Question 1

When a projectile (a rock from space, say) hits the surface of the Moon, which of the following do we NOT get?

Accepted Answer

A)  a crater 
B)  an ejecta blanket 
C)  secondary craters 
D)  a rough hilly apron (or slope) of ejected material 
E)  a gushing out of lots of water that had been frozen inside the ground on the cold Moon, but is briefly heated by the impact 
A)  a crater 
B)  an ejecta blanket 
C)  secondary craters 
D)  a rough hilly apron (or slope) of ejected material 
E)  a gushing out of lots of water that had been frozen inside the ground on the cold Moon, but is briefly heated by the impact E

Question 2

We believe the maria on the Earth's Moon are:

Accepted Answer

A)  giant volcanoes produced when the Moon tried to get plate tectonics going 
B)  ancient impact craters in which lava beds welled up from inside the Moon 
C)  large rifts filled with colder material made when the Moon's surface was cooling 
D)  large, flat, ancient plateaus on the Moon's highland areas 
E)  advertisements for the musical "West Side Story" 
A)  giant volcanoes produced when the Moon tried to get plate tectonics going 
B)  ancient impact craters in which lava beds welled up from inside the Moon 
C)  large rifts filled with colder material made when the Moon's surface was cooling 
D)  large, flat, ancient plateaus on the Moon's highland areas 
E)  advertisements for the musical "West Side Story" B

Question 3

The lunar highlands are made mostly of rocks that

Accepted Answer

A)  fell on to the Moon from space 
B)  were recently expelled by volcanoes from the deep interior of the Moon 
C)  rose to the top as the Moon cooled from a molten state early in its history 
D)  that were pushed upwards due to active plate tectonics on the Moon 
E)  don't have a good scientific explanation yet
Section 9.3: Impact Craters 
A)  fell on to the Moon from space 
B)  were recently expelled by volcanoes from the deep interior of the Moon 
C)  rose to the top as the Moon cooled from a molten state early in its history 
D)  that were pushed upwards due to active plate tectonics on the Moon 
E)  don't have a good scientific explanation yet
Section 9.3: Impact Craters C

Question 4

Of the people who landed on the Moon, how many were trained scientists?

Accepted Answer

A)  exactly one 
B)  about half of the astronauts were trained scientists 
C)  all except one (the first one) 
D)  all the astronauts were trained scientists 
E)  none 
A)  exactly one 
B)  about half of the astronauts were trained scientists 
C)  all except one (the first one) 
D)  all the astronauts were trained scientists 
E)  none

Question 5

What theory of Mercury's origin can best explain the fact that its core is made of such dense materials?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury was formed in the outer solar system and later wound up in its present orbit 
B)  giant impacts in its early history may have torn away much of its original crust and mantle 
C)  giant impacts early in its history added a tremendous amount of material to the original planet 
D)  a large satellite (made of the same material as the Earth's Moon) crashed into Mercury early in its history 
E)  Mercury was briefly inside the Sun, and thus lost much of its earliest material 
A)  Mercury was formed in the outer solar system and later wound up in its present orbit 
B)  giant impacts in its early history may have torn away much of its original crust and mantle 
C)  giant impacts early in its history added a tremendous amount of material to the original planet 
D)  a large satellite (made of the same material as the Earth's Moon) crashed into Mercury early in its history 
E)  Mercury was briefly inside the Sun, and thus lost much of its earliest material

Question 6

Where has frozen water has been discovered on the Moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  At the bottom of all the craters we see on the side facing us 
B)  In the highlands, but only on the side of the Moon facing away from Earth 
C)  Deep inside craters in the regions near the Moon's poles 
D)  In the maria, regions of the Moon that are water filled seas 
E)  You can't fool me, no water has ever been found on the Moon in any form 
A)  At the bottom of all the craters we see on the side facing us 
B)  In the highlands, but only on the side of the Moon facing away from Earth 
C)  Deep inside craters in the regions near the Moon's poles 
D)  In the maria, regions of the Moon that are water filled seas 
E)  You can't fool me, no water has ever been found on the Moon in any form

Question 7

Which of the following statements about Mercury's orbit is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury is the most distant planet from the Sun 
B)  Mercury has the highest speed in its orbit of any planet 
C)  Mercury's orbit is the closest to a perfect circle of any planet 
D)  Mercury takes 88 Earth years to orbit the Sun 
E)  Mercury always remains exactly the same distance from the Sun as it orbits 
A)  Mercury is the most distant planet from the Sun 
B)  Mercury has the highest speed in its orbit of any planet 
C)  Mercury's orbit is the closest to a perfect circle of any planet 
D)  Mercury takes 88 Earth years to orbit the Sun 
E)  Mercury always remains exactly the same distance from the Sun as it orbits

Question 8

Which of the following is a way that the planet Mercury is similar to the Moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  its surface is heavily cratered 
B)  it has a significant atmosphere 
C)  the highest temperature on the two worlds is the same 
D)  the time they take to spin once on their axis is the same 
E)  you can't fool me, Mercury is not similar to the Moon in any way 
A)  its surface is heavily cratered 
B)  it has a significant atmosphere 
C)  the highest temperature on the two worlds is the same 
D)  the time they take to spin once on their axis is the same 
E)  you can't fool me, Mercury is not similar to the Moon in any way

