Deck 19: Geology of the Solar System

Question 1

Smaller planets like Mercury that have large surface-area-to-volume ratios cool relatively:

A) quickly
B) slowly
C) moderately

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The asteroid belt is located between:

A) Mars and Jupiter
B) Jupiter and Saturn
C) the Moon and Mars
D) Saturn and Uranus

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The dominant geologic process in our solar system is:

A) impact cratering
B) space weathering
C) plate tectonics
D) volcanism

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT an aspect that we can learn from remotely observing another planet or moon?

A) how they reflect different types of electromagnetic energy, such as ultraviolet
B) whether their surface is smooth or rough
C) how quickly a surface cools off
D) whether a rock contains fossils

Question 5

What are some observed variations between different planets in the Solar System?

A) every planet contains some amount of ice
B) each planet has a thick atmosphere
C) impact craters are the dominant feature on some planets and moons
D) the Earth is the only planet that shows evidence of tectonics
E) the Earth is the only planet that shows features carved by running water

Question 6

What does this curved feature, which contains a point bar, indicate about past events on Mars?

A) there were explosive volcanic eruptions
B) strong winds eroded into a series of volcanic layers
C) the surface once had running water that eroded and deposited sediment
D) glaciers once covered the entire planet

Question 7

The erosional features shown in this image from Mars are thought to have been formed by:

A) running water
B) tectonics
C) wind
D) glaciers

Question 8

What types of surfaces appear dark on a radar image taken by a satellite?

A) a surface that is rough
B) a surface that slopes toward the satellite
C) a surface that is smooth or slopes away from the satellite
D) a surface that contains quartz and feldspar

Question 9

What is the main control on whether a planet or moon has active tectonics and volcanism?

A) whether it is composed of rocks or ice
B) whether it contains water on its surface
C) the size of an object
D) the distance that the object is from the Sun

Question 10

Which of the following is the major difference between the inner planets as a group and the outer planets as a group?

A) composition
B) presence of moons
C) orbital plane
D) presence of water

Question 11

During its early stages of formation, a catastrophic collision with Earth by a large body is thought to have ripped part of the Earth away to form:

A) the Moon
B) asteroid belt
C) Mars
D) Phobos and Deimos

Question 12

Whether it is one of the inner terrestrial planets, or outer gas giants, the location of a planet relative to the Sun has a lot to do with its:

A) composition
B) size
C) diameter

Question 13

This type of crater, which is very abundant on most moons and solid planets, is formed by:

A) the collapse of a limestone cave
B) an explosive volcanic eruption
C) a nonexplosive volcanic eruption
D) impact from a meteoroid or other object from space

Question 14

What do these channels indicate about past events on Mars?

A) there were explosive volcanic eruptions
B) strong winds eroded into a series of volcanic layers
C) the surface once had running water that eroded and deposited sediment
D) glaciers once covered the entire planet

Question 15

This radar image of a crater on Venus shows:

A) an area of light-colored, smooth rocks around the crater
B) that the crater contains dark-colored, rough rocks
C) a central area of dark-colored hematite surrounded by light-colored feldspar
D) the roughness of the materials, but does not indicate whether the rocks are light or dark colored

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT one of the inner terrestrial planets?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) Saturn

Question 17

The colors in this thermal infrared image indicate:

A) temperatures of the rocks
B) the presence of ice in the crater
C) the presence of water in the crater
D) the presence of methane in the crater

Question 18

The infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum helps planetary scientists measure surface:

A) composition and temperature
B) temperature and elevation
C) age and composition
D) age and elevation

Question 19

What is the dominant character of the four outer planets?

A) all are blue-green
B) they are large and gas rich
C) all are cold and icy world
D) they lack associated moons
E) each has a form of plate tectonics

Question 20

What is the current theory for the formation of our Solar System?

