Deck 6: Terrestrial Worlds in the Inner Solar System

Question 1

The fact that Earth's interior is differentiated suggests that:

A) it formed first from denser material and then afterward accreted lighter material.
B) it has both a liquid and solid core.
C) it was liquid at some point in the past.
D) only the crust is solid; the rest of Earth's interior is liquid.

Answer 1

it was liquid at some point in the past.

Question 2

What is the evidence for Earth's interior being composed of regions of different density?

A) continental drift
B) subduction
C) differences in the propagation of seismic waves

Answer 2

differences in the propagation of seismic waves

Question 3

Neap tide occurs when the Moon is in the first or third quarter phase and results in:

A) smaller than usual tides.
B) larger than usual tides.
C) no tides.

Answer 3

smaller than usual tides.

Question 4

Roughly how often does a high tide occur?

A) once every 6 hours
B) once every 12 hours
C) once every 18 hours
D) once every 24 hours

Question 5

The source or sources of internal heat of the Earth are:

A) tidal stress.
B) radioactive decay.
C) leftover heat of planetary formation.
D) All of the above.

Question 6

Studies of the amount of cratering at different locations on the Moon indicate that:

A) the rate of cratering in the Solar System has changed dramatically over time.
B) the younger lunar surfaces are hundreds of billions of years younger than the oldest surfaces.
C) the Moon has never been geologically active at any point in its history.
D) most of the heavy cratering in the Solar System occurred before Earth formed.

Question 7

Younger impact craters tend to be:

A) larger than older craters.
B) smaller than older craters.
C) found on the oldest part of a planet's surface.
D) superimposed on top of older craters.

Question 8

What type of wave is depicted in the figure below?

A) longitudinal
B) transverse

Question 9

Based on the age of the light- and dark-colored regions of the Moon and the number of craters observed in these regions,we know that impacts in the inner Solar System:

A) rapidly decreased approximately 3 billion years ago.
B) rapidly decreased approximately 1 billion years ago.
C) were very rare in the past 4.5 billion years.
D) occurred at approximately a constant rate throughout most of the age of the Solar System.

Question 10

What type of wave is depicted in the figure below?

A) longitudinal
B) transverse

Question 11

According to studies of impact cratering,which of the terrestrial planets has the oldest surface?

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

Question 12

Which of the following has the biggest effect on the tidal distortion of the Earth?

A) the rotation of Earth
B) the size of Earth relative to its distance from the Sun and Moon
C) the mass of Earth relative to the mass of the Sun and Moon
D) the orbit of Earth

Question 13

The source or sources of the internal heat of Earth are:

A) tidal stress.
B) radioactive decay.
C) leftover heat of planetary formation.
D) all of the above

Question 14

The age of the Solar System can be determined most accurately by:

A) measuring the number of craters per square meter on Mercury.
B) radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon.
C) carbon dating of rocks from mountains on Earth.
D) measurement of the magnetic field variations on the seafloor.

Question 15

In the past,the Moon was closer to Earth,and the differences in the heights of the ocean at high and low tides were:

A) the same.
B) larger.
C) smaller.
D) tides were nonexistent in the past

Question 16

Mars,Venus,and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon.This is explained by the fact that:

A) the rate of cratering in the early Solar System was strongly dependent on location.
B) all three have thick, protective atmospheres.
C) Earth and Venus were shielded from impacts by the Moon, and Mars was protected by the asteroid belt.
D) Mars, Venus, and Earth were geologically active longer than Mercury and the Moon.

Question 17

If a radioactive element has a half-life of 10,000 years,what fraction of it is left in a rock after 40,000 years?

A) one-half
B) one-fourth
C) one-eighth
D) one-sixteenth

Question 18

Based on the number of impact craters observed per square meter on their surfaces,place these terrestrial planets in order of youngest to oldest surface:

A) Earth, Venus, Mercury
B) Venus, Earth, Mercury
C) Mercury, Venus, Earth
D) Earth, Mercury, Venus

Question 19

If you obtained a sample of rock from Venus and determined the abundances of ²³⁸U and 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 ²³⁸U decays to ²⁰⁷Pb with a half-life of 700 million years.Assume that there was no ²⁰⁷Pb in the rock when it originally formed.

A) 1.4 billion years
B) 2.8 billion years
C) 230 million years
D) 4.5 billion years

Question 20

What is the evidence for the Earth's deep interior being composed of regions of different density?

A) volcanism
B) continental drift
C) subduction
D) differences in the propagation of seismic waves

Question 21

The more homogeneous the lava erupting from a volcano is,the more likely that volcano may be:

A) part of a chain of volcanoes.
B) very steep.
C) a composite volcano.
D) a shield volcano.

