Deck 16: Earth and Moon: Bases for Comparative Planetology

Question 1

Slow surface evolution on the moon is limited to

A) low-density masses of rock rising from the interior.
B) low level meteorite impacts.
C) moonquakes disturbing the surface features.
D) motion along a network of small faults.
E) all of the above.

Answer 1

low level meteorite impacts.

Question 2

Compared to the Earth, the moon is no longer geologically active because

A) it is rotating too slowly.
B) its radioactive elements were never abundant.
C) it is much smaller in mass.
D) its crust is too thin.
E) it does not have water on its surface.

Answer 2

it is much smaller in mass.

Question 3

That Earth ____ , evidence that Earth differentiated.

A) rotates slowly
B) has an average density that is higher than the density of the crust
C) has a no magnetic field
D) has a surface that is 75% water
E) all of these

Answer 3

has an average density that is higher than the density of the crust

Question 4

The lunar maria are

A) the lava plains of the lunar lowlands.
B) the smooth plateaus of the lunar highlands.
C) less than one billion years old.
D) moving plates of lunar crust.
E) older than the lunar highlands.

Question 5

The greenhouse effect occurs on Earth because carbon dioxide is

A) transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation.
B) opaque to visible light and transparent to infrared radiation.
C) totally opaque to both visible light and infrared radiation.

Question 6

The oxygen in Earth's atmosphere

A) was manufactured inside stars.
B) was added to the atmosphere by plant life.
C) has grown more abundant since the origin of Earth.
D) all of these.
E) none of these.

Question 7

In the development of a terrestrial planet, the stage of ____ when dense material settled to the core and less dense to the outer parts.

A) differentiation
B) cratering
C) glaciation
D) accretion
E) flooding

Question 8

Which of these gases is most responsible for the greenhouse effect on Earth?

A) oxygen (O₂)
B) nitrogen (N₂)
C) carbon dioxide (CO₂)
D) ozone (O₃)
E) ammonia (NH₃)

Question 9

Motion of the plates of Earth's crust is thought to be due to

A) the solar wind.
B) convection from the hot interior.
C) tides in the oceans.
D) friction between wind and the land surface.
E) Earth's magnetic field.

Question 10

The presence of vesicular basalts among the lunar rock samples shows that

A) the lunar surface was fragmented by meteorite impacts.
B) volcanism did not occur on the moon.
C) the crust must have been made of anorthosite.
D) molten lava once flowed over the lunar surface.
E) the moon was once hit by a very large meteorite.

Question 11

The central regions of Earth's core are solid because

A) the composition at the center of the core is lower in iron.
B) the pressure at the center raises the melting point.
C) the magnetic field cannot penetrate into the center of the core.
D) convection does not extend all the way to the center of the core.
E) Earth initially formed from solid particles in the solar nebula.

Question 12

In contrast to the outer solid mantle, parts of the central regions of Earth's interior are thought to be fluid because

A) P seismic waves cannot make it through those regions.
B) S seismic waves cannot make it through those regions.
C) neither P nor S seismic waves can make it through those regions.
D) both P and S seismic waves easily make it through those regions.

Question 13

Which of the following is not produced by plate tectonics?

A) midocean rifts
B) rift valleys
C) the ring of fire
D) the Appalachian Mountains
E) Earth's magnetic field

Question 14

In the development of a terrestrial planet, the stage of ____ occurred when molten rock flowed through fissures and filled deep basins.

A) differentiation
B) cratering
C) glaciation
D) accretion
E) flooding

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the four stages in the development of a terrestrial planet?

A) flooding
B) cratering
C) slow surface evolution
D) fusion of hydrogen to helium
E) differentiation

Question 16

Earth's magnetic field is generated by the dynamo effect in the

A) molten metallic core.
B) solid central core.
C) plastic mantle.
D) crust.
E) aurora.

Question 17

The ozone layer is

A) transparent to ultraviolet radiation.
B) opaque to ultraviolet radiation.
C) opaque to visible light.
D) opaque to infrared radiation.
E) responsible for producing most of the oxygen that animal life needs.

Question 18

The Himalayan Mountains are rugged, jagged peaks and the Appalachians are smooth and rolling. Why is there a difference?

A) The Himalayas are much older and the rocks have begun breaking off.
B) The Himalayas are volcanic mountains and the Appalachians are not.
C) The Appalachians are much older and have been smoothed by erosion.
D) The Appalachians are younger and just started to be thrust upward by plate tectonics.
E) a and d

Question 19

Why would a decrease in the density of the ozone layer create a public health concern?

A) The greenhouse effect would not be as efficient and the temperature of Earth would decrease.
B) The greenhouse effect would be more efficient and the temperature of Earth would increase.
C) Plant life would no longer have the ozone it needs for photosynthesis to create chlorophyll.
D) Ultraviolet radiation from the sun would bombard Earth.
E) none of the above

Question 20

The youngest parts of Earth's crust are

A) the bottom layer found in the walls of the Grand Canyon.
B) the continents.
C) the continental margins.
D) the Appalachian Mountains.
E) the midocean rifts.

Question 21

In the diagram below label each of the major divisions of Earth's interior.

Question 22

Compared to Earth, wind and water erosion on our moon is

A) more evident.
B) less evident.
C) the same.
D) not present.

Question 23

The ____________________ hypothesis for the formation of the moon suggests that the moon and Earth formed from the same cloud of material and coalesced as two separate objects.

