EAPS 105: Homework 6
In Wikipedia, look up "Shatter cone" and answer this question: What is a shatter cone?
A conical shaped fracture of rock indicative of the passage of a shock wave due to an impact.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater" and answer this question: True or False: The rate of crater production (how often planets or moons are hit by asteroids or comets) has been fairly constant since the beginning of the Solar System.
***False "The cratering rate in the inner solar system fluctuates as a consequence of collisions in the asteroid belt that create a family of fragments that are often sent cascading into the inner solar system."
In Wikipedia, look up "Escape velocity" and answer this question: Assuming equal mass, which will have the higher escape velocity from its surface, a large diameter planet or a small diameter planet? (Hint: look at the equation for escape velocity(speed).)
Smaller diameter leads to higher escape velocity.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater" and answer this question: Why are impact craters not the dominant geographic feature on Venus, Mars, Europa, Io, and Titan?
Because craters on these bodies become eroded, buried, or transformed by tectonics over time.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater", scroll down to "Crater formation", and answer this question: Why are craters nearly always round?
Because they are caused be explosions.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater", scroll down to "Crater formation", and answer this question: In which of the following stages of crater formation does the crater reach its maximum size (and depth), called the transient cavity?
Excavation
In Wikipedia, look up "Ejecta blanket"" and answer this question: What is an ejecta blanket?
It is a generally symmetrical apron of ejecta that surrounds an impact crater.
In Wikipedia, look up "Kentland crater" and answer this question: What is unique about the Kentland impact crater?
It is in Indiana lol
In Wikipedia, look up "Escape velocity" and answer this question: What is an escape velocity?
It is the minimum speed needed for an object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater", scroll down to "Crater formation", and answer this question: Ignoring the slowing effects of travel through the atmosphere, what is the minimum velocity an object from space will hit the Earth (or any other planet or moon for that matter)?
The planet or moon's escape velocity
In Wikipedia, look up "Double Asteroid Redirection Test" and answer this question: What is the objective of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test?
To deliberately crash a space probe into the asteroid moon Dimorphos to assess the future potential of a spacecraft impact to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.
In Wikipedia, look up "Asteroid impact avoidance" and answer this question: What is the main strategy to avoid being hit by a large near-Earth object on a collision course with Earth?
To divert it so that it does not hit us
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater" and answer this question: In which of the following bodies are impact craters NOT the dominant geographical feature?
a. ***NO: Earth b. YES: Mercury c. YES: Calisto d. NO: Ganymede
In Wikipedia, look up "Multi-ringed basin"" and answer this question: Which of the following is a characteristic of a multi-ringed basin?
a. ***TRUE: It contains multiple concentric topographic rings. b. FALSE: It is bowl shaped. c. FALSE: It has a peak ring center.
In Wikipedia, look up "Chicxulub crater" and answer this question: The Chicxulub impact is thought to be responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. What is the evidence that the Chicxulub crater was due to an asteroid impact?
a. It contains an abundance of iridium b. It contains an abundance of shocked quartz c. It has the shape of an impact crater included a peak ring. d. ***All of the above
In Wikipedia, look up "Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event" and answer this question: Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event?
a. It was a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species (including the dinosaurs) on Earth approximately 66 million years ago. b. It is marked by a thin layer of sediment called the K-Pg boundary, which can be found throughout the world in marine and terrestrial rocks. c. It was thought to have been caused by the impact of a massive comet or asteroid 10 to 15 km in diameter which devastated the global environment. ***All of the above
In Wikipedia, look up "Complex crater" and answer this question: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a complex crater?
a. TRUE: They have uplifted centers. b. ***FALSE: They have curved floors (as opposed to flat). c. TRUE: They have terraced walls.
In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater" and answer this question: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of impact craters?1. In Wikipedia, look up "Impact crater" and answer this question: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of impact craters?
a. They are approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon, or other solid body. b. They typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain. c. They range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. d. ***All the above are characteristics of impact craters.
In Wikipedia, look up "Space weathering"" and answer this question: Space weathering occurs to the surface of bodies without atmospheres that are exposed to the harsh environment of outer space. Which of the following in not a space weathering process?
a. YES: Collisions of cosmic rays b. YES: Irradiation from the solar wind c. ***NO: Rain d. YES: Bombardment by micrometeorites
In Wikipedia, look up "Near-Earth object" and answer this question: Which of the following is not a correct statement about near-Earth objects?
a. YES: The object's orbit brings it to within 1.3 au of the Sun. b. ***NO: There are less than 1000 known near-Earth objects c. YES: Most near-Earth objects are asteroids
