Astronomy Chapter 9 Test Questions – Flashcards
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Just as the surface area-to-volume ratio depends on size, so can other properties. To see how, suppose that your size suddenly doubled-that is, your height, width, and depth all doubled. (For example, if you were 5 feet tall before, you now are 10 feet tall.) What factor has your waist size increased?
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2 times
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Just as the surface area-to-volume ratio depends on size, so can other properties. To see how, suppose that your size suddenly doubled-that is, your height, width, and depth all doubled. (For example, if you were 5 feet tall before, you now are 10 feet tall.) How much more material will be required for your clothes? (Hint: Clothes cover the surface area of your body.)
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4
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Just as the surface area-to-volume ratio depends on size, so can other properties. To see how, suppose that your size suddenly doubled-that is, your height, width, and depth all doubled. (For example, if you were 5 feet tall before, you now are 10 feet tall.) By what factor has your weight increased? (Hint: Weight depends on the volume of your body.)
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8
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Just as the surface area-to-volume ratio depends on size, so can other properties. To see how, suppose that your size suddenly doubled-that is, your height, width, and depth all doubled. (For example, if you were 5 feet tall before, you now are 10 feet tall.) The pressure on your weight-bearing joints depends on how much weight is supported by the surface area of each joint. How has this pressure changed?
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2 times
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From center to surface, which of the following correctly lists the interior layers of a terrestrial world?
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core, mantle, crust
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What do we conclude if a planet has few impact craters of any size?
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Other geological processes have wiped out craters.
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Which of the following is NOT an example of tectonics?
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The gradual disappearance of a crater rim as a result of wind and rain.
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Which of the following best describes the lunar maria?
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relatively smooth, flat plains on the Moon
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Assuming that features you see on Mars are similar to features found on Earth, what would a casual inspection of the interactive photo of Mars lead you to suspect about water on Mars?
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Surface water only exists as frozen ice.
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Which of the following Mars surface features provides dramatic evidence that volcanism has played a role in shaping the surface of Mars?
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Olympus Mons
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When you zoom in on the section labeled "Southern Highlands," which geologic processes are most clearly evident?
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impact cratering and erosion
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Which describes our understanding of flowing water on Mars?
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It was important once, but no longer.
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Based on its surface features, the most important event on Venus in the past billion years or so was _______.
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a global "repaving" that erased essentially all the surface features that had existed earlier
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In the context of plate tectonics, what is a subduction zone?
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a place where a seafoor plate is sliding under a continental plate
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Which of the following does NOT provide evidence that Mars once had abundant liquid water on its surface?
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the presence of canali, discovered in the late 1800s by Giovanni Schiaparelli and mapped by Percival Lowell
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In general, what kind of planet would you expect to have the thickest lithosphere?
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a small planet
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A terrestrial world's lithosphere is ________.
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a layer of relatively strong, rigid rock, encompassing the crust and part of the mantle
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The processes responsible for virtually all surface geology are _________.
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impact cratering, volcanisms, tectonics, and erosion
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How many of the terrestrial worlds have lava plains or shield volcanoes?
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five
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What is the name of the outer rigid layer of a planet?
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lithosphere
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The major processes that heat the interiors of the terrestrial worlds are __________.
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(1) heat deposited as the planets were built from planetesimals; (2) heat deposited as the planets underwent differentiation; (3) heat released by radioactive decay
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Based on Planet Z's size, orbital distance, and rotation rate, which of the following properties is it likely to have?
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active volcanos, active tectonics, an atmosphere produced by outgassing
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The slowly increasing distance between South America and Africa is due to
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...
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Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone National Park in the United States acquires its energy from
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a hot spot
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Layered _________exposed by erosion can be seen when looking at the Grand Canyon in the United States
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sedimentary rock
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Australia is composed of relatively old and thick
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continental crust
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The extremely deep ocean Marianas Trench is a result of
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subduction
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________found in the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe is composed of dense and relatively young rock.
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sea floor crust
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The earthquakes that occur in Southern California generally occur above a
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fault
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How many of the five terrestrial worlds have surfaces being constantly reshaped by plate tectonics?
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one
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On how many of the five terrestrial worlds has erosion been an important process? (Be sure that you explain why erosion is important on this many worlds and not more.)
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two
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Typical motions of one plate relative to another are 1 centimeter per year, At this rate, how long would it take for two continents 3000 kilometers apart to collide?
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t = 3.0×108 yr
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The cores of the terrestrial worlds are made mostly of metal because ______.
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metals sunk to the centers a long time ago when the interiors were molten throughout
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Which of the following is not generally true of all the terrestrial world lithospheres?
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The lithosphere is broken into a set of large plates that float upon the softer rock below.
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Which internal heat source still generates heat within the terrestrial worlds today?
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heat from radioactive decay
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The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that ________.
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a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato
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Suppose we had a device that allowed us to see Earth's interior. If we looked at a typical region of the mantle, what would we see happening?
