Question 1

The most recent features on the Moon's surface are the bright rayed craters like Copernicus,sitting atop the older mare flows.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  True

Question 2

In our solar system, scarps are only found on Mercury.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 3

The Moon's huge Mare Orientale basin has a twin on Mercury named:

Accepted Answer

A) Galileo. 
B) Caloris. 
C) Mare Marineris. 
D) the weird terrain. 
E) Valhalla. 
A) Galileo. 
B) Caloris. 
C) Mare Marineris. 
D) the weird terrain. 
E) Valhalla. B

Question 4

The orbit of Mercury is more elliptical than that of any other terrestrial planet.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

How are the polar regions of Mercury and the Moon similar?

Accepted Answer

A) Both are covered by huge mare-type basins from impacts. 
B) Both seem to have ice pockets in the deepest, darkest crater floors. 
C) Both have bright dry ice polar caps, like Mars. 
D) Both have lakes of liquid water under their regolith. 
E) Both have been hit by large comets that melted there. 
A) Both are covered by huge mare-type basins from impacts. 
B) Both seem to have ice pockets in the deepest, darkest crater floors. 
C) Both have bright dry ice polar caps, like Mars. 
D) Both have lakes of liquid water under their regolith. 
E) Both have been hit by large comets that melted there.

Question 6

Because of its high mean density and magnetic field, Mercury's large core must be madechiefly of ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Because of its high mean density and...

Question 7

What is the reason that it is so difficult to view Mercury from Earth?

Accepted Answer

A) Mercury is very dim. 
B) Mercury is very small. 
C) Mercury can't be seen at night. 
D) Mercury is often hidden by the Moon. 
E) Mercury is always very close to the Sun. 
A) Mercury is very dim. 
B) Mercury is very small. 
C) Mercury can't be seen at night. 
D) Mercury is often hidden by the Moon. 
E) Mercury is always very close to the Sun.

Question 8

How are surfaces of Mercury and the Moon similar? Different? Why?

Accepted Answer

Both are airless worlds with many ancien

Question 9

Moonquakes on the Moon were detected by:

Accepted Answer

A) the radar observations over time from Earth. 
B) the seismographs left there by the Apollo astronauts. 
C) laser beams reflected off mirrors left on the Moon by Apollo missions. 
D) seismographs attached to the Russian Lunar rovers. 
E) telescopic observations of lunar landslides. 
A) the radar observations over time from Earth. 
B) the seismographs left there by the Apollo astronauts. 
C) laser beams reflected off mirrors left on the Moon by Apollo missions. 
D) seismographs attached to the Russian Lunar rovers. 
E) telescopic observations of lunar landslides.

Question 10

Mercury's surface most resembles which of these?

Accepted Answer

A) the Earth's deserts 
B) the lunar far side 
C) the lunar mare 
D) Venus's polar regions 
E) Mars's deserts 
A) the Earth's deserts 
B) the lunar far side 
C) the lunar mare 
D) Venus's polar regions 
E) Mars's deserts

Question 11

The best way to find the exact distance to the Moon is to:

Accepted Answer

A) measure its exact size in the telescope. 
B) use radar reflection times, about 2.56 second. 
C) bounce lasers off the retroreflectors left on the surface by the Apollo landings. 
D) make parallax measurements from observatories on opposite sides of the Earth. 
E) use stellar occultations for precise timings of the Moon's position. 
A) measure its exact size in the telescope. 
B) use radar reflection times, about 2.56 second. 
C) bounce lasers off the retroreflectors left on the surface by the Apollo landings. 
D) make parallax measurements from observatories on opposite sides of the Earth. 
E) use stellar occultations for precise timings of the Moon's position.

Question 12

One of the effects of Mercury's very slow spin is:

Accepted Answer

A) extreme variations in its surface temperature. 
B) an intensely powerful magnetic field. 
C) tectonic activity. 
D) wind patterns that are slow, but global in size. 
E) large variations in the size of its polar cap. 
A) extreme variations in its surface temperature. 
B) an intensely powerful magnetic field. 
C) tectonic activity. 
D) wind patterns that are slow, but global in size. 
E) large variations in the size of its polar cap.

Question 13

Our Moon is in a 1:1 synch, with a lunar rotation equaling an Earth year.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

How does Mercury's magnetic field compare to our own?

