ast 103 - test 3

Question 1

The lithosphere of a planet is the layer that consists of?

Answer 1

The rigid rocky material of the crust and uppermost portion of the mantle.

Question 2

Which internal energy source produces heat by converting gravitational potential energy into thermal energy?

Answer 2

Accretion and differentiation

Question 3

Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today?

Answer 3

Radioactivity

Question 4

Which of the following shows evidence of ancient river beds?

Answer 4

Mars

Question 5

How does seafloor crust differ from continental crust?

Answer 5

Seafloor crust is thinner, younger, and higher in density

Question 6

How large is an impact crater compared to the size of the impactor?

Answer 6

10 times larger

Question 7

The terrestrial planet cores contain mostly metal because?

Answer 7

Metals sank to the center during a time when the interiors were molten throughout

Question 8

How fast do plates move on Earth?

Answer 8

A few centimeters per year

Question 9

The relatively few craters that we see within the lunar maria

Answer 9

Were formed by impacts that occurred after those that formed most of the craters in the lunar highlands

Question 10

A planet is most likely to have tectonic activity if it has

Answer 10

high internal temperature

Question 11

Which of the following is not evidence for plate tectonics on Earth?

Answer 11

the existence of volcanos

Question 12

Why does Venus have such a great difference in temperature between its “no atmosphere” temperature and its actual temperature?

Answer 12

It has a large amount of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere

Question 13

Convection occurs in the troposphere but not in the stratosphere because

Answer 13

Lower altitudes of the troposphere are warmer than higher altitudes, unlike in the stratosphere

Question 14

Why does the burning of fossil fuels increase the greenhouse effect on Earth?

Answer 14

Burning releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Question 15

Earth has been gradually warming over the past few decades. Based on a great deal of evidence, scientists believe that this warming is caused by

Answer 15

human activities that are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere

Question 16

How many more times is the atmospheric pressure in Jupiter’s core greater than the atmospheric pressure at Earth’s surface?

Answer 16

100 million

Question 17

The Huygens probe took numerous pictures as it descended to Titan’s surface in 2005. What did the pictures show?

Answer 17

features erosion, including what appears to be dry river valleys and lakebeds

Question 18

According to our theory of solar system formation, why did Uranus and Neptune end up to be much less massive than Jupiter and Saturn?

Answer 18

Particles in the solar nebula were more spread out at greater distances, so the accretion took longer and there was less time to pull in gas before the solar wind cleared the nebula

Question 19

Which of the following best describes why we see horizontal “stripes” in photographs of Jupiter and Saturn?

Answer 19

The light stripes are regions of high clouds, and the dark stripes are regions where we can see down to deeper, darker clouds

Question 20

How does the greenhouse effect work?

Answer 20

Greenhouse gases absorb thermal radiation that is emitted by the surface

Question 21

How much of the mass of the moon system around Jupiter is in regular moons rather than irregular moons?

Answer 21

99.997%

Question 22

What is a regular satellite?

Answer 22

one that is in a coplanar and circular orbit

Question 23

What kind of surface features may result from tectonics?

Answer 23

All of the above
A) Mountains
B) Valleys
C) Cliffs

Question 24

Which of the following best describes why the smaller terrestrial worlds have cooler interiors than the larger ones?

Answer 24

They have relatively more surface area compared to their volumes

Question 25

What drives the motion of the tectonic plates on Earth?

Answer 25

convection cells in the mantles

Question 26

Why are there fewer large craters on the seafloor than on the continents?

Answer 26

The seafloor crust is younger than the continental crust

Question 27

Volcanism is more likely on a planet that

Answer 27

has high internal temperatures

Question 28

Which of the following describes impact cratering

Answer 28

The excavation of bowl-shaped depressions by asteroids or comets striking a planet’s surface

Question 29

There is no aurora on Venus because it lacks

Answer 29

lacks a strong magnetic field

Question 30

Which of the following best describes rain on Venus?