Question 9

Mercury is a small planet and therefore has trouble holding on to an atmosphere. How then do scientist account for the extremely thin atmosphere that was found around the planet in 1985?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury is so hot that gas is constantly evaporating from its molten lakes and oceans 
B)  Mercury's moon is so close to it that it can pull out some material from the planet 
C)  the Sun's "wind" of particles is chipping atoms off the surface of Mercury 
D)  Mercury's active volcanoes give off a lot of material; while much escapes, a certain number of atoms "exhaled" by recent volcanoes are in orbit around Mercury at any given time 
E)  no one can suggest any explanation for the atmosphere at the present time; it's a mystery 
A)  Mercury is so hot that gas is constantly evaporating from its molten lakes and oceans 
B)  Mercury's moon is so close to it that it can pull out some material from the planet 
C)  the Sun's "wind" of particles is chipping atoms off the surface of Mercury 
D)  Mercury's active volcanoes give off a lot of material; while much escapes, a certain number of atoms "exhaled" by recent volcanoes are in orbit around Mercury at any given time 
E)  no one can suggest any explanation for the atmosphere at the present time; it's a mystery

Question 10

The most likely models of the planet Mercury indicate that more than half the planet may be composed of:

Accepted Answer

A)  water 
B)  metals 
C)  ammonia and methane ice 
D)  very light and porous rocks 
E)  the element mercury 
A)  water 
B)  metals 
C)  ammonia and methane ice 
D)  very light and porous rocks 
E)  the element mercury

Question 11

What makes astronomers think that impact rates for the Moon must have been higher earlier than 3.8 billion years ago?

Accepted Answer

A)  all the radioactive rocks found on the Moon so far give ages much younger than that, so the Moon must have formed less than 3.8 billion years ago 
B)  we see many more craters on the Moon that have been eroded by wind and rain 
C)  all the large craters on the Moon come in pairs, while all recent craters are single 
D)  there are ten times more craters on the older highlands than the younger maria 
E)  the ancient sea basins on the Moon, whose water has since evaporated, show a lot more cratering
Section 9.4: Origin of the Moon 
A)  all the radioactive rocks found on the Moon so far give ages much younger than that, so the Moon must have formed less than 3.8 billion years ago 
B)  we see many more craters on the Moon that have been eroded by wind and rain 
C)  all the large craters on the Moon come in pairs, while all recent craters are single 
D)  there are ten times more craters on the older highlands than the younger maria 
E)  the ancient sea basins on the Moon, whose water has since evaporated, show a lot more cratering
Section 9.4: Origin of the Moon

Question 12

The largest impact basin on Mercury (located on that part of the planet which is closest to the Sun at noon) is called:

Accepted Answer

A)  Sunstroke 
B)  Caloris 
C)  Shakespeare 
D)  Mariner 
E)  Columbo 
A)  Sunstroke 
B)  Caloris 
C)  Shakespeare 
D)  Mariner 
E)  Columbo

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT something that was accomplished by the Apollo missions to the Moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  the collection of almost almost 400 kg of moon samples, brought back to Earth 
B)  leaving experiment packages behind which continued to operate after astronauts left 
C)  taking detailed photographs from the Command Module from orbit around the Moon 
D)  discovering that the Moon has a great deal of water under its surface 
E)  you can't fool me, all the above were done by the Apollo missions 
A)  the collection of almost almost 400 kg of moon samples, brought back to Earth 
B)  leaving experiment packages behind which continued to operate after astronauts left 
C)  taking detailed photographs from the Command Module from orbit around the Moon 
D)  discovering that the Moon has a great deal of water under its surface 
E)  you can't fool me, all the above were done by the Apollo missions

Question 14

Which theory of the Moon's origin do astronomers (and the evidence) favor:

Accepted Answer

A)  the fission theory 
B)  the sister theory 
C)  the capture theory 
D)  the giant impact theory 
E)  the green cheese theory 
A)  the fission theory 
B)  the sister theory 
C)  the capture theory 
D)  the giant impact theory 
E)  the green cheese theory

Question 15

In its overall composition, the Moon roughly resembles:

Accepted Answer

A)  the Earth's core 
B)  the Earth's crust and mantle 
C)  comets 
D)  Jupiter and Saturn 
E)  no other body in the solar system 
A)  the Earth's core 
B)  the Earth's crust and mantle 
C)  comets 
D)  Jupiter and Saturn 
E)  no other body in the solar system

Question 16

Sometimes, when the Moon is a thin crescent, you can still dimly make out the full disk of our satellite. What is the reason for this?

