Chapter 22 Earth Science – Flashcards
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The ________ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.
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nebular hypothesis
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Most of the mass in the solar system is contained ________.
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in the sun
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Which observation supports the theory that the planets formed from a disk shaped nebula?
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The planets revolve around the Sun in approximately the same plane of the ecliptic.
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Which of the following is not a Jovian planet?
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Pluto
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What atmospheric gas is common in the outer planets but rare in the inner planets?
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Hydrogen
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What is a popular theory for the difference in atmospheres of the Jovian planets versus terrestrial planets?
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High temperatures and solar wind in the inner planets allowed most of the volatiles to be driven off the terrestrial planets, but not the Jovian planets.
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Which of the following characterizes the history of impacts on Earth as deduced by impact history on other terrestrial planets?
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Impact rates were very high in the early history of the earth, but dropped off after about the first 1 billion years of Earth history to a nearly constant rate since that time.
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Which one of the following is most likely to be associated both with impact craters and with volcanic calderas that originate by collapse?
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landslides and other mass wasting movements along the walls of the depression
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Vast, circular to elliptical dark-colored areas on the moon called maria represent ________.
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very large impact craters filled with basaltic lava
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Which of these lunar features is the oldest?
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lunar highlands
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Most of the Moon's craters were produced by ________.
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the impact of meteoroids
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The most popular theory for the origin of the moon today is ________.
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the early Earth and a planet the size of Mars collided, and the ejected material coalesced to form the earth's moon.
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We know the age of the lunar highlands from ________.
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dating of lunar maria basalts collected by Apollo astronauts, and extrapolated back in time by relative chronology
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Rayed craters like Tyco and Copernicus are known to be younger than the lunar maria because ________.
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their ejecta, seen as rays, lies across the surface of the maria
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We know from the Apollo missions and unmanned probes that the moon's surface is covered with loose, unconsolidated material with a texture similar to soil on earth. How did this material form on the moon?
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The loose material is mostly micrometeorite fragments and ejecta from impact craters, so is very different from soil on Earth.
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How did the lunar maria most likely originate?
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Huge impact basins were nearly filled with basaltic lava flows.
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Why do lunar scientists think the surface of the moon was once a magma ocean?
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The lunar highlands contain large amounts of the rock anorthosite, which is the light material that "floated" on the top of the magma ocean.
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Which one of the following is not found on Mars?
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H2O-rich atmosphere
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The high surface temperatures of ________ have been attributed to the greenhouse effect.
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Venus
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________ are found both on Mars and Earth.
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Erosional features related to flowing water
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The surface features of ________ are known only through satellite radar mapping.
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Venus
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Compared to Earth's atmosphere, the atmosphere of Mars has surface pressures that are ___.
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0.1 times those on Earth; major gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide
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________ is the principal gas in the Venusian atmosphere and also a minor component of the atmospheres of Earth and Mars.
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Carbon Dioxide
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The largest known volcano in the solar system is ________.
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Olympus Mons on Mars
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Why has it been so difficult to examine the surface of Venus with unmanned probes?
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The air pressure at the surface is equivalent to a water depth of nearly 1km on Earth, and temperatures are very high, which tends to destroy the probes.
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Venus has dense clouds and thick atmosphere, yet there is no evidence for water on the surface. Why?
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Water could not survive as liquid water on the surface because it is too hot.
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In the science fiction book series "Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars" the author spins a story of "terraforming" Mars with the formation of oceans and a breathable atmosphere by the end of the series. The author describes a scenario, however, where the inhabitants of this fictional world were able to live relatively normally on most of the world but not on Olympus Mons and the Tharsus region. Assuming you could create a breathable atmosphere as described in the books, is the description of where you might live on Mars realistic, or just spinning a yarn?
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Yes, because Olympus Mons and the Tharsus region are higher above the Martian plains than Mt. Everest, so the air would always be dramatically thinner and colder there, even with an Earth atmosphere.
