Astronomy - Quiz 8A. Review

In what ways is Earth different from the other terrestrial planets?

All of these are correct! (Whole Lotta Love) Most of its surface is covered with liquid water. Its lithosphere is broken into plates that move around. Life can be found almost everywhere. It has oxygen in its atmosphere.

Why is Mars "red"...well, really orange like metal left outside for long periods?

Chemical reactions between surface rock and atmospheric oxygen literally rusted the surface.

Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury?

Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experienced some volcanism and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all.

Which of the terrestrial worlds has the strongest magnetic field?

Earth

True or False? "Erosion is the most important geological process on Venus."

False

How is the atmosphere of a planet affected by the rotation rate?

Faster rotation rates produce stronger winds.

Which internal heat source still generates heat within the all of the terrestrial worlds today?

Heat from radioactive decay

Why does Earth have the strongest magnetic field among the terrestrial worlds?

It is the only one that has both a partially molten metallic core and reasonably rapid rotation.

Which describes our understanding of flowing water on Mars?

It was important once, but no longer.

Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a strong magnetic field?

Its rotation is too slow.

Which of the following show evidence of ancient river beds?

Mars

All the following statements about Mars are TRUE, BUT which one might have led to a significant loss of atmospheric gas to space?

Mars lost any global magnetic field that it may once have had.

Recent evidence suggests that Mars once had a global magnetic field. Assuming this is true, which of the following could explain why Mars today lacks a global magnetic field like that of Earth?

Mars's interior has cooled so much its molten (liquid) core layer has decreased significantly.

Spacecraft have landed on all the terrestrial worlds except...which "terrestrial" world?

Mercury

Which of the following planets has the least substantial atmosphere...little to none?

Mercury

The choices below describe four hypothetical terrestrial planets. Which one would you expect to have the hottest interior?

Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months.

What makes us think that Mars must once have had an atmosphere that was warmer and had higher surface pressure?

The atmosphere is too cold and thin for liquid water today, yet we see evidence that water flowed on the surface in the past.

True or False? "Earth is the only planet in the solar system known to have plate tectonics."

True

True or False? "Venus has a thicker atmosphere than Earth."

True

Which of the following best explain what we think happened to outgassed water vapor on Venus?

Ultraviolet light split the water molecules, and the hydrogen then escaped to space.

Which of the following worlds has the most substantial atmosphere?

Venus

Which terrestrial world has the most atmospheric gas?

Venus

Which of the following is an example of convection?

Warm air expanding and rising while cooler air contracts and fall.

What do we mean when we say that the terrestrial worlds underwent differentiation ("planetary differentiation")?

When their interiors were molten, denser materials sank toward their centers and lighter materials rose toward their surfaces.

Suppose we use a baseball to represent Earth. On this scale, the other terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) would range in size approximately from that of ________.

a golf ball to a baseball

Olympus Mons is ________.

a huge volcano on Mars

The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that ________.

a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato

Given that we can't see through (with visible light) the thick polluted atmosphere of Venus, how have we been able to construct detailed maps of surface features on Venus?

by using radar from spacecraft that were sent to orbit Venus

From center to surface, which of the following correctly lists the interior layers of a terrestrial world?

core, mantle, crust

Volcanism is more likely on a planet that...

has high internal temperatures.

A planet is most likely to have tectonic activity if it has

high internal temperature.

The processes responsible for virtually all terrestrial world (including moons!) surface geology are ________.

impact cratering, volcanisms, tectonics, and erosion

What's the fundamental reason that Mars, unlike Earth, has become virtually geologically dead, although it stayed active longer than Moon and Mercury?

its small size compared to Earth

There are no polar auroras on Venus because it

lacks a strong magnetic field.

Valles Marineris is a(n)

large canyon on Mars formed when Mars cooled and cracked

Where is the most CO2 that has outgassed from Earth's volcanoes?

locked up in rocks (yes! This one)

The terrestrial planet cores contain mostly metal because

metals sank to the center during a time when the interiors were molten throughout.

What are the two geological features that appear to set Earth apart from all the other terrestrial worlds?

plate tectonics and a variety of widespread erosion

Which of the following best describes mare?

relatively smooth, flat plains of cooled lava that came through the surface

The Caloris Basin on Mercury covers a large region of the planet, but NOT MANY smaller craters have formed on top of it. From this we conclude that

the Caloris Basin formed toward the END of the solar system's period of heavy bombardment.