Question 1

According to studies of impact cratering, which of these terrestrial objects has, on average, the oldest surface?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury 
B)  Venus 
C)  Earth 
D)  Mars 
E)  the Moon 
A)  Mercury 
B)  Venus 
C)  Earth 
D)  Mars 
E)  the Moon

Question 2

Plate tectonics is NOT responsible for:

Accepted Answer

A)  mountain ranges 
B)  canyons 
C)  volcanoes 
D)  ocean trenches 
E)  continental drift 
A)  mountain ranges 
B)  canyons 
C)  volcanoes 
D)  ocean trenches 
E)  continental drift

Question 3

Continental drift occurs at a typical rate of a few:

Accepted Answer

A)  mm/year 
B)  cm/year 
C)  m/year 
D)  km/year 
E)  nm/year 
A)  mm/year 
B)  cm/year 
C)  m/year 
D)  km/year 
E)  nm/year

Question 4

List the three areas of the lunar surface shown in the figure below in the order of their age from youngest to oldest. Explain your reasoning.

Accepted Answer

The answer of List the three areas of the lunar...

Question 5

Figure 1
-Which picture in Figure 1 is an example of erosion occurring on Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  D 
A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  D

Question 6

Figure 2
-Which of the three lunar surfaces shown in Figure 2 is the youngest?

Accepted Answer

A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  A and C are probably about the same age and are younger than B. 
E)  It is impossible to tell without radioactive dating. 
A)  A 
B)  B 
C)  C 
D)  A and C are probably about the same age and are younger than B. 
E)  It is impossible to tell without radioactive dating.

Question 7

Give a specific example of a historical impact of an asteroid or comet that hit the Earth. Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?

Accepted Answer

Examples of impacts on Earth include the

Question 8

Primary waves are seismic longitudinal waves whose paths are deflected when they travel through the Earth's liquid core.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

What is one major difference between the volcanoes on Venus and Mars and the volcanoes on the Earth? What might explain this difference?

Accepted Answer

Venus and Mars have many more shield vol

Question 10

The center of Earth has approximately the same temperature as the surface of the Sun.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

If you obtained a sample of rock from Venus and determined the abundances of uranium (238U) and lead (207Pb) in it, and found that for every one uranium atom there were three lead atoms, then what would the age of this rock be? Note that this form of uranium decays to this form of lead with a half-life of 700 million years. For simplicity, you can assume that there was no lead in the rock when it originally formed.

Accepted Answer

A)  1.4 billion years 
B)  2.8 billion years 
C)  4.0 million years 
D)  10.5 billion years 
E)  3.6 billion years 
A)  1.4 billion years 
B)  2.8 billion years 
C)  4.0 million years 
D)  10.5 billion years 
E)  3.6 billion years

Question 12

Flows of material surrounding Martian craters suggest:

Accepted Answer

A)  volcanism in its interior 
B)  the presence of water in surface rocks 
C)  active plate tectonics at the time of impact 
D)  a very thin crust 
E)  the presence of ice 
A)  volcanism in its interior 
B)  the presence of water in surface rocks 
C)  active plate tectonics at the time of impact 
D)  a very thin crust 
E)  the presence of ice

Question 13

We have direct evidence for the current existence of water on the surface of which terrestrial object?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury 
B)  Venus 
C)  Mars 
D)  Ganymede 
E)  Callisto 
A)  Mercury 
B)  Venus 
C)  Mars 
D)  Ganymede 
E)  Callisto

Question 14

The interior of the Earth is hot mainly because of the pressure induced by the weight of the material above it.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Which list below gives the correct order of the age of the three lunar surfaces shown in the figure below going from youngest to oldest?

Accepted Answer

A)  A, B, C 
B)  A, C, B 
C)  B, A, C 
D)  B, C, A 
E)  C, B, A 
A)  A, B, C 
B)  A, C, B 
C)  B, A, C 
D)  B, C, A 
E)  C, B, A

Question 16

An asteroid or comet impact near the Yucatan Peninsula approximately 20,000 years ago resulted in the extinction of more than 50 percent of all living species, including the dinosaurs.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

What is the main reason that the Earth's interior is liquid today?