A) the Sun and planets condensed from a cloud of gas and dust
B) the Sun exploded during the Big Bang
C) the four outer planets were all captured from another solar system
D) none of these

Question 21

Which of the following are present on Earth but not on any other planet?

A) ice
B) features interpreted to have formed by flowing water
C) volcanoes
D) dust storms
E) none of these

Question 22

What was the main technique used to study the solid surface of Venus?

A) visible-light telescopes
B) small rovers that drive around on the planet
C) photographs taken at different times of the day
D) radar images
E) none of these

Question 23

Mercury's surface is heavily cratered due to:

A) little to no atmosphere
B) lack of erosion
C) no volcanism
D) all of these

Question 24

Which feature on Earth's moon is the oldest and consists of heavily crater, feldspar rich, igneous rock?

A) 1, the mare
B) 2, lunar highlands
C) 3, rayed crater
D) the polar ice caps

Question 25

Which feature on Earth's moon is the youngest?

A) 1, the mare
B) 2, lunar highlands
C) 3, rayed crater
D) the polar ice caps

Question 26

Which feature on Earth's moon is the oldest?

A) 1, the mare
B) 2, lunar highlands
C) 3, rayed crater
D) the polar ice caps

Question 27

Which of the following are NOT present on the Moon?

A) light-colored areas called the lunar highlands
B) areas with abundant impact craters
C) dark, fairly smooth areas
D) large impact craters with light-colored rays radiating out from the center
E) all of these are present

Question 28

The topographic relief map of Venus was generated with:

A) geologic data
B) radar data
C) compositional data
D) mineralogic data

Question 29

Which part of the Moon is the oldest and why?

A) the dark circular maria because they have had more time to darken
B) the dark circular maria because they have had more time to be eroded and smoothed off
C) the light-colored lunar highlands because they are lighter in color from longer weathering
D) the light-colored lunar highlands because they contain a higher density of craters per area
E) none of these

Question 30

Dark mare on the moon formed by?

A) running water deposited hematite-rich sediments in low areas
B) basalt flows filled previously existing impact craters
C) volcanic calderas released hot water and hydrothermal minerals
D) shallow magma baked the overlying rocks

Question 31

These surface features from Mars, also found on Earth are:

A) sand dunes
B) river channels
C) mountain ranges
D) valleys

Question 32

This planet has bedrock, reddish dust, and ice caps. What planetary body is it?

A) Mars
B) Venus
C) Earth's moon
D) Mercury
E) Neptune

Question 33

What does this photograph, which is representative of most of Mercury, indicate about the planet?

A) the surface is covered by impact craters
B) the planet does not have tectonic or volcanic activity
C) the planet lacks wind or water
D) all of these

Question 34

What are the dominant features on the surface of Mercury?

A) large canyons cut by running water
B) large dark burn marks because of the proximity to the Sun
C) impact craters of various sizes
D) pools of highly reflective liquid mercury

Question 35

These craters on the moon formed when:

A) meteoroids and other objects impacted on the surface
B) caves formed in a widespread limestone layer collapsed
C) when numerous volcanoes erupted at nearly the same time
D) groundwater dissolved an underground layer of salt

Question 36

Which of the following characteristics of Earth are not shared by many other planets?

A) abundant water exists on the surface in liquid, vapor, and solid phases
B) moving water and ice currently erode the land and deposit sediment
C) it generates enough heat to allow plate tectonics to operate
D) it contains abundant life
E) all of these

Question 37

What does this photograph indicate about the ages between the light-colored area on the right versus the dark-colored area on the left?

A) the area on the right is younger because light-colored rocks are usually younger than dark colored ones
B) the area on the left is older because these rocks have darkened over time
C) the dark-colored area is older because it contains some craters like those on the right
D) the area on the right is older because it contains more craters than the area on the left

Question 38

Earth is very different from its neighbors because it:

A) contains water
B) can support life
C) generates heat
D) it tectonically active
E) all of these

Question 39

The density of craters on a planet's surface can help planetary scientists estimate its:

A) age
B) size
C) diameter
D) composition

Question 40

The surface of this planet is obscured by an atmosphere of thick clouds and toxic gases. What planetary body is it?

