample of rock from Venus and determined the abundances of uranium (²³⁸U) and lead (²⁰⁷Pb) in it, and found that for every one uranium atom there were three lead atoms, what would be the age of this rock? Note that this form of uranium decays to this form of lead with a half-life of 700 million years.For simplicity, you can assume that there were no lead atoms of this specific isotope in the rock when it originally formed. A) 1.4 billion years B) 2.8 billion years C) 4.0 million years D) 10.5 billion years E) 3.6 billion years

By orbiting a planet with a probe and using Kepler's third law, scientists can learn a planet's A) albedo. B) age. C) volume. D) density. E) heat capacity.

A wave whose amplitude is perpendicular to its direction of motion is A) longitudinal. B) transverse. C) sound. D) primary. E) seismic.

Suppose an earthquake occurs on a hypothetical planet.Scientists on the other side of the planet detect primary waves but not secondary waves after the quake occurs.This suggests that A) part of the planet's interior is liquid. B) all of the planet's interior is solid. C) the planet has an iron core. D) the planet's interior consists entirely of rocky materials. E) the planet's mantle is liquid.

Which layer in the figure below represents Earth's mantle? A) A B) B C) C D) D E) none of these

Which layer in the figure below represents Earth's liquid core? A) A B) B C) C D) D E) none of these

The fact that Earth's interior is differentiated suggests that A) it formed first from denser material and then afterward accreted lighter material. B) it has both a liquid and solid core. C) it was entirely liquid at some point in the past. D) only the crust is solid; the rest of Earth's interior is liquid. E) it formed first from lighter material and then afterward accreted heavier material.

Earth's innermost core is solid, not liquid, because A) the core temperature is too low to melt iron. B) differentiation caused all of the heavy, solid material to sink to the bottom while Earth was forming. C) all the liquid has moved up into the mantle via convection. D) the pressure is too high for the material to be in a liquid state. E) iron does not melt.

Which of the following processes can reduce the temperature of a planet? A) decays of radioisotopes within the planet B) thermal radiation into space C) incident energy from the central star D) tidal forces E) asteroid impacts

What is the main reason that part of Earth's interior is liquid today? A) tidal force of the Moon on Earth B) seismic waves that travel through Earth's interior C) decay of radioactive elements D) convective motions in the mantle E) pressure on the core from Earth's outer layers.

Which of the following will be a consequence of Earth's consumption of the bulk of its radioactive "fuel" in the future? A) Earth will spin more slowly on its axis. B) The interior of the planet will cool and solidify. C) Volcanic activity will increase. D) Continental drift will accelerate. E) The surface will be too radioactive for life to exist.

What will eventually happen to Earth when radioactive decays in its interior cease? A) Earth's core will solidify. B) Continental drift will cease. C) Earthquakes will cease. D) The strength of Earth's magnetic field will decrease. E) All of these will occur.

Magnetosphere refers to A) the metallic core of Earth. B) the liquid mantle of Earth. C) the magnetic dynamo effect. D) the magnetic fields surrounding Earth. E) Earth's ionosphere.

Which terrestrial planet has the strongest magnetic field? A) Mercury B) Venus C) Earth D) Mars E) the Moon

The dynamo theory says that a planet will have a strong magnetic field if it has A) fast rotation and a solid core. B) slow rotation and a liquid core. C) fast rotation and a liquid core. D) slow rotation and a solid core. E) fast rotation and a gaseous core.

Which of the following is a requirement for a planetary magnetic dynamo? A) a permanently magnetized crust B) a solid iron core C) a liquid interior D) polarized liquid water oceans. E) a large moon

Based on the assumption that a liquid-conducting core and rapid rotation both are required for a magnetic dynamo to operate, which terrestrial planets would you expect to have magnetic fields? A) only Earth B) only Earth, Venus, and Mars C) only Earth and Venus D) only Earth and Mercury E) Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury

The Moon has a diameter that is approximately one-fourth that of Earth.If these objects' interiors are heated by radioactive decays and the total amount of energy in decays is proportional to the object's volume, how does the amount of internal heat the Moon has compare to that of Earth? A) The Moon's heating rate is 1/64 times that of Earth's. B) The Moon's heating rate is 32 times that of Earth's. C) The Moon's heating rate is 1/16 times that of Earth's. D) The heating rates are about the same. E) The Moon's heating rate is 8 times that of Earth's.