Accepted Answer

A)  tidal force of the Moon on the Earth 
B)  seismic waves that travel through Earth's interior 
C)  decay of radioactive elements 
D)  convective motions in the mantle 
E)  pressure on the core from Earth's outer layers. 
A)  tidal force of the Moon on the Earth 
B)  seismic waves that travel through Earth's interior 
C)  decay of radioactive elements 
D)  convective motions in the mantle 
E)  pressure on the core from Earth's outer layers.

Question 18

The feature in the figure shown below is a(n) _________ , the largest one of its kind in the Solar System, and is located on the planet _________.

Accepted Answer

A)  impact crater; Mercury 
B)  mountain; Venus 
C)  mountain; Earth 
D)  volcano; Mars 
E)  impact crater; the Moon 
A)  impact crater; Mercury 
B)  mountain; Venus 
C)  mountain; Earth 
D)  volcano; Mars 
E)  impact crater; the Moon

Question 19

Which of the following will NOT be a consequence of Earth's consumption of the bulk of its radioactive "fuel" in the future?

Accepted Answer

A)  Earth will spin more slowly on its axis. 
B)  The interior of the planet will solidify. 
C)  Volcanic activity will cease. 
D)  Continental drift will no longer occur. 
E)  Earth's mass will decrease. 
A)  Earth will spin more slowly on its axis. 
B)  The interior of the planet will solidify. 
C)  Volcanic activity will cease. 
D)  Continental drift will no longer occur. 
E)  Earth's mass will decrease.

Question 20

How do we know that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times in the past?

Accepted Answer

Because the direction of Earth's magneti

Exam 8: The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

According to studies of impact cratering, which of these terrestrial objects has, on average, the oldest surface?

Plate tectonics is NOT responsible for:

Continental drift occurs at a typical rate of a few:

List the three areas of the lunar surface shown in the figure below in the order of their age from youngest to oldest. Explain your reasoning.

Figure 1 -Which picture in Figure 1 is an example of erosion occurring on Earth?

Figure 2 -Which of the three lunar surfaces shown in Figure 2 is the youngest?

Give a specific example of a historical impact of an asteroid or comet that hit the Earth. Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?

Primary waves are seismic longitudinal waves whose paths are deflected when they travel through the Earth's liquid core.

What is one major difference between the volcanoes on Venus and Mars and the volcanoes on the Earth? What might explain this difference?

The center of Earth has approximately the same temperature as the surface of the Sun.

Flows of material surrounding Martian craters suggest:

We have direct evidence for the current existence of water on the surface of which terrestrial object?

The interior of the Earth is hot mainly because of the pressure induced by the weight of the material above it.

Which list below gives the correct order of the age of the three lunar surfaces shown in the figure below going from youngest to oldest?

An asteroid or comet impact near the Yucatan Peninsula approximately 20,000 years ago resulted in the extinction of more than 50 percent of all living species, including the dinosaurs.

What is the main reason that the Earth's interior is liquid today?

The feature in the figure shown below is a(n) _________ , the largest one of its kind in the Solar System, and is located on the planet _________.

Which of the following will NOT be a consequence of Earth's consumption of the bulk of its radioactive "fuel" in the future?

How do we know that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times in the past?

Why Learn Astronomy

Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth

Motion of Astronomical Bodies

Gravity and Orbits

Light

The Tools of the Astronomer

The Birth and Evolution of Planetary Systems

Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets

Worlds of Gas and Liquid the Giant Planets

Planetary Adornmentsmoons and Rings

Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

Taking the Measure of Stars

Our Starthe Sun

Star Formation and the Interstellar Medium

Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

Evolution of High-Mass Stars

Relativity and Black Holes

The Expanding Universe

Galaxies

The Milky Waya Normal Spiral Galaxy

Modern Cosmology

Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Life

Filters

The feature in the figure shown below is a(n) _ , the largest one of its kind in the Solar System, and is located on the planet _.