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not much - on human time scales, the mantle looks like solid rock
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Recent evidence suggests that Mars once had a global magnetic field. Assuming this is true, which of the following could explain why Mars today lacks a global magnetic field like that of Earth?
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Mars's interior has cooled so much that its molten core layer no longer undergoes convection
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Which of the following most likely explains why Venus does not have a global magnetic field like Earth?
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Its rotation is too slow
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You discover an impact crater that is 10 kilometers across. Which of the following can you conclude?
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It was created by the impact of an object about 1 kilometer across.
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Most of the Moon's surface is densely covered with craters, but we find relatively few craters within the lunar maria. What can we conclude?
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The maria formed after the heavy bombardment ended.
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Which of the following is the underlying reason why Venus has so little wind erosion?
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venus has a slow rotation
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Which of the following best describes the geological histories of the Moon and Mercury?
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Early in their histories, they suffered many impacts and experienced some volcanism and tectonics, but they now have little geological activity at all.
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Many scientists suspect that Venus has a stronger and thicker lithosphere than Earth. If this is true, which of the following could explain it?
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The high surface temperature that has "baked out" all the liquid water from Venus's crust and mantle.
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All the following statements about Venus are true. Which one offers evidence of a global repaving about a billion years ago?
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Venus has relatively few impact craters and these craters are distributed fairly evenly over the entire planet.
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What are the two geological features that appear to set Earth apart from all the other terrestrial worlds?
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plate tectonics and widespread erosion
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Why are there fewer large impact craters on the Earth's seafloor than on the continents?
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Seafloor crust is younger than continental crust, so it has had less time in which to suffer impacts.
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Why is Earth's continental crust lower in density than seafloor crust?
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Continental crust is made as the lowest-density seafloor crust melts and erupts to the surface near subduction zones
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Which two factors are most important to the existence of plate tectonics on Earth?
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mantle convection and a thin lithosphere
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What's the fundamental reason that Mars, unlike the Earth, has become virtually geologically dead?
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its small size compared to Earth
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Based on all we know about the terrestrial worlds, what single factor appears to play the most important role in a terrestrial planet's geological destiny?
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its size
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The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the hottest interior? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.)
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Size: twice as big as Earth. Distance from Sun: same as Mercury. Rotation rate: once every 6 months.
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The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one's surface would you expect to be most crowded with impact craters? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.)
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Size: same as the Moon. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 10 days.
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The choices below describe four hypothetical planets. Which one would you expect to have the most features of erosion? (Assume the planets orbit a star just like the Sun and that they are all the same age as the planets in our solar system.)
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Size: same as Venus. Distance from Sun: same as Mars. Rotation rate: once every 25 hours.
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Suppose we use a baseball to represent Earth. On this scale, the other terrestrial worlds (Mercury, Venus, the Moon, and Mars) would range in size approximately from that of ______.
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a golf ball to a baseball
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What do we mean when we say that the terrestrial worlds underwent differentiation?
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When their interiors were molten, denser materials sank toward their centers and lighter materials rose toward their surfaces.
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A terrestrial world's lithosphere is ________.
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a layer of relatively strong, rigid rock, encompassing the crust and part of the mantle
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The major processes that heat the interiors of the terrestrial worlds are:
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(1) Heat deposited as the planets were built from planetesimals; (2) heat deposited as the planets underwent differentiation; (3) heat released by radioactive decay.
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Which of the following is an example of convection?
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Warm air expanding and rising while cooler air contracts and fall.
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What are the basic requirements for a terrestrial world to have a global magnetic field?
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A core layer of molten, convecting material and sufficiently rapid rotation.
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In general, which things below are affected by a magnetic field?
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Charged particles or magnetized materials (such as iron).
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The processes responsible for virtually all surface geology are _________.
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impact cratering, volcanisms, tectonics, and erosion
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In the context of planetary geology, what do we mean by outgassing?
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the release by volcanism of gases that had been trapped in a planetary interior
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Which of the following is not an example of tectonics?
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The gradual disappearance of a crater rim as a result of wind and rain.
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Why does the Moon have a layer of "powdery soil" on its surface?
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It is the result of countless tiny impacts by small particles striking the Moon.
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What observational evidence supports the idea that Mercury once shrank by some 20 kilometers in radius?
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the presence of many long, tall cliffs
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Olympus Mons is ______.
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a huge shield volcano on Mars
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Which of the following does not provide evidence that Mars once had abundant liquid water on its surface?
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the presence of canali, discovered in the late 1800s by Giovanni Schiaparelli and mapped by Percival Lowell.
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Based on its surface features, the most important event on Venus in the past billion years or so was _______.
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a global "repaving" that erased essentially all the surface features that had existed earlier.
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On average, how fast do the plates move on the Earth?
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a few centimeters per year
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How does seafloor crust differ from continental crust?
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Seafloor crust is thinner, younger, and higher in density.
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In the context of plate tectonics, what is a subduction zone?
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A place where a seafloor plate is sliding under a continental plate.
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Which of the following places is the result of volcanoes erupting over a hot spot in the mantle?
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Hawaii