Accepted Answer

A)  light reflecting from the Earth onto the Moon 
B)  light seeping through the mountains and valleys of the Moon 
C)  light from phosphorescent minerals on the Moon's surface, that store up sunlight and slowly emit it when it is dark 
D)  the Moon produces its own light the same way the Sun does 
E)  the Moon reflects light from either Mars or Venus, depending on which is closest to Earth
Section 9.2: The Lunar Surface 
A)  light reflecting from the Earth onto the Moon 
B)  light seeping through the mountains and valleys of the Moon 
C)  light from phosphorescent minerals on the Moon's surface, that store up sunlight and slowly emit it when it is dark 
D)  the Moon produces its own light the same way the Sun does 
E)  the Moon reflects light from either Mars or Venus, depending on which is closest to Earth
Section 9.2: The Lunar Surface

Question 17

In what way is the Moon similar to the Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)  roughly the same size 
B)  similar atmosphere 
C)  same gravity on the surface 
D)  takes the same time to rotate on its axis 
E)  none of the above 
A)  roughly the same size 
B)  similar atmosphere 
C)  same gravity on the surface 
D)  takes the same time to rotate on its axis 
E)  none of the above

Question 18

The spacecraft that really gave scientists their first good close-up look of the planet Mercury was:

Accepted Answer

A)  Voyager 1 
B)  Mariner 10 
C)  Galileo 
D)  the series of Mercury capsules 
E)  New Horizons 
A)  Voyager 1 
B)  Mariner 10 
C)  Galileo 
D)  the series of Mercury capsules 
E)  New Horizons

Question 19

Which of the following statements about temperature changes on Mercury is correct?

Accepted Answer

A)  it is always hot everywhere on Mercury, because the planet is so close to the Sun 
B)  it is always cold all over Mercury, because the planet has no significant atmosphere 
C)  one side of Mercury is always extremely hot, while the other side is about the same temperature as Los Angeles on Earth 
D)  the difference in temperature between Mercury's daylight side and its night side is the greatest difference of any planet in the solar system 
E)  we suspect Mercury must be warm, but we have not been able to measure any temperatures on the planet with our instruments 
A)  it is always hot everywhere on Mercury, because the planet is so close to the Sun 
B)  it is always cold all over Mercury, because the planet has no significant atmosphere 
C)  one side of Mercury is always extremely hot, while the other side is about the same temperature as Los Angeles on Earth 
D)  the difference in temperature between Mercury's daylight side and its night side is the greatest difference of any planet in the solar system 
E)  we suspect Mercury must be warm, but we have not been able to measure any temperatures on the planet with our instruments

Question 20

Which of the following is made of the densest material?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mercury 
B)  the Moon 
C)  the Earth 
D)  all of the above have the same density 
E)  we don't know, because have not measured the density of any other planet except the Earth 
A)  Mercury 
B)  the Moon 
C)  the Earth 
D)  all of the above have the same density 
E)  we don't know, because have not measured the density of any other planet except the Earth

Exam 9: Cratered Worlds: the Moon and Mercury

When a projectile (a rock from space, say) hits the surface of the Moon, which of the following do we NOT get?

We believe the maria on the Earth's Moon are:

The lunar highlands are made mostly of rocks that

Of the people who landed on the Moon, how many were trained scientists?

What theory of Mercury's origin can best explain the fact that its core is made of such dense materials?

Where has frozen water has been discovered on the Moon?

Which of the following statements about Mercury's orbit is TRUE?

Which of the following is a way that the planet Mercury is similar to the Moon?

Mercury is a small planet and therefore has trouble holding on to an atmosphere. How then do scientist account for the extremely thin atmosphere that was found around the planet in 1985?

The most likely models of the planet Mercury indicate that more than half the planet may be composed of:

What makes astronomers think that impact rates for the Moon must have been higher earlier than 3.8 billion years ago?

The largest impact basin on Mercury (located on that part of the planet which is closest to the Sun at noon) is called:

Which of the following is NOT something that was accomplished by the Apollo missions to the Moon?

Which theory of the Moon's origin do astronomers (and the evidence) favor:

In its overall composition, the Moon roughly resembles:

Sometimes, when the Moon is a thin crescent, you can still dimly make out the full disk of our satellite. What is the reason for this?

In what way is the Moon similar to the Earth?

The spacecraft that really gave scientists their first good close-up look of the planet Mercury was:

Which of the following statements about temperature changes on Mercury is correct?

Which of the following is made of the densest material?

Science and the Universe: a Brief Tour

Observing the Sky: the Birth of Astronomy

Orbits and Gravity

Earth, Moon, and Sky

Radiation and Spectra

Astronomical Instruments

Other Worlds: an Introduction to the Solar System

Earth As a Planet

Earthlike Planets: Venus and Mars

The Giant Planets

Rings, Moons, and Pluto

Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System

Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System

The Sun: a Garden-Variety Star

The Sun: a Nuclear Powerhouse

Analyzing Starlight

The Stars: a Celestial Census

Celestial Distances

Between the Stars

The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets Outside the Solar System

Stars From Adolescence to Old Age

The Death of Stars

Black Holes and Curved Space-Time

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Active Galaxies, Quasars, and Supermassive Black Holes

The Evolution and Distribution of Galaxies

The Big Bang

Life in the Universe

Filters