Deck 9: The Moon

Question 1

Which of the following would NOT be true if the rotation and revolution periods of the Moon weren't the same

A)The Moon keeps the same face turned toward the Earth
B)The Moon rises in the east and sets in the west
C)All lunar phases can be seen from the Earth
D)There are about 12 months per year

Answer 1

The Moon keeps the same face turned toward the Earth

Question 2

What kind of eclipse do we see when the Moon is partly within the Earth's umbral shadow?

A)Partial lunar eclipse
B)Total solar eclipse
C)Total lunar eclipse
D)Partial solar eclipse

Answer 2

Partial lunar eclipse

Question 3

The light-colored highland regions of the Moon's surface are

A)Basins
B)Terrae
C)Regolith
D)Maria

Answer 3

Terrae

Question 4

Compared to the lunar uplands (the terrae),the lunar maria are

A)Smoother and older
B)Smoother and younger
C)More cratered and older
D)More cratered and younger

Question 5

Suppose a solar eclipse occurred today.What is the soonest that another eclipse could occur and what kind of eclipse would it be?

A)A lunar eclipse 2 weeks from now
B)A lunar eclipse in 1 month
C)A solar eclipse 2 weeks from now
D)A solar eclipse in 1 month

Question 6

The lunar maria were formed by

A)Numerous impacts by small meteoroids
B)Tectonic uplifts
C)Sedimentation
D)Lava flows into low areas

Question 7

What is the interval of time between eclipse seasons?

A)A few weeks
B)About 6 months
C)1 day
D)About 50 years

Question 8

At what phase of the Moon can a lunar eclipse occur?

A)First quarter
B)New
C)Gibbous
D)Full
E)Third quarter

Question 9

Eclipses do not occur each month because the

A)Moon is always in the ecliptic
B)Moon's orbit is eccentric
C)Moon's distance to the Earth keeps changing
D)Moon's orbital plane is inclined (tilted)to the ecliptic plane
E)Moon's angular size is not equal to the Sun's at all times

Question 10

The Moon keeps the same face turned toward the Earth because it

A)Does not rotate
B)Rotates once per revolution about the Earth
C)Rotates in a retrograde direction
D)Rotates once per year

Question 11

The surface of the Moon

A)Once had oceans and lakes of water
B)Is pocked by numerous craters.
C)Has an atmosphere similar to that of Mars
D)Acquired its present appearance about 100 million years ago

Question 12

At which phase of the Moon do lunar eclipses occur?

A)Full
B)New
C)First quarter
D)Third quarter

Question 13

What kind of eclipse will be seen by an observer located directly behind the umbral shadow of the Moon?

A)Partial lunar eclipse
B)Total eclipse of Earth
C)Total lunar eclipse
D)Annular solar eclipse

Question 14

If the Moon did not rotate on its own axis,we would observe

A)Both sides of the Moon
B)Trick question-it doesn't rotate
C)Only one side of the Moon
D)A lack of tides on the Earth
E)Only solar tides

Question 15

What kind of eclipse occurs when the Moon's penumbral shadow comes in contact with the surface of the Earth?

A)Partial solar eclipse
B)Total solar eclipse
C)Partial lunar eclipse
D)Total lunar eclipse

Question 16

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon enters the Earth's

A)Umbra
B)Van Allen belts
C)Equatorial plane
D)Saros

Question 17

If a lunar eclipse occurs tonight,when is the soonest that another lunar eclipse can occur?

A)Tomorrow
B)In 2 weeks
C)In a month
D)In 1 year

Question 18

The Moon always faces the Earth because of

A)Tidal locking
B)Kepler's third law
C)Retrograde motion of the Moon's orbit
D)Conservation of angular momentum
E)Electromagnetic coupling between the Earth and lunar magnetic fields

Question 19

The lunar soil was produced by

A)Meteoroid impacts
B)Violent volcanic eruptions
C)The escape of gases from the interior of the Moon
D)The solar wind

Question 20

The dark,relatively smooth regions of the Moon's surface are the

A)Craters
B)Maria
C)Terrae
D)Ejecta blankets

Question 21

Which of the following is a valid criticism of the fission theory of the origin of the Moon?

A)The Earth and Moon didn't have enough angular momentum for fission.
B)The Earth and Moon have identical composition
C)The Moon lacks an iron core
D)The scar from the fission should remain on the Earth's surface

Question 22

The diameter of the Moon is greater from front to back (seen from the Earth)than it is from pole to pole.What is responsible for the observed difference in diameters?

A)Tides due to Earth
B)Centrifugal force
C)Coriolis force
D)Gravitational force due to the Sun

Question 23

Why are rocks from lunar uplands (terrae)older that those from the lunar maria?