Accepted Answer

A) Like Venus, Mercury has no detectable magnetic field. 
B) Like Mars and the Earth, it too has undergone polarity reversals. 
C) It is 1/100th as strong as ours, but does deflect the solar wind to some degree. 
D) It is amazingly strong, comparable to our own. 
E) It was predicted from Mercury's rapid rotation and molten core. 
A) Like Venus, Mercury has no detectable magnetic field. 
B) Like Mars and the Earth, it too has undergone polarity reversals. 
C) It is 1/100th as strong as ours, but does deflect the solar wind to some degree. 
D) It is amazingly strong, comparable to our own. 
E) It was predicted from Mercury's rapid rotation and molten core.

Question 15

The lunar highlands are:

Accepted Answer

A) more rugged, heavily cratered, and older than the lunar mare. 
B) made of lighter colored, younger rocks than the mare. 
C) formed by plate tectonics, like the Earth's Himalayas. 
D) formed by volcanic eruptions, much like our Andes. 
E) brighter than the mare, since they are covered with reflective glass from the rays. 
A) more rugged, heavily cratered, and older than the lunar mare. 
B) made of lighter colored, younger rocks than the mare. 
C) formed by plate tectonics, like the Earth's Himalayas. 
D) formed by volcanic eruptions, much like our Andes. 
E) brighter than the mare, since they are covered with reflective glass from the rays.

Question 16

Why does the Moon lack a true atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

Its atmosphere escaped into sp

Question 17

Astronomers believe that the Moon did not differentiate to the same degree as Earth because:

Accepted Answer

A) the Moon was made of solid debris, not liquids like our hydrosphere. 
B) the meteors that hit the Moon were lighter than those that hit us, so did not generate as muchheat on the surface. 
C) the less dense and smaller Moon did not have as much radioactivity as the larger Earth in itscore. 
D) the Moon was formed after the Earth was, so its radioactivity was less. 
E) the Moon was made of very different materials than our mantle and crust. 
A) the Moon was made of solid debris, not liquids like our hydrosphere. 
B) the meteors that hit the Moon were lighter than those that hit us, so did not generate as muchheat on the surface. 
C) the less dense and smaller Moon did not have as much radioactivity as the larger Earth in itscore. 
D) the Moon was formed after the Earth was, so its radioactivity was less. 
E) the Moon was made of very different materials than our mantle and crust.

Question 18

Two Mercury years are the same length as three Mercury sidereal days.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Would an observer on Mercury see the Sun rise in the east or the west?

Accepted Answer

Most of the time, the Sun woul

Question 20

Mercury's magnetic field is surprisingly comparable to the Earth's field in strength.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 8: The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds

The most recent features on the Moon's surface are the bright rayed craters like Copernicus,sitting atop the older mare flows.

In our solar system, scarps are only found on Mercury.

The Moon's huge Mare Orientale basin has a twin on Mercury named:

The orbit of Mercury is more elliptical than that of any other terrestrial planet.

How are the polar regions of Mercury and the Moon similar?

Because of its high mean density and magnetic field, Mercury's large core must be madechiefly of ________.

What is the reason that it is so difficult to view Mercury from Earth?

How are surfaces of Mercury and the Moon similar? Different? Why?

Moonquakes on the Moon were detected by:

Mercury's surface most resembles which of these?

The best way to find the exact distance to the Moon is to:

One of the effects of Mercury's very slow spin is:

Our Moon is in a 1:1 synch, with a lunar rotation equaling an Earth year.

How does Mercury's magnetic field compare to our own?

The lunar highlands are:

Why does the Moon lack a true atmosphere?

Astronomers believe that the Moon did not differentiate to the same degree as Earth because:

Two Mercury years are the same length as three Mercury sidereal days.

Would an observer on Mercury see the Sun rise in the east or the west?

Mercury's magnetic field is surprisingly comparable to the Earth's field in strength.

Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science

Radiation: Information From the Cosmos

Spectroscopy: the Inner Workings of Atoms

Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

The Solar System: Comparative Planetology and Formation Models

Earth: Our Home in Space

Venus: Earths Sister Planet

Mars: a Near Miss for Life

Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System

Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons

Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System

Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin

Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

The Sun: Our Parent Star

The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust Among the Stars

Star Formation: a Traumatic Birth

Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star

Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

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