chap 22 geol

Which of the following words would you use to describe a large impact basin?

basalt

Anorthosite represents the oldest rock type found on the Moon and is unique because it is primarily composed of a single mineral. What mineral is it?

plagioclase feldspar

What causes a central peak to form in an impact crater?

rebound of the rock layers after impact

Why is the Venusian surface so hot?

Because of its dense atmosphere, composed of 97 percent carbon dioxide

Where are most asteroids found?

Between Mars and Jupiter

Which characteristic is shared by both the terrestrial and the Jovian planets in our solar system?

Both the terrestrial and the Jovian planets possess a solid core, made mostly of metallic and/or rocky material.

________ is the principal gas in the Venusian atmosphere and also a minor component of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars.

Carbon dioxide

Impact craters are common on the surface of all of the terrestrial planets except ________.

Earth

Which planets have rings?

Jovian planets

________ has the great, dark spot on its surface.

Jupiter

Which group of planets within the solar system is known as the Jovian, or giant, planets?

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

What characteristics are used to group planets?

Location, size, and density

What terms describe the dark and light regions of the lunar surface?

Maria and terrae

Olympus Mons, thought to be the largest volcano in the solar system, can be found on which planet?

Mars

Which of the following statements concerning plate tectonics on Earth and Mars is true?

Mars has larger volcanoes than Earth because plate motion is NOT present on Mars.

________ has atmospheric pressures at its surface that are roughly comparable to those at Earth's surface.

Saturn's moon Titan

What differentiates terrestrial planets from Jovian planets?

Terrestrial planets are smaller, denser, and closer to the Sun than Jovian planets, which are larger, less dense, and farther from the Sun.

Which is the only planet in the solar system whose axis of rotation is in an orientation parallel to its orbital plane?

Uranus

Which of the following locations does not show direct evidence of a liquid water past on Mars?

Valles Marineris

What accounts for the large density differences between the terrestrial and Jovian planets?

Variation in the chemical composition of the planets

The high surface temperatures of ________ have been attributed to the greenhouse effect.

Venus

The surface features of ________ are known only through satellite radar mapping.

Venus

Which planet rotates the opposite direction it revolves around the Sun?

Venus

Which of the following statements regarding volcanoes on Mars is FALSE?

Volcanoes are the most recent surface features on the planet.

Venus has dense clouds and thick atmosphere, yet there is no evidence for water on the surface. Why?

Water could not survive as liquid water on the surface because it is too hot.

What is a nebula?

a large, diffuse cloud of dust and gas in space

The broad, flat, dark areas, or maria, seen on the Moon from Earth are composed of which material?

basaltic lava flows

Which three groups of substances compose both the inner and outer planets of the solar system?

gases, ices, rocks

Which group of planets in our solar system is known as the terrestrial planets?

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Vast, circular to elliptical dark-colored areas on the moon called maria represent ________.

very large impact craters filled with basaltic lava Submit

How are asteroids different from comets?

Asteroids are mostly rock; comets are mostly ice.

When did our Solar System begin to form?

5 billion years ago

As an overview, how did Earth's Moon form?

A Mars-sized body hit Earth, knocking debris off Earth into Earth's orbit. This debris coalesced to form the Moon.

How did our Solar System begin to form?

A large cloud of dust and gas began to contract under the force of gravity.

Which of the following features on Mars is/are volcanic in origin?

Alba Mons

________ are found both on Mars and Earth.

Erosional features related to flowing water

What seems to be the most common feature of the landing sites of the various Mars missions?

Evidence for water at some point in Mars' history

Which one of the following is not found on Mars?

H2O-rich atmosphere

How did the lunar maria most likely originate?

Huge impact basins were nearly filled with basaltic lava flows.

Which satellite in the solar system exhibits active volcanism?

Io

________ meteorites are thought to be analogous in composition to Earth's core.

Iron

Why is Meteor Crater so well preserved?

Meteor Crater is relatively young.

Saturn is famous for its rings. Which of the following Jovian planets does not have rings?

None, all of the Jovian planets have rings

The largest known volcano in the solar system is ________.

Olympus Mons on Mars

Which of the following statements correctly describes the motion of the particles in Saturn's rings?

