Deck 20: Earth the Active Planet

Question 1

Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of planets is known as _____.

A) geology
B) plate tectonics
C) greenhouse effect
D) comparative planetology
E) Terrestrial planet classification

Answer 1

comparative planetology

Question 2

Terrestrial planets, like Earth, are made up of rock and metal.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The first stage in planetary evolution is cratering.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In comparing the Terrestrial worlds, which planet is most similar to Earth's moon?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Uranus

Question 5

Pressure (P) waves move as displacements of particles perpendicular to the waves' direction of travel.

Question 6

Earth displays slower erosion than any other Terrestrial planet.

Question 7

Based purely on its size, which of these planetary bodies is least geologically active?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Io

Question 8

Heat rising from Earth's interior drives erosion.

Question 9

In comparing the Terrestrial planets, which planet is most similar in size to Earth?

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

Question 10

A major process in modifying Earth's crust is erosion by wind.

Question 11

Earth's upper atmosphere is protected from infrared radiation by an ozone layer.

Question 12

Some of Earth's rocks retain traces of the magnetic field that point backward to its field today.

Question 13

Most of Earth's history has been destroyed by an active crust and erosion.

Question 14

Which of the Terrestrial planets is considered a "water world"?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Neptune

Question 15

All Terrestrial planets are separated into layers of different densities.

Question 16

Earth's magnetic field is a direct result of its rapid rotation and its molten metallic core.

Question 17

Mantle material behaves like a gas.

Question 18

Earth's core is hot, dense, and mostly composed of iron and nickel.

Question 19

Human output of CO₂ is minor in comparison to the CO₂ output of volcanoes.

Question 20

There is oxygen in Earth's atmosphere because of plant life.

Question 21

What is the first stage of planetary development?

A) cratering
B) flooding
C) bombardment
D) differentiation
E) slow surface evolution

Question 22

Why is the very center of Earth's core a solid and not a liquid?

A) There is less metal in the central core.
B) The central core has a combination of gases with the metals.
C) Accretion "seeded" Earth with a solid central core.
D) The pressure at the central core raises the melting point of the metals higher than its temperature.
E) The central core is a frozen block of water ice.

Question 23

What theoryexplains the movement of the continents on Earth's surface?

A) continental spreading
B) continental drift
C) continental tectonics
D) continental rifting
E) continental rise

Question 24

The ____ couples convection in the liquid core with Earth's rotation to produce electric currents that are believed to be responsible for Earth's magnetic field.

A) albedo
B) bow shock
C) axis rotation
D) convection currents
E) dynamo effect

Question 25

It is believed that there was a heavy bombardment of planetesimals at what stage in planetary development?

A) cratering
B) flooding
C) slow surface evolution
D) plate tectonics
E) differentiation

Question 26

What is responsible for much of the erosion of Earth's surface?

A) lava flows
B) solar wind
C) impact craters
D) convection
E) water

Question 27

Where are volcanoes most common?

A) subduction zones
B) transform boundaries
C) folded mountain ranges
D) continental basins and ranges
E) plates pushing against one another

Question 28

What is the correct order of planetary development?

A) differentiation, cratering, flooding, slow surface evolution
B) cratering, flooding, differentiation, slow surface evolution
C) slow surface evolution, differentiation, flooding, cratering
D) differentiation, flooding, cratering slow surface evolution
E) flooding, slow surface evolution, cratering, differentiation

Question 29

If plate tectonics is what builds up Earth's mountains and continents, then what process tears them down?

A) convection
B) volcanism
C) cratering
D) erosion
E) accretion

Question 30

What does molten rock solidify into?

A) basalt
B) marble
C) sandstone
D) quartzite
E) travertine

Question 31

Why do scientist refer to Earth's mantle as a plastic?

A) The mantle has the properties of a solid, but can flow under pressure.
B) The mantle has the mixed properties of a solid and a liquid.
C) The mantle frequently shifts between its states of matter.
D) The mantle is a softer solid as it approaches the core.
E) The mantle has the properties of a liquid, but is limited in its movement.

Question 32

Why can't S waves travel through Earth's liquid core?

A) Earth's liquid core is creating its own S waves.
B) Earth's liquid core causes the seismic activity to be reflected back to its origin.
C) Earth's liquid core absorbs the waves.
D) Earth's liquid core is too hot and changes the wavelength of the S wave.
E) Earth's liquid core does not have the rigidity required for shear waves to travel along.

Question 33

Where can you find a midocean rise?

A) Mediterranean Sea
B) Pacific Ocean
C) Arctic Ocean
D) Red Sea
E) Indian Ocean

Question 34

What is a characteristic of all terrestrial planets?

A) They all have water.
B) They all have a rocky surface.
C) They all have a thick atmosphere.
D) They all have weather patterns.
E) They all have a very geologically active surface.