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What did the Mars rover Opportunity discover on Mars that relates to questions about the existence of water on Mars?
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The rover found sedimentary rocks that contained minerals that could only have formed by precipitation from water.
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Which planet rotates the opposite direction it revolves around the sun?
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Venus
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Both the Earth's moon and Mars have thick layers of loose surface materials. How are they different?
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They are different. Lunar regolith is mostly ejecta from impacts whereas Martian regolith is primarily wind-blown dust and sand on older surfaces that vary from water laid surfaces to volcanic surfaces.
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Venus is usually described as a runaway greenhouse effect world, which is true in the sense that the atmosphere is mostly CO2. However, there is an important factor that relates to earth weather that is slightly different. The slow rotation of Venus produces a huge heat influx difference from the day to night side of the planet, which produces descending air on the night side and ascending air on the day side. Because the atmosphere is so dense, this means air rises to high elevations on the day side, and descends to surface on the night side. As a result, the night side of the planet is nearly as hot, or even hotter, than the day side. What would be the principal reason for this?
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As the air descends on the night side of the planet, it is heated by adiabatic compression to a very high temperature—a grand scale equivalent of Chinook or Santa Ana winds on Earth.
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________ has the great, dark spot on its surface.
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Jupiter
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________ has atmospheric pressures at its surface that are roughly comparable to those at Earth's surface.
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Saturn's moon Titan
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________, a moon orbiting Jupiter, has an unusually smooth, uncratered, ice-covered surface.
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Miranda
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Jupiter's moon Io is thought to be the volcanically active world in our solar system. What is the inferred source of heat?
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Io is close to Jupiter and the tidal forces on planet produce frictional heating of the planet.
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Jupiter contains a number of small moons that are thought to be captured comets or material ejected by collisions with larger objects. What is the evidence for this theory?
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Their orbits are highly elliptical, off the plane of the ecliptic, and many are retrograde, which is unlikely for satellite formed during planetary accretion.
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What moon in the outer solar system is most "earthlike" in terms of landforms, and possesses liquids (liquid methane not water) flowing across the surface?
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Titan
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Neptune and Uranus both appear bluish in sunlight whereas Jupiter and Saturn are multicolored. Why are Neptune and Uranus blue?
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They contain methane ice in their atmosphere which causes the color.
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What is the most abundant element in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn?
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hydrogen
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Several of the moons of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune display evidence of volcanic activity. What is the most common type of volcano on these moons?
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ice volcanos
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Saturn is famous for its rings. Which of the following Jovian planets does not have rings?
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None, all of the Jovian planets have rings
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Which of the following is not true of the rings of Saturn.
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The faintest outer rings are closely associated with the moon Enceladus.
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Which planet has the highest recorded winds in the solar system?
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Neptune
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Earlier in this class you learned about the Coriolis force. Given your knowledge of this force and Jupiter, which of these statements is most accurate?
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The Coriolis force is much stronger on Jupiter than on Earth because it rotates more than twice as fast as Earth and it is much larger than Earth.
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Jupiter's atmosphere displays spectacular cyclonic and anticyclonic storms, some persisting for long periods of time. How do these storms form?
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They are due to internal heat exchange within the planet, basically convection currents transferring internal heat to the surface.
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Pluto is now classified as a ________ in our solar system.
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dwarf planet
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________ meteorites are thought to be analogous in composition to Earth's core.
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Iron
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Which one of the following statements is believed to be true of comets?
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They have highly elliptical orbits around the Sun.
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________ refers to the bright head of a comet.
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Coma
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________ are small, extraterrestrial particles that glow brightly and burn up as they travel through Earth's atmosphere.
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Meteoroids
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A comet is visible because ________.
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it is a small object, but it ejects gas and dust that at is dispersed by the solar wind to form a tail thousands of km long
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Why do geologists use the radiometric age of meteorites as a guide to age of the solar system?
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The meteorites have been isolated in the cold vacuum of space since their formation, so they have seen no significant heating since the time of their formation.