Answer 30

It has sulfuric acid rain in its atmosphere, but the drops evaporate before hitting the surface

Question 31

What is required for convection to take place?

Answer 31

the substance must be strongly heated from underneath

Question 32

Which two geological processes appear to have been most important in shaping the present surface of Venus?

Answer 32

volcanoes and tectonics

Question 33

What is differentiation in planetary geology?

Answer 33

the process by which gravity separates materials according to density

Question 34

Why does the Earth have a stronger magnetic field than the other terrestrial worlds?

Answer 34

It is the only one that has both a partially molten metallic core and reasonably rapid rotation.

Question 35

Earth's stratosphere is heated primarily by which process?

Answer 35

Absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone.

Question 36

What are greenhouse gases?

Answer 36

gases that absorb infrared light

Question 37

What is the difference in meaning between the terms weather and climate?

Answer 37

Weather refers to short-term variations in conditions, and climate refers to long-term variations in conditions.

Question 38

Why would the weather become more severe as the greenhouse effect increased?

Answer 38

Warming would increase the evaporation of the oceans, leading to more water in the atmosphere and more frequent and severe storms.

Question 39

What is a magnetosphere?

Answer 39

a region of space around a planet in which the planet􏰖s magnetic field can trap charged particles

Question 40

Why is thermal escape of atmospheric gas much easier from the Moon than from Earth?

Answer 40

The Moon's gravity is so much weaker than Earth's.

Question 41

The four Galilean moons around Jupiter are

Answer 41

a mixture of rock and ice.

Question 42

What is the most important reason why an icy moon is more likely to be geologically active than a rocky moon of the same size?

Answer 42

Ice has a lower melting point than rock.

Question 43

How thick are Saturn's rings from top to bottom?

Answer 43

a few tens of meters

Question 44

Why are Saturn's rings so thin?

Answer 44

Any particle in the ring with an orbital tilt would collide with other ring particles, flattening its orbit

Question 45

What is the most abundant gas in Titan􏰮s atmosphere?

Answer 45

nitrogen

Question 46

The energy in the atmospheres of most of the jovian planets comes

Answer 46

both the Sun and their interiors, in roughly equal proportions.

Question 47

Overall, Jupiter's composition is most like that of

Answer 47

the Sun's

Question 48

What would happen to Jupiter if we could somehow double its mass?

Answer 48

Its density would increase but its diameter would barely change

Question 49

How does Io get heated by Jupiter?

Answer 49

tidal resonance

Question 50

Which of the following is not a similarity between all jovian planet ring systems?

Answer 50

they all have features shaped by moons and resonances

Question 51

Where is Neptune's magnetic field generated?

Answer 51

in an ocean of hydrogen compounds, rocks, and metals

Question 52

Sunsets are red beccause

Answer 52

sunlight must pass through more atmosphere then, and the atmosphere scatters even more light at bluer wavelengths, transmitting mostly red light

Question 53

The strength of the Coriolis effect depends on

Answer 53

a planet's size and rotation rate

Question 54

Why does atmospheric pressure decrease with altitude?

Answer 54

the weight of the atmosphere above decreases as altitude increases

Question 55

Which of the following increases atmospheric loss by thermal escape?

Answer 55

increasing the temperature of the atmosphere

Question 56

Io, Europa, and Ganymede have tidal heating because

Answer 56

an orbital resonance keeps their orbits elliptical.

Question 57

What is the liquid in Titan's rivers and lakes?

Answer 57

methane and ethane

Question 58

Venus may have started with an ocean's worth of water. Where is its water now?

Answer 58

The water was lost when ultraviolet light broke apart water molecules and the hydrogen escaped to space

Question 59

Why are methane clouds not seen on Jupiter and Saturn?

Answer 59

the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn are too warm for methane clouds to form

Question 60

How do seasons on Mars differ from seasons on Earth?

Answer 60

they are more extreme because of Mars's larger orbital eccentricity

Question 61

What is unusual about Triton?

Answer 61

it has a backwards orbit

Question 62

Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?

Answer 62

ozone