A) Mercury
B) Earth
C) Earth's moon
D) Mars
E) Venus

Question 41

What is the second largest planet in our solar system?

A) Jupiter
B) Earth
C) Saturn
D) Uranus

Question 42

Which of the following are unusual about Uranus?

A) ice on its surface has an unusual bluish-green color
B) its axis of rotation, orientation of rings, and orbits of its moons are perpendicular to those of every other planet in the Solar System
C) it has been reclassified as a dwarf planet
D) its orbit sometimes takes it closer to the Sun than Mars
E) none of these

Question 43

The Moon has been volcanically and tectonically inactive for more than:

A) 2 billion years
B) 2 million years
C) 1 billion years
D) 1 million years

Question 44

After an impact occurs on the Moon, the walls of the crater often are too steep and:

A) slope failure occurs
B) channels are created
C) rivers are formed

Question 45

Which of these numbered areas on Enceladus, a moon of Jupiter, is probably the oldest?

A) 1, a heavily cratered terrain
B) 2, tectonic belts that cut across the cratered terrain
C) 3, less cratered plains
D) there is not enough information to tell

Question 46

Saturn is often referred to as a mini solar-system orbited by:

A) large and small moons
B) planets
C) moons and planets
D) asteroids

Question 47

The largest planet in our solar system is:

A) Jupiter
B) Saturn
C) Uranus
D) Neptune

Question 48

Which of the following is a characteristic of Saturn?

A) it is closer to the Sun than Jupiter
B) it is the largest planet in the Solar System
C) the atmosphere is hydrogen and helium
D) the feature for which it is best know is a large red spot on the surface
E) the appearance of the planet is dominated by large impact craters

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Jupiter?

A) it is farther from the Sun than Mars
B) it is the largest planet in the Solar System
C) the atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen, like the atmosphere of the Earth
D) it has a wide variety of geologically interesting moons
E) most of its outer parts are gas

Question 50

This figure shows the moon at four different positions, representing four different times, as it orbits around Earth. At which position would there be a new moon as seen from Earth?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 51

Which of the four Galilean moons is the most volcanically active object in the Solar System, erupting sulfur-rich lava?

A) Io
B) Europa
C) Ganymede
D) Callisto

Question 52

This figure shows the moon at four different positions, representing four different times, as it orbits around Earth. At which position would there be a full moon as seen from Earth?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 53

What did the Cassini spacecraft and its Huygens probe discover on the surface of Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons?

A) the surface was nearly completely covered by impact craters
B) there was a large impact crater that nearly blasted the moon apart
C) networks of drainages apparently carved by liquids
D) none of these

Question 54

What largely determines the level of volcanic and tectonic activity on the Galilean moons?

A) whether the crust is light- or dark-colored, which controls how much of the Sun's heat it retains
B) the composition of the crust of each moon
C) the amount of wind and water on each moon's surface
D) proximity to Jupiter and its extreme tidal forces

Question 55

The light-colored heavily cratered areas that often occur at higher elevations on the Moon are known as the:

A) lunar highlands
B) lunar mare
C) basins
D) terraces

Question 56

The rings of Saturn are largely composed of:

A) purple and green metallic substances
B) icy chunks the size of sand, pebbles, and boulders
C) drops and blobs of liquid water
D) all of these

Question 57

The visible surface of Uranus and Neptune are bluish-green because they consist of:

A) oceans of liquid water
B) blue glacial ice
C) methane and other gases
D) materials that are very cold because they are very far from the Sun

Question 58

What are the dark areas of the Moon interpreted to be?