Particles in the inner rings orbit Saturn at a faster speed than particles in the outer rings.

What surface features do Mars and Earth have in common?

Playas, lake beds, and sedimentary rock layers

Which body is a dwarf planet?

Pluto

Which of the following is not a Jovian planet?

Pluto

What is the nature of Jupiter's Great Red Spot?

The Great Red Spot is a large, anticyclonic storm.

The planets that are farthest from the Sun are the largest bodies in the solar system, but have the lowest average densities. Which is the best explanation for this arrangement of the planets?

The Jovian planets had temperatures that were low enough to allow accumulation of ices, which caused planets of large size.

Which hypothesis best explains the way scientists think the Moon was formed?

The Moon was formed by ejecta released when a Mars-sized body collided with Earth very early in its history.

Why has it been so difficult to examine the surface of Venus with unmanned probes?

The air pressure at the surface is equivalent to a water depth of nearly 1km on Earth, and temperatures are very high, which tends to destroy the probes.

Why is Uranus considered the "sideways planet"?

The axis of rotation is nearly parallel to the ecliptic.

Which of the following statements concerning the moon is true?

The light areas of the moon were formed by small meteor impacts.

Why do geologists use the radiometric age of meteorites as a guide to age of the solar system?

The meteorites have been isolated in the cold vacuum of space since their formation, so they have seen no significant heating since the time of their formation.

Which observation supports the theory that the planets formed from a disk shaped nebula?

The planets revolve around the Sun in approximately the same plane of the ecliptic.

Where did the rocks of the Moon originate?

The rocks were once part of Earth.

What did the Mars rover Opportunity discover on Mars that relates to questions about the existence of water on Mars?

The rover found sedimentary rocks that contained minerals that could only have formed by precipitation from water.

According to the nebular theory, what are the basic steps in the formation of our solar system from first event to last?

The solar nebula contracted; the protosun formed; collisions of solid matter formed planetesimals; accretion of matter turned the planetesimals into protoplanets; the protoplanets ultimately became the eight planets of our Solar System.

The planets located closest to the Sun are smaller and have high density. How does the nebular hypothesis account for these planets being situated in this position?

The terrestrial planets have small size, high density, and are closest to the Sun because the extremely high temperatures associated with formation allowed only silicate minerals and metals to form solids.

What is the nebular theory?

The theory that explains the formation of the solar system

What moon in the outer solar system is most "earthlike" in terms of landforms, and possesses liquids (liquid methane not water) flowing across the surface?

Titan

The occurrence of crystals in the rocks obtained from the Moon during Apollo missions indicates that they formed by which process?

crystallization from a melt

At what point during a meteorite impact are rock layers overturned?

during the rebound of rock layers after impact

Pluto is now classified as a ________ in our solar system.

dwarf planet

What atmospheric gas is common in the outer planets but rare in the inner planets?

hydrogen

What is the most abundant element in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn?

hydrogen

Several of the moons of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune display evidence of volcanic activity. What is the most common type of volcano on these moons?

ice volcanos

Most of the mass in the solar system is contained ________.

in the Sun

What evidence observed on Mars indicates that at one time it may have had a warmer climate and a water cycle similar to that on Earth?

large valleys that resemble river channels

Saturn's rings look bright because __________.

light from the Sun reflects off the material in the rings

Saturn's rings are composed of __________.

lots of individual particles of ice and rock

Which of these lunar features is the oldest?

lunar highlands

The very large, lava-covered areas of the Moon are called ________.

maria

Which process results in the formation of breccias on the Moon?

meteorite impacts

The blue color of both Uranus and Neptune is caused by the presence of which gas in their atmospheres?

methane

The ________ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.

nebular hypothesis

The planet with the highest density is a ________.

terrestrial planet

The most popular theory for the origin of the Moon today is ________.

the early Earth and a planet the size of Mars collided, and the ejected material coalesced to form Earth's Moon Submit

Most of the Moon's craters were produced by ________.

the impact of meteoroids Submit

Rayed craters like Tyco and Copernicus are known to be younger than the lunar maria because ________.

their ejecta, seen as rays, lies across the surface of the maria

Where did the energy of the Sun come from originally?

thermal energy that was converted from the gravitational energy of the original nebula collapse