A)The maria solidified more recently than the terrae
B)The older maria material is buried beneath debris
C)The Moon formed from two objects with different ages
D)The older rocks were blasted into the terrae by meteoroids

Question 24

How does the impact theory of the origin of the Moon account for the differences between the chemical compositions of the Earth and the Moon?

A)When the Moon formed it was very hot
B)The Moon is partly made from material from the body that hit the Earth
C)The composition of the Moon has been altered by objects that have hit it
D)Most of the Earthlike material has sunk to the center of the Moon

Question 25

Which of the following is now thought to be the most likely way in which the Moon formed?

A)Giant impact model
B)Binary accretion model
C)Capture model
D)Fission model

Question 26

How can craters tell us about the ages of surface regions of planets?

A)Crater density increases with time
B)Material blasted from the craters sometimes reaches Earth and can be dated
C)Craters shrink in size at a predictable rate
D)Impacts produce carbon 14,which can be dated

Question 27

How have the ages of lunar rocks been determined?

A)From the weathering the rocks have experienced
B)By counting layers of sediments
C)By examination of the radioactive materials they contain
D)By measuring their magnetization

Question 28

One of the most important results of the Apollo missions to the Moon was the determination

A)Of the heights of lunar mountains
B)Of the relationship between age and crater density.
C)Of the existence of lunar craters
D)That the Moon has a large magnetic field

Question 29

The giant impact theory attributes the origin of the Moon to the impact of a Mars-size body with the Earth.Which of the following is both a true statement and supports the impact theory of the Moon's origin?

A)The scar left by the impact can be identified with the Pacific Ocean
B)The composition of the Moon is similar to Earth's but somewhat different
C)The impact was the same event that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs
D)The impacting body sank inward to form the Earth's core

Question 30

Consider the following hypothetical situation.A spacecraft lands on a moon of one of the planets.The moon has a smooth surface resembling that of the lunar maria.The rocks on the surface are found to be 4.5 billion years old.Why would such a finding be highly unusual?

A)Such rocks are far older than any found on the Earth's moon
B)If the surface is that old,it should be heavily cratered
C)The maria rocks on the Earth's moon are much older than 4.5 billion years
D)There should not be rocks on maria

Question 31

Which of the following is unaffected by the tidal interaction between the Earth and the Moon?

A)The length of the day
B)The length of the month
C)The length of the year
D)The distance between the Earth and the Moon

Question 32

Lunar maria are darker and less heavily cratered than lunar terrae.From this information,what can be concluded about the maria and terrae?

A)The maria are younger than the terrae
B)The maria have higher elevations than the terrae
C)There are more radioactive elements in the maria than in the terrae
D)The terrae were produced by lava flows

Question 33

What effect do lunar tides have on the length of the day?

A)Lengthen it
B)Shorten it
C)Cause it to oscillate during the year
D)No effect on the day,only the length of the year

Question 34

How fast is the Moon spiraling away from the Earth per year?

A)A few mm
B)A few cm
C)A few m
D)a few km

Question 35

According to the giant impact model of the formation of the Moon,the collision between what two objects led to the formation of the Moon?

A)The Earth and a Mars-size body
B)The Sun and Jupiter
C)The Earth and a comet
D)Mars and Venus

Question 36

Approximately how old are the oldest of the lunar samples returned to Earth by the Apollo astronauts?

A)4.6 billion years
B)460 million years
C)46 million years
D)4.6 million years

Question 37

The analysis of samples returned from the Moon provided a means to estimate the ages of the surfaces of various planets and satellites because the samples made it possible to determine the relationship between age and

A)Density of craters
B)Distance from the Sun
C)Temperature
D)Amount of atmosphere retained

Question 38

Which of the following statements about the ages of lunar rocks is NOT true?

A)They were established by radiogenic dating
B)Rocks from the maria have the same age as those from the uplands
C)The lunar rocks generally are older than terrestrial rocks
D)The measured age refers to the time since the rock last solidified

Question 39

According to the fission theory of the origin of the Moon,what solar system body split to give birth to the Moon?

A)The Sun
B)Venus
C)Mars
D)Earth

Question 40

One hemisphere of a newly discovered satellite is much more heavily cratered than the other hemisphere.What can be said of the more heavily cratered side of the satellite?

A)It is older than the other side
B)It has more radioactive materials than the other side
C)It attracts meteoroids better than the other side
D)It has a larger magnetic field than the other side

Question 41

If the Moon is fairly far away from the Earth,so that the umbra of the moon does not reach the Earth,what would someone directly behind the umbra see from Earth?

A)A partial solar eclipse
B)An annular eclipse
C)A total solar eclipse
D)A partial lunar eclipse

Question 42

If a part of the Moon passes through the umbra of the Earth,what will we see?

A)total solar eclipse
B)partial solar eclipse
C)total lunar eclipse
D)partial lunar eclipse