A) dark-colored sediment that filled in low areas
B) rocks that are dark and fine-grained because they were smashed by many impacts
C) large areas of the iron-oxide mineral hematite
D) large areas covered by basalt

Question 59

Geologists have mapped the Moon by using data from:

A) telescopes
B) binoculars
C) orbiting spacecraft
D) returned samples
E) geologists have used all of these to map the Moon

Question 60

What causes the phases of the Moon?

A) the Earth's shadow obscures different amounts of the Moon during the year
B) the Earth's shadow obscures different amounts of the Moon over 28 days
C) the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth cause us to see different amounts of the Moon's lighted side
D) a partial eclipse causes the lighted part of the moon to grow and shrink over time

Question 61

The Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars is:

A) 4,000 km long
B) the result of a rift
C) wider due to erosion
D) all of these

Question 62

Uranus consists largely of:

A) water, methane, ammonia
B) water, oxygen, ammonia
C) ice, methane, carbon dioxide
D) methane, helium

Question 63

The Valles Marineris system on Mars is 4,000 km long, the width of:

A) the United States
B) Europe
C) Texas
D) Saskatchewan

Question 64

What do these channels indicate about past events on Mars?

A) there were explosive volcanic eruptions
B) strong winds eroded into a series of volcanic layers
C) the surface once had running water that eroded and deposited sediment
D) glaciers once covered the entire planet

Question 65

Based on the image from the Investigation, which terrain is composed of basalt with a few impact craters?

A) Western Terrain W)
B) Dark Terrain D)
C) Sedimentary Terrain S)
D) Polar Ice P)
E) none of these

Question 66

Based on the image from the Investigation, which of the terrains or features is the youngest of the ones listed?

A) Western Terrain W)
B) Dark Terrain D)
C) Chasm C)
D) Sedimentary Terrain S)

Question 67

Pluto, now considered a dwarf planet or plutoid, is:

A) relatively small
B) icy
C) orbited by several moons
D) all of these

Question 68

Why do comets have a tail?

A) they are balls of fire and the tail are flames that trail behind the comet
B) they are balls of fire and the tail is smoke trailing from the burning comet
C) solar wind strips off gas and dust, forming a tail pointing away from the Sun
D) comets do not have a tail, but most dogs do

Question 69

Which of the following is true about Pluto?

A) it is a small icy object, even smaller than Earth's Moon
B) its orbit is very elliptical
C) it is similar to a number of objects farther out from the Solar System
D) astronomers recently classified it to dwarf-planet status
E) all of these

Question 70

Which of the following correctly describe comets?

A) they have a tail of gas and ice
B) icy and rocky
C) small in size
D) all of these correctly describe comets

Question 71

Planetary geologists have successfully explored Mars using:

A) orbiting spacecraft
B) sophisticated cameras
C) landed rovers
D) all of these

Question 72

Which of the following terrains is probably the oldest terrain on the alien world in the Investigation?

A) Western Terrain W)
B) Dark Terrain D)
C) Chasm C)
D) Sedimentary Terrain S)
E) Polar Ice P)

Question 73

Which of the following have NOT been discovered on Mars?

A) a huge canyon system that began as a large rift
B) the largest volcano in the Solar System
C) channels cut by running water
D) examples of slope failure
E) Mars contains all of these features

Question 74

The presence of dunes in the middle Victoria Crater on Mars indicates that:

A) Mars has an atmosphere
B) volcanic eruptions produced abundant sand
C) glaciers once covered most of Mars
D) seas once covered this area, leaving behind the dunes

Question 75

Which of the following features attracted geologists' attention on Mars?

A) small spherical objects, nicknamed blueberries, that contain the mineral hematite
B) a meteorite resting on the Martian surface
C) layered rocks in the walls of several craters
D) a large area with abundant hematite discovered before the rovers landed
E) all of these

Question 76

Olympus Mons, at 600 km across, is the largest volcano:

A) in the solar system
B) on Earth
C) on Jupiter
D) on Europa

Question 77

Channels on the surface of Mars may have been formed by:

A) running water
B) wind
C) tectonics
D) collapse