Introduction to the Solar System and Earth as a Planet: CH 7-8

The type of rock we find predominantly in the crust of the Earth's continents is called:

granite

In radioactive dating, the measure that scientists use to note how long (on average) a particular radioactive nucleus will take to decay is called its...what?

half-life

The largest part of the Earth is the:

mantle

Which of the following ways that Jovian (giant) planets differ from the terrestrial planets is NOT correct?

Jovians (being larger) rotate on axis significantly more slowly than terrestrials

In 1980, scientists suggested that the great mass extinction of 65 million years ago (which ended the reign of dinosaurs) may have been caused by a large impact from space. What discovery gives a big boost to this idea?

the discovery of an enormous buried crater (about 200 km across) near Chicxulub, Mexico

The process of convection involves:

the upward flow of warmer material and downward flow of cooler material

Which of the following characteristics do all four terrestrial planets have in common?

they all have solid surfaces with signs of geological activity on them

Which of these did the June 1908 impact event in Siberia and the 2013 event in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk have in common?

they both exploded high in the atmosphere and produced a shock wave that reached the ground

One way in which the ozone layer is useful for life forms on the Earth's surface is that it:

absorbs ultraviolet (UV) light, preventing much of it from reaching the surface

What is one way that astronomers have been able to make good estimates for the age of the surfaces of terrestrial planets other than the Earth?

counting visible craters on the surface from orbital satellite images

What happens during the process of differentiation?

heavier materials sink to the centers of molten planets

If you were to take a large sample of the four giant planets, the most common element you would find in them is:

hydrogen

Any rock in the Earth's crust that has cooled from an originally molten state is called

igneous

The inner planets are made mostly of rock and metal because:

it was so hot where the inner planets formed that most of the lighter materials evaporated or were pushed outward by the solar wind

In general, the further planets are from the Sun, the cooler they are. But, what other factor can have a significant influence on a planet's effective surface temperature?

its atmosphere (whether it has one and how thick it is)

The most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere is:

nitrogen

All of the major planets (without exception):

revolve (orbit) around the Sun in the same direction

Regions where the continents or the sea floor are pulling apart are called:

rift zones

Which planet in the solar system has NOT been examined by spacecraft instruments that have either flown by or orbited them?

spacecraft have visited all the planets in our solar system

The Moon is observed to be heavily cratered, but our own planet Earth which "lives next door" is NOT. Why?

the active geology and weather on Earth destroy traces of impacts over millions of years