astr 1101 homeworks 4-6

The polar caps on Mars are composed of a. mostly water ice and some solid carbon dioxide. b. pure solid carbon dioxide. c. mostly solid carbon dioxide and some water ice. d. There are no polar caps on Mars. e. pure water ice

a. mostly water ice and some solid carbon dioxide.

Suppose an earthquake occurs on an imaginary planet. Scientists on the other side of the planet detect P-waves but not S-waves after the quake occurs. This suggests that: Select one: a. The planet's mantle is liquid. b. part of the planet's interior is liquid c. the planet's interior consists entirely of rocky materials. d. the planet has an iron core. e. all of the planet's interior is solid

b. part of the planet's interior is liquid

Which of the following worlds has the most substantial atmosphere? Select one: a. Venus b. Mercury c. Mars d. Earth e. the Moon

a. Venus

Why would the weather become more severe as the greenhouse effect increased? Select one: a. Warming would increase the evaporation of the oceans, leading to more water in the atmosphere and more frequent and severe storms. b. Warming would dry out the atmosphere and the crust, leading to devastation of Earth through more meteor bombardment and volcanism. c. The depleted ozone layer would let in more particles from the solar wind. d. Warming of the planet would lead to terrible droughts and reduce the amount of water on Earth. e. all of the above

a. Warming would increase the evaporation of the oceans, leading to more water in the atmosphere and more frequent and severe storms.

The solid form of a volatile material is generally referred to as Select one: a. an ice b. a refractory material c. a silicate d. a rock e. a metal

a. an ice

A planet is most likely to have tectonic activity if it has Select one: a. high internal temperature. b. a dense atmosphere. c. low internal temperature. d. low surface gravity. e. high surface gravity.

a. high internal temperature.

Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest. a. Mercury, Moon, Mars, Earth, Venus b. Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth c. Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars d. Mercury, Moon, Venus, Earth, Mars e. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars

b. Moon, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth

Which is not a reason that we suspect Mars once had liquid water on its surface? a. Mapping satellites have detected dry riverbeds. b. The observed presence of water ice in Mars's polar icecaps. c. Rovers have detected minerals that must have formed in the presence of liquid water. d. Mapping satellites have detected outflow channels coming from impact craters.

b. The observed presence of water ice in Mars's polar icecaps.

Approximately how long after the Solar System formed did it take for oxygen to get to within 80 percent of its present abundance in Earth's atmosphere? Select one: a. 400 million years b. 4 billion years c. 1 billion years d. Oxygen was always a component of Earth's atmosphere e. 1 million years

b. 4 billion years

The age of our solar system is approximately Select one: a. 14 billion years. b. 4.6 billion years. c. 3.8 million years. d. 10,000 years. e. 4.6 million years.

b. 4.6 billion years.

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? Select one: a. The Martian core is made of rock, while Earth's core is made of metal. b. Mars's interior has cooled so much its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection. c. Mars rotates much slower than Earth. d. Mars is too far from the Sun to have a global magnetic field.

b. Mars's interior has cooled so much its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection.

Maria refer to a geological feature located on a. Venus b. The Moon c. Mercury d. Mars e. Earth

b. The Moon

In the absence of a greenhouse effect, what would happen to Earth's oceans? Select one: a. They would evaporate b. They would freeze over c. They would be rapidly absorbed into surface rocks d. They would dissociate into ozone and hydrogen

b. They would freeze over

Based on the figure shown below, which planet(s) is(are) most likely to have the largest fraction of its(their) mass made of highly volatile materials such as methane and ammonia? Select one: a. Jupiter b. Uranus c. It is impossible to tell d. Venus, Earth, and Mars e. Saturn

b. Uranus

If the carbon dioxide in Earth's rocks were suddenly released into its atmosphere, what would happen? Select one: a. It would rapidly escape into space b. It would collect as ice on the north and south poles c. It would cause a runaway greenhouse effect d. It would dissociate into carbon and oxygen.

c. It would cause a runaway greenhouse effect

The figure shows the continental plates of Earth and the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes. Which statement is FALSE?Select one: a. Volcanoes occur more often where two plates are coming together rather than spreading apart. b. Southern California in the United States and Baja in Mexico are sliding northeastward relative to the rest of the North American Plate. c. The Atlantic Ocean is getting smaller with time d. Earth's crust is broken up into 13 separate continental plates. e. Earthquakes happen where two plates come together and when they spread apart.

c. The Atlantic Ocean is getting smaller with time

What would happen if photosynthesis were to disappear on Earth? Select one: a. the atmosphere would become less dense. b. the atmosphere would become hotter. c. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere. d. the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere would decrease. e. nitrogen would disappear from the atmosphere.

c. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere.