Mars has a diameter that is approximately half that of Earth's.If the interiors of these planets are heated by radioactive decays, how does the heating rate of the interior of Mars compare to that of Earth? A) Mars's heating rate is 0.125 times that of Earth. B) Mars's heating rate is 8 times that of Earth. C) Mars's heating rate is 0.5 times that of Earth. D) Mars's heating rate is 4 times that of Earth. E) The heating rates are about the same.

Consider an external solar system in which there are three terrestrial planets.All are located far from other objects, so tidal forces aren't significant.If planet A has a radius of 1 Earth Radius, planet B has a radius of 2 Earth radii, and planet C has a radius of 3 Earth radii, which Planet has the highest chance of having at least a partially liquid core and a detectable Magnetic field? A) planet A B) planet B C) planet C D) They all have the same likelihood of having a liquid core. E) None of these planets should have a liquid core because they all should have completely solidified.

A(n) ________ is a location on Earth that experiences frequent volcanic activity. A) meteor crater B) canyon C) tidal bulge D) local hot spot E) inactive fault

What would you study in order to determine the timescale on which Earth's magnetic field reverses direction? A) a spreading center on the sea floor B) a volcano in the middle of a continental plate C) a fault at the border between two plates D) a subduction zone on the sea floor E) the rate of motion of tectonic plates

Continental drift occurs at a typical rate of a few A) mm/yr. B) cm/yr. C) m/yr. D) km/yr. E) nm/yr.

Plate tectonics is NOT responsible for A) mountain ranges. B) canyons. C) volcanoes. D) ocean trenches. E) continental drift.

The large feature spanning the planet ________ shown in the figure below is called ________. A) Mars; Olympus Mons B) Venus; Valles Marineris C) Venus; Olympus Mons D) Mars; Valles Marineris E) Mercury; Caloris Basin

The large feature spanning the surface of Mars shown in the figure below is ________ and probably was created by ________. A) an impact crater; an asteroid or comet B) a dry riverbed; flowing water C) a canyon; a rapid cooling of the crust D) a canyon; flowing water E) a highway; an extinct civilization

A rising convection cell in the mantle gives rise to A) a subduction zone. B) a sliding plate. C) converging plates. D) separating plates. E) a mountain range.

The North American Plate and the Pacific Plate are sliding past one another at a rate of approximately 3 cm/yr.San Francisco, which is located on the edge of the North American Plate, is sliding southward toward Los Angeles, which is located on the Pacific Plate.If the cities are currently separated by a distance of 600 km, how many years will it take for the two cities to meet? A) 3 million years B) 300,000 years C) 20 million years D) 20,000 years E) 600 years

If the Himalayan mountain range is presently 8,000 m in height and is rising at a rate of 0.5 m per century because of the convergence of two continental plates, how long did it take to create this mountain range? A) 1,600 years B) 160,000 years C) 1.6 million years D) 160 million years E) 1.6 billion years

The figure below depicts A) a conical volcano. B) a lunar crater. C) mantle turbulence. D) a shield volcano. E) a composite volcano.

The figure below depicts A) a rocky-core volcano. B) a lunar crater. C) mantle turbulence. D) a shield volcano. E) a composite volcano.

The feature shown in the image below is a(n) ________, the largest one of its kind in the Solar System, and is located on the planet ________. A) impact crater; Mercury B) mountain; Venus C) mountain; Earth D) volcano; Mars E) impact crater; the Moon

The feature on Mars shown in the image below is ________ named ________. A) an impact crater; Meteor Crater B) a volcano; Olympus Mons C) a canyon; Valles Marineris D) a canyon; Caloris Basin E) a mountain; Mount Everest

Which terrestrial object shows the least evidence of recent volcanic activity? A) Mercury B) Venus C) Earth D) Mars E) the Moon

The largest volcanic mountains in the Solar System are found on A) Mercury. B) Venus. C) Earth. D) Mars. E) the Moon.

Which of the following is a reason for the large size of volcanoes on Mars as compared to Earth's smaller volcanoes? A) extreme tectonic activity B) a thick atmosphere, therefore no asteroid impacts C) less gravity than other terrestrial planets D) fewer eruptions E) strong tidal forces

Which of the following will remove ("smooth out") features on a planet's surface? A) plate tectonic activity B) meteor impacts C) decay of radioisotopes within the planet D) a thick, active atmosphere E) none of these

Present-day erosion on the surface of the Moon is primarily caused by A) flowing water. B) wind. C) solar radiation. D) dust storms. E) tectonic shifts.

Which of the follow is evidence for Mars once having had liquid water on its surface? A) Mapping satellites have detected dry riverbeds. B) Rovers have detected minerals that must have formed in the presence of liquid water. C) Mapping satellites have detected outflow channels coming from impact craters. D) large canyons E) all of these

We have direct evidence for the recent existence of water on the surface of which terrestrial object? A) Mercury B) Venus C) Mars D) Ganymede E) Callisto

The rovers named Spirit and Opportunity that recently explored the surface of Mars discovered A) tiny streams of flowing water too small to be detected by orbiting satellites. B) minerals that must have formed in an environment rich in liquid water. C) dust storms that rapidly erode the surfaces of most geological formations. D) the northern polar ice cap is made primarily of frozen water. E) the presence of methane that arises from biological life.

Which of the following is a reason that we suspect that the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by an explosive impact by a large object? A) Many dinosaur fossils are found below the K-Pg boundary, but none above it. B) The impact created the Moon. C) The radioactivity of Earth's crust increases significantly above the K-Pg boundary. D) There are several medium-sized meteor craters created by secondary impacts. E) The remaining meteorite has been identified on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

What are the four main processes that shape the surfaces of the terrestrial planets?

Describe the process of how an impact crater and secondary impact craters are formed.

Name the terrestrial planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun.What are the terrestrial planets in order of increasing geological age of their surface?

Give a specific example of a historical impact of an asteroid or comet that hit Earth.Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?

What is the age of the Moon, and how do we know?

Explain and relate the terms radioisotope, parent element, daughter product, and half-life.

If you obtained a sample of Martian rock, determined the abundances of ²³⁰U and ²⁰⁷Pb in it, and found that for every one uranium atom there were seven lead atoms, what would be the age of this rock? Note that ²³⁰U decays to ²⁰⁷Pb with a half-life of 700 million years.Assume that there was no ²⁰⁷Pb in the rock when it originally formed.

List the names of the four layers of Earth's interior shown in the figure below, going from the outer layer to the innermost layer, and designate whether they are solid or liquid.  

Which is denser: the mantle or crust of Earth? Explain why.

Describe the difference between seismic primary and secondary waves and why this difference makes them useful in probing the structure of Earth's interior.

How do astronomers determine the average density of a planet using an orbiting object? How do they estimate the material composition of the planet without surface measurements?

Suppose that two planets of the same size formed from the same material.If planet A had differentiated and planet B had not, how would samples of their surface rock differ? Explain why.

How has the radioactive heating of Earth varied from when it was first formed 4.6 billion years ago?

Why does Earth have a stronger magnetic field than any of the other terrestrial planets?

Describe two reasons why we know that Earth's magnetic field cannot be a result of permanent magnetism in a solid iron core.

Which planet would you expect to have a larger molten core: a planet of Earth's size or a planet that had half the radius of Earth? Explain why.

How do we know that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times in the past?

Three different things can happen when two continental plates meet.What is the name given to each, and briefly explain what happens in each.

Along which type of plate boundary are mountain chains commonly found?

Describe one example of tectonic disruption on Mercury, Venus, and Mars, respectively, and explain how they formed.

Of the terrestrial planets, which have active plate tectonics?

The American and African/European continents are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, which is approximately 4,000 km wide.Assuming a continental drift rate of 2 cm/yr, how long has it been since they were one land mass?

How does a chain of shield volcanoes, like the Hawaiian chain, form?

Explain the differences between shield and composite volcanoes.

What is one major difference between the volcanoes on Venus and Mars and the volcanoes on Earth? What might explain this difference?

Of the terrestrial planets, which has the most volcanoes?

If there were water (in any phase) on Mars today, where would it likely be? Name two separate pieces of evidence we have that Mars once had flowing water on its surface and how this evidence was obtained.

Rounded pebbles have been found on Mars.What does this finding suggest?

What is the evidence for a large asteroid impact and an associated mass extinction event occurring approximately 65 million years ago?