Question 24

That the moon has no magnetic field implies that

A) the moon is spinning too slowly to produce a magnetic field.
B) the interior of the moon is too hot to produce a magnetic field.
C) the crust of the moon is so thick that the magnetic field cannot get out of the interior.
D) the moon's core contains little if any molten iron.
E) the moon is moving further from Earth.

Question 25

In the condensation theory of the moon's origin,

A) the moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 26

Which hypothesis concerning the formation of the moon makes predictions that best fit the observed lunar data?

A) the large impact hypothesis
B) the fission hypothesis
C) the capture hypothesis
D) the condensation hypothesis
E) the regolith hypothesis

Question 27

The magnetic field of Earth is thought to be generated by motions in its

A) atmosphere.
B) liquid water oceans.
C) solid surface.
D) molten iron interior.

Question 28

Evidence for the drifting of continents or plate tectonics on Earth is

A) the manner in which the outlines of continents fit together much like puzzle pieces.
B) the similarity of rocks found occurring along certain continental coastal areas.
C) the long, continuous ridges found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
D) all of the above.

Question 29

The separation between Africa and the Arabian peninsula is a(n) ____________________ valley.

Question 30

Earth's moon has a much ________ surface than Earth because it has ________ than Earth.

A) older; a smaller mass
B) older; a much closer distance to sun
C) younger; a smaller mass
D) younger; a much closer distance to sun

Question 31

____________________ is responsible for absorbing ultraviolet radiation in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Question 32

The presence of breccias among the lunar rock samples shows that

A) volcanism did not occur on the moon.
B) molten lava once flowed over the lunar surface.
C) the crust must have been made of anorthosite.
D) water once existed on the moon in the form of small lakes and streams.
E) the lunar surface was fragmented by meteorite impacts.

Question 33

Which of these does Earth's moon NOT have because of its weaker gravity/smaller mass than Earth?

A) thick atmosphere
B) liquid water oceans
C) solid surface
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 34

The moon's distance from Earth is measured very accurately by bouncing a laser beam off of a small mirror left on the surface of the moon. If a laser is fired at the moon and the signal returns in 2.6 seconds, what is the distance to the moon?

A) 390,000 km
B) 390,000 m
C) 780,000 km
D) 780,000 m

Question 35

____________________ waves are seismic waves that do not travel through Earth's liquid core.

Question 36

The interior of Earth is studied by using

A) infrared light waves.
B) yellow light waves.
C) seismic waves.
D) gamma waves.

Question 37

The Earth is about __________________years old by ___________.

A) 4 billion years old: radioactive dating
B) 4 million; measuring Earth's orbital period around the Sun
C) 4 billion; measuring Earth's orbital period around the Sun
D) 4 million; radioactive dating

Question 38

In the fission theory of the moon's origin,

A) the moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 39

In the giant impact theory of the moon's origin,

A) the moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 40

On Earth, according to current ideas about plate tectonics, ____________ were once together.

A) Africa and South America
B) Africa and North America
C) North America and Europe
D) all of the above

Question 41

Earth never passed through the cratering stage in planetary development.

Question 42

The oldest parts of Earth's crust are located along the midocean rifts.

Question 43

Earth's magnetic field is generated in the iron-rich mantle.

Question 44

The moon stopped evolving because it is too small to have kept its internal heat.

Question 45

The greenhouse effect occurs because carbon dioxide is opaque to infrared radiation.

Question 46

The ____________________ of Earth is composed of rocks at high density that behave as a plastic.

Question 47

Pressure (P) waves can travel through a liquid, but shear (S) waves cannot.

Question 48

Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is outgassed in volcanic eruptions.

Question 49

____________________ are great lava flows covering 17% of the lunar surface.

Question 50

The first Apollo missions to the moon found the maria to be plains of solid lava.

Question 51

A plate sliding into a(n) ____________________ can trigger volcanism.

Question 52

On the moon, the maria are younger than the highlands.

Question 53

Fragmenting during meteorite impacts caused the vesicular basalts found among the lunar samples.

Question 54

Fragmenting during meteorite impacts caused the breccias found among the lunar samples.

Question 55

Earth and the moon could not have condensed from the same materials because they have different densities and compositions.

Question 56

Earth's magnetic field has reversed itself.

Question 57

Volcanism can occur in a midocean rift, above a hot spot in the mantle, or where one tectonic plate slides below another.

Question 58

On the moon, the maria have fewer craters than the highlands.

Question 59

The central part of Earth's core is solid.

Question 60

The ozone layer is produced by oxygen atoms that link to form O₃.

Question 61

How do we know that the interior of the moon does not contain a large, molten core?

Question 62

How do we know that the maria formed more recently than the highlands on the moon?

Question 63

Describe the four stages in the development of a terrestrial planet.

Question 64

How is Earth's magnetic field generated?

Question 65

What evidence do we have that Earth has a molten core?

Question 66

Describe the large impact theory of the moon's origin..

Question 67

Explain what a subduction zone is and how it is related to volcanism.

Question 68

Why is volcanism associated with regions where one plate descends below another plate?

Question 69

Why is the ozone layer in Earth's atmosphere important to life on its surface?

Question 70

Explain how we can determine the relative ages of lunar features.

Question 71

What do the lunar rocks tell us about the origin of the lunar crust?

Question 72

Why is carbon dioxide important in maintaining a greenhouse effect?

Question 73

What does the presence of vesicular basalts and breccias among the lunar rock samples tell us about the history of the moon?

Question 74

What property do greenhouse gases have that allow them to warm a planet?