The feature shown in the image below is a _________, the largest one of its kind in the Solar System, and is located on the planet _________. a. mountain; Earth b. mountain; Venus c. volcano; Mars d. impact crater; the Moon e. impact crater; Mercury

c. volcano; Mars

Which of the following planets has a stratosphere? a. Mars b. Mercury c. Earth d. Venus e. All of the above

c. Earth

How does the greenhouse effect work? Select one: a. Ozone transmits visible light, allowing it to heat the surface, but then absorbs most of the infrared heat, trapping the heat near the surface. b. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared light from the Sun, which then heats the atmosphere and the surface. c. Greenhouse gases transmit visible light, allowing it to heat the surface, but then absorb infrared light from Earth, trapping the heat near the surface. d. The higher pressure of the thick atmosphere at lower altitudes traps heat in more effectively. e. Greenhouse gases absorb X rays and ultraviolet light from the Sun, which then heat the atmosphere and the surface.

c. Greenhouse gases transmit visible light, allowing it to heat the surface, but then absorb infrared light from Earth, trapping the heat near the surface.

Spacecraft have landed on all the terrestrial worlds except a. Mars b. Moon c. Mercury d. Venus Feedback

c. Mercury

Which of the following general statements about Earth's atmosphere is NOT true? Select one: a. Atmospheric scattering of light explains why our daytime sky is bright and blue. b. Atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. c. The sea level temperature depends primarily on the total amount of gas in our atmosphere d. Even in low-Earth orbit, some atmospheric gas is still present.

c. The sea level temperature depends primarily on the total amount of gas in our atmosphere

The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that Select one: a. gas bubbles form and rise upward in boiling water. b. thunderstorms tend to form on hot summer days. c. a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato. d. Earth contains more metal than the Moon.

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

Heat escapes from a planet's surface into space by thermal radiation. Planets radiate almost entirely in the wavelength range of the Select one: a. ultravoilet b. visible c. infrared d. none of the above e. radio

c. infrared

Which of the following worlds have the thinnest lithospheres? a. Earth and the Moon b. Earth and Mars c. Venus and the Moon d. Earth and Venus e. Mercury and Venus

d. Earth and Venus

What is the importance of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle? Select one: a. It makes the growth of continents possible. b. It will prevent us from suffering any consequences from global warming. c. It allows for an ultraviolet-absorbing stratosphere. d. It regulates the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere, keeping temperatures moderate.

d. It regulates the carbon dioxide concentration of our atmosphere, keeping temperatures moderate.

Mars, Venus, and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon. This is explained by the fact that a. Mars, Venus, and Earth have thicker atmospheres. b. Mars, Venus, and Earth are much larger in size than Mercury and the Moon. 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. the rate of cratering in the early Solar System was strongly dependent on location.

d. Mars, Venus, and Earth were geologically active for a longer period of time than Mercury and the Moon.

The large feature spanning the planet _________ shown in the figure is called_________. a. Venus; Olympus Mons b. Venus; Valles Marineris c. Mercury; Caloris Basin d. Mars; Valles Marineris e. Mars; Olympus Mons

d. Mars; Valles Marineris

Which of the following statements is not an observed pattern of motion in our solar system? Select one: a. Almost all moons orbit their planet in the same direction as the planet's rotation. b. Most planets rotate in the same direction in which they orbit. c. Most planetary orbits lie nearly in the same plane. d. Most planets orbit at the same speed. e. All planets orbit the Sun in the same direction. Feedback

d. Most planets orbit at the same speed.

Which of the following is not a factor that helps explain Earth's lack of craters compared to the Moon? Select one: a. wind erosion b. liquid water on surface c. active tectonics and volcanism d. higher density interior e. larger atmosphere

d. higher density interior

There are no aurora on Venus because it Select one: a. lacks strong winds. b. lacks an ionosphere. c. lacks atmospheric oxygen d. lacks a strong magnetic field. e. is too hot

d. lacks a strong magnetic field.

Whether a planet will be rocky or gaseous depends on what important factor? Select one: a. the planet's internal temperature b. the time at which the planet is born c. whether the planet has moons or rings or both moons and rings d. the planet's distance from the Sun e. the planet's radius

d. the planet's distance from the Sun

What is the reason Mercury has so little gas in its atmosphere? Select one: a. Its mass is small. b. It is close to the Sun. c. Its escape velocity (the lowest velocity which a body must have in order to escape the gravitational attraction of a particular planet or other object) is low. d. It has a high temperature. e. All of the above.

e. All of the above.

Which of the following worlds has the greatest difference in temperature between its "no atmosphere" temperature and its actual temperature? Select one: a. Mercury b. the Moon c. Mars d. Earth e. Venus

e. Venus

The thermosphere is warm because it Select one: a. contains greenhouse gases. b. absorbs infrared light c. absorbs visible light. d. absorbs ultraviolet light. e. absorbs X rays

e. absorbs X rays