Quiz 10 Chapter 9

Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest: A) Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. B) Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth. C) Mercury, Moon, Mars, Earth, Venus. D) Mercury, Moon, Venus, Earth, Mars. E) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars.

Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth.

The three principal sources of internal heat of terrestrial planets are A) accretion, differentiation, and radioactivity. B) conduction, differentiation, and accretion. C) accretion, differentiation, and eruption. D) convection, differentiation, and eruption. E) conduction, convection, and eruption.

accretion, differentiation, and radioactivity.

What drives the motion of the tectonic plates on Earth? A) convection cells in the mantle B) lava flows in trenches along the sea floor C) Earth's magnetic field D) tidal forces E) the Coriolis force

convection cells in the mantle

Which two properties are most important in determining the surface temperature of a planet? A) composition and distance from the Sun B) size and chemical composition C) internal temperature and atmosphere D) distance from the Sun and atmosphere E) size and atmosphere

distance from the Sun and atmosphere

Steep-sided stratovolcanoes are made from lava that A) can have any viscosity. B) has a medium viscosity. C) is as runny as liquid water. D) has a high viscosity.

has a high viscosity.

Shallow-sloped shield volcanoes are made from lava that A) is as runny as liquid water. B) has a high viscosity. C) has a medium viscosity. D) can have any viscosity.

has a medium viscosity.

Volcanism is more likely on a planet that A) is closer to the Sun. B) is struck often by meteors and solar system debris. C) doesn't have an atmosphere or oceans. D) has high internal temperatures.

has high internal temperatures.

A planet is most likely to have tectonic activity if it has A) high surface gravity. B) low surface gravity. C) a dense atmosphere. D) high internal temperature. E) low internal temperature.

high internal temperature.

Heat escapes from a planet's surface into space by thermal radiation. Planets radiate almost entirely in the wavelength range of the A) ultraviolet. B) infrared. C) radio. D) visible. E) none of the above

infrared.

Which of the following does not have a major effect in shaping planetary surfaces? A) tectonics B) magnetism C) volcanism D) erosion E) impact cratering

magnetism

What is differentiation in planetary geology? A) the process by which gravity separates materials according to density B) any process by which a planet evolves differently from its moons C) any process by which one part of a planet's surface evolves differently from another part of the same planet's surface D) the process by which different types of minerals form a conglomerate rock E) any process by which a planet's surface evolves differently from another planet's surface

the process by which gravity separates materials according to density

When we see a region of a planet that is not as heavily cratered as other regions, we conclude that A) the planet is rotating very slowly and only one side was hit by impactors. B) there is little volcanic activity to create craters. C) the surface in the region is younger than the surface in more heavily cratered regions. D) the surface in the region is older than the surface in more heavily cratered regions. E) the planet formed after the age of bombardment and missed out on getting hit by leftover planetesimals.

the surface in the region is younger than the surface in more heavily cratered regions.

Which of the following describes erosion? A) the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface B) the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather C) the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses D) the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface

the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather

1) Under what circumstances can differentiation occur in a planet? A) The planet must have a molten interior. B) The planet must be made of both metal and rock. C) The planet must be geologically active, that is, have volcanoes, planetquakes, and erosion from weather. D) The planet must have a rocky surface. E) The planet must have an atmosphere.

A) The planet must have a molten interior.

Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today? A) radioactivity B) accretion C) differentiation D) tidal heating E) all of the above

A) radioactivity

1) The core, mantle, and crust of a planet are defined by differences in their A) Composition B) strength. C) temperature. D) color. E) geological activity.

Composition

Why does Earth have the strongest magnetic field among the terrestrial worlds? A) It is the only one that has both a partially molten metallic core and reasonably rapid rotation. B) It is the most volcanically active world. C) It rotates much faster than any other terrestrial world. D) It is the only one that has a metallic core. E) It is by far the largest terrestrial world.

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

Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a strong magnetic field? A) Its rotation is too slow. B) It is too large. C) It has too thick an atmosphere. D) It does not have a metallic core. E) It is too close to the Sun.

Its rotation is too slow.

How did the lunar maria form? A) The giant impact that created the Moon left smooth areas that we call the maria. B) The maria are the result of gradual erosion by micrometeorites striking the Moon. C) The early bombardment created heat that melted the lunar surface in the regions of the maria. D) Large impacts fractured the Moon's lithosphere, allowing lava to fill the impact basins. E) Volatiles escaping from the Moon's interior heated and eroded the surface in the regions of the maria.

Large impacts fractured the Moon's lithosphere, allowing lava to fill the impact basins

1) Which of the following show evidence of ancient river beds? A) the Moon B) Venus C) Mercury D) Mars E) all of the above

Mars

Which of the following show evidence of ancient river beds? A) the Moon B) Mars C) Mercury D) Venus E) all of the above

Mars

Which of the following best describes why the smaller terrestrial worlds have cooler interiors than the larger ones? A) They have relatively more surface area compared to their volumes. B) The smaller ones are farther from the Sun. C) They had more volcanic eruptions in the past, which released their internal heat. D) They were cooler when they formed. E) They have relatively fewer radioactive elements.

They have relatively more surface area compared to their volumes

Why do we think Mercury has so many tremendous cliffs? A) They are almost certainly volcanic in origin, carved by flowing lava. B) They were probably carved in Mercury's early history by running water. C) They were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled. D) They probably formed when a series of large impacts hit Mercury one after the other. E) They represent one of the greatest mysteries in the solar system, as no one has suggested a reasonable hypothesis for their formation.

They were probably formed by tectonic stresses when the entire planet shrank as its core cooled.

1) The terrestrial planet cores contain mostly metal because A) radioactivity created metals in the core from the decay of uranium. B) the entire planets are made mostly of metal. C) convection carried the metals to the core. D) metals condensed first in the solar nebula and the rocks then accreted around them. E) metals sank to the center during a time when the interiors were molten throughout.

radioactivity created metals in the core from the decay of uranium.

Olympus Mons is a A) shield volcano on Mars. B) large lava plain on the Moon. C) stratovolcano on Mercury. D) stratovolcano on the Moon. E) shield volcano on Venus.

shield volcano on Mars.

The Caloris Basin on Mercury covers a large region of the planet, but few smaller craters have formed on top of it. From this we conclude that A) erosion destroyed the smaller craters that formed on the basin. B) Mercury's atmosphere prevented smaller objects from hitting the surface. C) only very large impactors hit Mercury's surface in the past. D) the Caloris Basin was formed by a volcano. E) the Caloris Basin formed toward the end of the solar system's period of heavy bombardment.

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

1) Which of the following describes tectonics? A) the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface B) the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather C) the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses D) the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface

the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses

Which of the following describes volcanism? A) the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather B) the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface C) the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface D) the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses

the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface

Which of the following describes impact cratering? A) the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface B) the wearing down or building up of geological features by wind, water, ice, and other phenomena of planetary weather C) the eruption of molten rock from a planet's interior to its surface D) the disruption of a planet's surface by internal stresses

the excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet's surface

The relatively few craters that we see within the lunar maria A) were formed by impacts that occurred after those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands. B) were formed by impacts that occurred before those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands. C) were created by the same large impactor that led to the formation of the maria. D) are volcanic in origin, rather than from impacts. E) are sinkholes that formed when sections of the maria collapsed.

were formed by impacts that occurred after those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands.