Question 1

How is it possible for Mercury and the Moon to have water ice at their poles?

Accepted Answer

Shadows at the bottom of craters keep su

Question 2

The Moon's Orientale and Mercury's ________ Basin are both huge, multiringed impactscars.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Moon's Orientale and Mercury's ________ Basin...

Question 3

Mercury's tenuous atmosphere of sodium, magnesium, and potassium comes from:

Accepted Answer

A) atoms that have been kicked off the surface by the solar wind. 
B) volcanic outgassing. 
C) residual gases from Mercury's formation. 
D) impacts of asteroids or comets. 
A) atoms that have been kicked off the surface by the solar wind. 
B) volcanic outgassing. 
C) residual gases from Mercury's formation. 
D) impacts of asteroids or comets.

Question 4

How does Mercury's rotation relate to the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A) It always keeps one face tidally locked toward the Sun, as our Moon does with us. 
B) Its year is much shorter, only 88 days, than its slow rotation of 243 days on its axis. 
C) Its rotation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances. 
D) Its day is the same length as its year. 
E) It does not spin at all, being tidal stopped by the solar tides. 
A) It always keeps one face tidally locked toward the Sun, as our Moon does with us. 
B) Its year is much shorter, only 88 days, than its slow rotation of 243 days on its axis. 
C) Its rotation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances. 
D) Its day is the same length as its year. 
E) It does not spin at all, being tidal stopped by the solar tides.

Question 5

Mercury's magnetic field is thought to be due to:

Accepted Answer

A) dynamo action, like the Earth's magnetic field. 
B) a mechanism entirely unique to Mercury. 
C) being close to the Sun. 
D) being a fossil remnant dating back to the distant past when the core was more liquid. 
A) dynamo action, like the Earth's magnetic field. 
B) a mechanism entirely unique to Mercury. 
C) being close to the Sun. 
D) being a fossil remnant dating back to the distant past when the core was more liquid.

Question 6

What considerations are involved in determining whether or not a planet will have anatmosphere? What physical factors are involved in determining the temperature of a planet?

Accepted Answer

Escape velocity and temperature are the

Question 7

Mercury and the Moon appear similar, but we note that:

Accepted Answer

A) the lunar mare are darker than Mercury's intercrater plains. 
B) Mercury has "weird terrain" opposite its huge Caloris Basin. 
C) Mercury has striking scarps due to the shrinking of its core. 
D) Mercury does not always keep the same face toward the Sun, while the Moon does have theEarthside always facing us. 
E) All of the above are correct. 
A) the lunar mare are darker than Mercury's intercrater plains. 
B) Mercury has "weird terrain" opposite its huge Caloris Basin. 
C) Mercury has striking scarps due to the shrinking of its core. 
D) Mercury does not always keep the same face toward the Sun, while the Moon does have theEarthside always facing us. 
E) All of the above are correct.

Question 8

Mercury has "weird terrain" directly opposite its huge Caloris Impact Basin.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Rilles on the Moon are due to volcanism, not impacts.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

The cores of the Moon and Mercury are similar in that:

Accepted Answer

A) both cores are more iron rich than the rest of the body and the core is solid throughout. 
B) both cores are large in proportion to the object with a solid inner core and fluid outer core. 
C) both cores are more iron rich than the rest of the body, with a solid inner core and fluid outercore. 
D) both cores are small in proportion to the object, with a fluid inner core and solid outer core. 
A) both cores are more iron rich than the rest of the body and the core is solid throughout. 
B) both cores are large in proportion to the object with a solid inner core and fluid outer core. 
C) both cores are more iron rich than the rest of the body, with a solid inner core and fluid outercore. 
D) both cores are small in proportion to the object, with a fluid inner core and solid outer core.

Question 11

What is true of the Moon's orbital and rotational periods?

Accepted Answer

A) The rotational period is longer. 
B) The orbital period is longer. 
C) The rotational period varies with the Moon's phase. 
D) They are equal. 
E) The orbital period is greatest at full Moon. 
A) The rotational period is longer. 
B) The orbital period is longer. 
C) The rotational period varies with the Moon's phase. 
D) They are equal. 
E) The orbital period is greatest at full Moon.

Question 12

The rate of cratering in the lunar highlands shows us that:

Accepted Answer

A) they must be younger than the older, darker mare. 
B) they range from 4.6-4.4 billion years old, on average. 
C) the largest impacts are the youngest, such as Copernicus and Tycho. 
D) the oldest rocks are at least as old as the mare, but some craters are much younger. 
E) most of the asteroids must have hit the Moon, not the Earth. 
A) they must be younger than the older, darker mare. 
B) they range from 4.6-4.4 billion years old, on average. 
C) the largest impacts are the youngest, such as Copernicus and Tycho. 
D) the oldest rocks are at least as old as the mare, but some craters are much younger. 
E) most of the asteroids must have hit the Moon, not the Earth.

Question 13

Mercury presents the same side to the Sun:

Accepted Answer

A) every other orbit. 
B) all the time, just like our Moon. 
C) every 12 hours. 
D) every third orbit. 
E) twice every orbit. 
A) every other orbit. 
B) all the time, just like our Moon. 
C) every 12 hours. 
D) every third orbit. 
E) twice every orbit.

Question 14

Which type of feature is the best evidence of lunar volcanism?

Accepted Answer

A) rays around the latest eruptions 
B) craters all over the Moon 
C) vents seen erupting in the mountainous highlands 
D) rilles associated with lava flows accompanying the mare formation 
E) the Orientale Basin 
A) rays around the latest eruptions 
B) craters all over the Moon 
C) vents seen erupting in the mountainous highlands 
D) rilles associated with lava flows accompanying the mare formation 
E) the Orientale Basin

Question 15

How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare?

Accepted Answer

A) Mercury's is much denser, like Venus, with much carbon dioxide. 
B) They are about equal, each only 1% as dense as ours. 
C) The cooler Moon retains a thicker nitrogen atmosphere. 
D) As no spacecraft has yet landed there, no information exists about Mercury's atmosphere. 
E) Neither body has a permanent true atmosphere. 
A) Mercury's is much denser, like Venus, with much carbon dioxide. 
B) They are about equal, each only 1% as dense as ours. 
C) The cooler Moon retains a thicker nitrogen atmosphere. 
D) As no spacecraft has yet landed there, no information exists about Mercury's atmosphere. 
E) Neither body has a permanent true atmosphere.

Question 16

In size, Mercury is intermediate between:

Accepted Answer

A) Earth and Venus. 
B) Mars and Earth. 
C) the Moon and Mars. 
D) Pluto and the Moon. 
E) Ceres and Pluto. 
A) Earth and Venus. 
B) Mars and Earth. 
C) the Moon and Mars. 
D) Pluto and the Moon. 
E) Ceres and Pluto.

Question 17

What is believed to be the origin of the Caloris Basin? What other features on Mercury'ssurface are related to this origin? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The Caloris Basin was probably the resul

Question 18

Mercury has the widest variation in surface temperatures between night and day of any planetin the solar system.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

The presence of a Mercurian magnetic field surprised the planetary scientists on the Mariner10 team because:

Accepted Answer

A) Mercury is low in iron. 
B) Mercury spins too rapidly to produce a stable dynamo. 
C) It's still too hot for its core to have differentiated. 
D) The dynamo theory predicted that Mercury was spinning too slowly for one. 
E) Mercury lacks an iron core. 
A) Mercury is low in iron. 
B) Mercury spins too rapidly to produce a stable dynamo. 
C) It's still too hot for its core to have differentiated. 
D) The dynamo theory predicted that Mercury was spinning too slowly for one. 
E) Mercury lacks an iron core.

Question 20

Why was the discovery of a substantial magnetic field around Mercury a surprise? How wasit detected?

Accepted Answer

In its close passes by Mercury

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

How is it possible for Mercury and the Moon to have water ice at their poles?

The Moon's Orientale and Mercury's ________ Basin are both huge, multiringed impactscars.

Mercury's tenuous atmosphere of sodium, magnesium, and potassium comes from:

How does Mercury's rotation relate to the Sun?

Mercury's magnetic field is thought to be due to:

What considerations are involved in determining whether or not a planet will have anatmosphere? What physical factors are involved in determining the temperature of a planet?

Mercury and the Moon appear similar, but we note that:

Mercury has "weird terrain" directly opposite its huge Caloris Impact Basin.

Rilles on the Moon are due to volcanism, not impacts.

The cores of the Moon and Mercury are similar in that:

What is true of the Moon's orbital and rotational periods?

The rate of cratering in the lunar highlands shows us that:

Mercury presents the same side to the Sun:

Which type of feature is the best evidence of lunar volcanism?

How do the atmospheres of the Moon and Mercury compare?

In size, Mercury is intermediate between:

What is believed to be the origin of the Caloris Basin? What other features on Mercury'ssurface are related to this origin? Explain.

Mercury has the widest variation in surface temperatures between night and day of any planetin the solar system.

The presence of a Mercurian magnetic field surprised the planetary scientists on the Mariner10 team because:

Why was the discovery of a substantial magnetic field around Mercury a surprise? How wasit detected?

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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