Question 35

What form of seismic waves travel in compressions and decompressions?

A) systematic waves
B) earthquake waves
C) pressure waves
D) shear waves
E) gravity waves

Question 36

What process in Earth's core is important in the generation of Earth's magnetic field?

A) accretion
B) differentiation
C) convection
D) eruption
E) gravitation

Question 37

A plate sliding into a subduction zone can trigger ____.

A) midocean rise
B) cratering
C) volcanism
D) hurricanes
E) erosion

Question 38

The collision of plates can produce ____.

A) craters
B) rift zone
C) erosion
D) midocean rise
E) folded mountain ranges

Question 39

The formation of the Red Sea as Africa pulls apart from the Arabian peninsula is an example of what geological feature?

A) subduction zone
B) midocean rise
C) ocean spreading
D) rift valley
E) volcanic eruption

Question 40

Which stage of planetary development has all but eliminated much of Earth's surface history?

A) flooding
B) cratering
C) differentiation
D) bombardment
E) slow surface evolution

Question 42

During Earth's third stage of development, flooding , began as _______________ continued to heat Earth's interior and caused rock to melt in the upper mantle.

Question 43

Which element would not have been found in Earth's early atmosphere? What is the most abundant gas found in Earth's atmosphere today?

A) nitrogen (N₂)
B) carbon dioxide (CO₂)
C) helium (He)
D) hydrogen (H)
E) oxygen (O₂)

Question 44

How have scientists been able to determine that Earth has a liquid metal outer core?

Question 45

Terrestrial worlds are all differentiated, which means they are separated into layers of different _______________.

Question 46

Which statement is a common misconception with regard to Earth's atmosphere?

A) The carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere since the year 1800 is mostly or entirely due to human burning of fossil fuels.
B) All of Earth will warm at the same rate if there is global warming.
C) The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the lower atmosphere and Earth's surface from harmful solar UV radiation.
D) Global warming and ozone depletion are two very different activities in Earth's atmosphere.
E) Earth has experienced a greenhouse effect its entire planetary history.

Question 47

Seventy five percent of Earth's surface is covered by _______________.

Question 48

Where would you find Van Allen belts of radiation?

A) Within Earth's core
B) Within Earth's ozone layer
C) Within Earth's magnetosphere
D) Within Earth's mantle
E) Within Earth's subduction zones

Question 49

Venus, which is 95 percent the diameter of Earth, has a(n) _______________ atmosphere.

Question 50

_______________ produces the majority of the geological activity on Earth.

Question 51

Explain how solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field to create auroras at the poles. Make sure to include each part of the magnetic field the solar particles interact with.

Question 52

What part of Earth's magnetic field is the first line of defense to solar wind particles?

A) radiation belts
B) bow shock
C) magnetosphere
D) Van Allen belts
E) magnetic poles

Question 53

When Earth was young, its atmosphere had no free ____.

A) nitrogen
B) oxygen
C) helium
D) carbon dioxide
E) water vapor

Question 54

List some of the geological forces and end products of plate tectonics.

Question 55

What important role does the ozone layer play in Earth's atmosphere?

A) The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet photons.
B) The ozone layer traps in infared radiation.
C) The ozone layer produces water vapor.
D) The ozone layer traps in UV radiation.
E) The ozone layer produces the oxygen needed for life.

Question 56

Apart from carbon dioxide, which is the most abundant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere?

A) water vapor
B) helium
C) ammonia
D) methane
E) nitrous oxide

Question 57

Why can we not see as many craters on Earth as on the Moon?

Question 58

With the understanding of differentiation, which layer of Earth would be the densest?

A) lithosphere
B) core
C) crust
D) hydrosphere
E) mantle

Question 59

The heavy bombardment of the early Solar System made _______________ on the Terrestrial planets.

Question 60

The exploration of Earth's interior is possible because _______________ produce vibrations called seismic waves.

Question 61

Astronomers believe that some of the abundant water on Earth arrived late in the formation process as a bombardment of _______________.

Question 62

Because P waves are_______________ waves, they can move through a liquid.

Question 63

The region controlled by Earth's magnetic field is the _______________.

Question 64

Internal heat forces Earth's liquid core to circulate with _______________.

Question 65

What is the difference between hot spot volcanism and subduction zone volcanism?

Question 66

When an earthquake occurs, no direct _______________ pass through the core to register on seismographs on the opposite side of Earth.

Question 67

What is the current debate about the origin of water on Earth?

Question 68

Describe each differentiated layers of Earth.

Question 69

Explain the greenhouse effect and the impact made by humans on the greenhouse effect.

Question 70

What are the four stages of Terrestrial planet development?

Question 71

Explain why it is a common misconception to believe that life on Earth exists because of the presence of oxygen.