Question 22

A planet in which volcanism is highly active would likely:

A) have a high density of visible impact craters.
B) have no atmosphere.
C) show relatively little evidence of impacts.
D) have a completely smooth surface.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a factor that helps explain Earth's lack of craters compared to the Moon?

A) wind erosion
B) larger atmosphere
C) higher-density interior
D) liquid water on the surface

Question 24

What are the four main processes that shape the surfaces of the terrestrial planets?

Question 25

How might liquid water exist on Mars where the temperature is routinely below the freezing point of water?

A) Martian water may contain salts, which lowers the freezing temperature of the water.
B) Ice is melted by the heat of geological activity.
C) Liquid water emerges from martian volcanoes.
D) Water precipitates from the martian atmosphere.

Question 26

Plate tectonics is NOT responsible for the formation of:

A) mountain ranges.
B) canyons.
C) volcanoes.
D) ocean trenches.

Question 27

The image below is of a crater on Mars.What evidence does it show about Mars?

Question 28

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

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.

Question 29

Earth's innermost core is solid,not liquid,because:

A) the core temperature is too low to melt iron.
B) differentiation caused all of the heavy, solid material to sink to the bottom while Earth was forming.
C) all the liquid has moved up into the mantle via convection.
D) the pressure is too high for a liquid state.

Question 30

If the Himalaya mountain range is currently 8,000 meters in height and is rising at a rate of 0.5 meter per century because of the convergence of two continental plates,how long did it take to create this mountain range?

A) 1,600 years
B) 160,000 years
C) 1.6 million years
D) 160 million years

Question 31

Based on the assumption that a liquid conducting core and rapid rotation are both required for a magnetic field to operate,which terrestrial planets would you expect to have magnetic fields?

A) Earth only
B) Earth, Venus, and Mars only
C) Earth and Mars only
D) Earth and Mercury only

Question 32

The largest volcanic mountains in the Solar System are found on:

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

Question 33

Name the terrestrial planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun.What are the terrestrial planets in order of increasing geological age of their surfaces?

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a planetary magnetic field?

A) rapid rotation
B) solid iron core
C) convective motions
D) electrically conducting liquid in the core

Question 35

The North American Plate and the Pacific Plate are sliding past one another at a rate of approximately 3 cm/year.San Francisco,which is located on the edge of the North American Plate,is sliding southward toward Los Angeles,which is located on the Pacific Plate.If they are currently separated by a distance of 600 km,how many years will it take for the two cities to meet?

A) 3 million years
B) 300,000 years
C) 20 million years
D) 20,000 years

Question 36

Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?

Question 37

Tidal distortion of the Earth is due to:

A) the rotation of the Earth.
B) the size of the Earth relative to its distance from the Sun and Moon.
C) the mass of the Earth relative to the mass of the Sun and Moon.
D) the orbit of the Earth.

Question 38

The current theory is that a planet will have a strong magnetic field if it has:

A) fast rotation and a solid core.
B) slow rotation and a liquid core.
C) fast rotation and a liquid core.
D) slow rotation and a solid core.

Question 39

What is the best explanation for the heating of Earth's interior today?

A) the tidal effects of the Moon
B) seismic waves that traverse Earth's core
C) decay of radioactive elements
D) convective motions in the mantle

Question 40

Which of the following are sites of volcanic activity on Earth?

A) local hot spots
B) spreading centers
C) subduction zones
D) all of the above

Question 41

What causes the tides on Earth,and how frequently do high and low tides occur?

Question 42

The image below is of Olympus Mons on Mars.How are the volcanoes on Venus and Mars different from the volcanoes on Earth? What might explain this difference?

Question 43

How does the radioactive heating of Earth vary from when it was first formed 4.6 billion years ago until today?

Question 44

Whereas volcanic activity usually results in reduced visible evidence of impact cratering on a planet's surface,how can visible evidence of both impact cratering AND volcanic activity be reconciled?

Question 45

Label the geological processes that create the features in the images below.

Question 46

How can a planet or moon that is inactive geologically have incidents of volcanism?

Question 47

Without direct measurements,how can the internal structure of Solar System bodies be estimated?

Question 48

Which planet would you expect to have a larger molten core,a planet of Earth's size or a planet that had half the radius of Earth? Explain why.

Question 49

What would be the significance of finding water on other planets?

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

Question 52

Describe one form of tectonic disruption on Mercury,Venus,and Mars,respectively,and how these disruptions formed.

Question 53

Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?