Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Intelligent life in the universe > exam 3 > Flashcards

exam 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Where is there liquid water in our solar system? How do these water quantities compare with that of Earth?

A

Europa: its roughly 6% water
More water than earth

Ganymede: 6% water
Has an ice crust and ice mantel
More water than earth

Calisto: twice the amount of water than earth

Enceladus: 14% water
But the water is a lot less than that of earth because the moon is so small

Titan: 11% ocean

Pluto: A little less water than earth does

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Compared to Earth, how much liquid water is there on Mars? Venus? Why?

A
  • Mars has frozen water on the poles
  • Thin atmosphere and weak magnetic field
  • So no interior heating to keep liquid water
  • No water on Venus because
  • 5832 hours is one day because it’s closer to the sun
  • What does a slower rotation cause? A weaker magnetic field
    o Because the magnetic field (protector) went away
    For magnetic field you need BOTH fast rotation and liquid metal core
    o Solar wind bombards atmosphere and breaks up water vapor
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

basic goals and capabilities of curiosity

A

Curiosity: rover’s goals include an investigation of the Martian climate and geology
- Looked for environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

basic goals and capabilities of insight

A

Insight: To understand how rocky planets formed and evolved, InSight will study the interior structure and processes of Mars

  • InSight will figure out just how tectonically active Mars is today, and how often meteorites impact it
  • Designed to study mars interior
  • Measuring seismic activity
  • Designed to drill 5 meters deep
  • FOUND that mars has MARSQUAKES
  • Unusual because its small and geologically inactive
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What causes a planet/moon to remain hot inside?

A

1) Stellar radiation (sunlight)
2) Leftover heat from formation
3) Tidal heating
4) Collisional heating
5) Radioactive decay

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is a tardigrade/ water bear

A

Water bear is the most extreme animal on earth (microbial)

  • can survive Minus 300 degrees F
  • Dies and comes back to life
  • Tolerant (can survive but can’t grow) vs Pilic (can grow and reproduce in that harsh environments)
  • Water bear is tolerant
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Understand the Drake Equation. What is it trying to accomplish? What are its limitations?

A

Accomplish: tries to understand the number of civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy whos electromagnetic emissions are detectable

Limitations: gross oversimplification of what enables intelligent life to develop

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Understand tidal heating. How does it work? What is necessary for it to happen?

A
  • Tidal heating is caused by a cycle of flexing where thermal energy is produced. It creates geologic activity and is a source of internal heating for moons/planets.
    • Only a change in stretching chanes tidal heating
  • When the moon is closer it stretches
  • When the moon is farther away it stops stretching
    • IO has an eccentric orbit and has major tidal heating
    • Enceledus’s source of heat is tidal heating
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Jupiter’s moons in order of size

A

Size (largest to smallest): Ganymede, Callisto, Io, Europa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Jupiter’s moons in order of distance

A

(closest to farthest): Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto

  • Gravity depends on mass and distance
  • Moons energy comes from tidal heating
  • Io is experiencing the most gravity and has more heat and tidal heating
  • Has so many volcanoes because of tidal heating
  • Europa has nice comfortable oceans because it is second closest
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Pros and cons of IO

A

Pro: Io is experiencing the most gravity and has more heat and tidal heating
Has so many volcanoes because of tidal heating

Con: Very very cold temps with hot volcanos

  • Not a stable warm environment
  • Has no water on surface because it has the most volcanoes out of any planet and that heat evaporates water
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Pros and cons of europa

A

Pros: Liquid water significantly larger than earth’s oceans
o Thermal vents provide energy and warmth
o Oceans are believed to possess all chemical ingredients needed for life
Europa has nice comfortable oceans because it is second closest

Cons: While Europa has energy sources for life, this energy is small compared to the overall energy (solar and thermal vents) available for life on earth
o Some scientists believe that specialized environments found on earth are needed to generate the best chemical ingredients for life

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Pros and cons of Ganymede

A

Pro: Has large liquid water ocean sandwiched between ice

Con:

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Pros and cons of Callisto

A

Pro:

Con: Furthest from Jupiter, oceans are small

  • You can tell its furthest because its coldest inside
  • Thus, has the least amount of tidal heating/ not as much gravity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Pros and cons of Titan

A

Pro: The only known moon with a real atmosphere
- The atmosphere is even thicker than earths
- Nonstop drizzle of ethane and/or methane rain
- Has storms, weathering, and liquid on surface
o Has surface lakes of methane and ethane
Good but not as good as water
o Liquid hydrocarbons on the surface
o Likely cryovolcanoes
Source of energy, movement, and chemical ingredient/reactions
o People are interested in methane-based life largely because of titan

Cons: Ethane and methane could not likely replace water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Pros and cons of Enceladus

A

Pro: Diverse terrain ranging from old cratered to young tectonically deformed

  • Has water rich geysers. These cryovolcanoes are feeding Saturn’s outer ring
  • Geysers imply that there is a subsurface liquid water
  • And a heat source
  • Ocean is touching the moon core and contains salts and organic hydrocarbons
  • Good place for life
  • Has thermal vents
  • Oceans source of energy: tidal heating

Cons:

17
Q

What is Lake Vostoc? How does it help us understand possibilities for life in the universe?

A
  • Lake Vostoc is a frozen lake in Antarctica
  • It’s the largest of Antarctica’s subglacial lakes
  • It has a heat source down below
  • The lake is touching rock (creates saltiness)
  • This could be what the environment of Europa looks like
  • Most studies show microbial life forms to be far more diverse than originally expected
  • Has been sealed off from all sunlight for 15 million years
  • We didn’t want to contaminate the lake, but Russia studied it first
18
Q

What is a rogue planet? How is it relevant to life in the Universe?

A
  • Its a planet that was ejected out of its solar system because the solar system is unstable and light planets like rocky ones can easily be ejected out of solar system
  • You could have a large planet floating by itself (no star) with moons around it with life on the planet
  • If the planet has internal heating or if the planet was very large, it would still be able to have liquid water ocean
  • These planets could very easily habitable
19
Q

Compared to other moon or planet surfaces, what is different about Titan’s surface, with respect to the potential for life?

A
  • It’s the only known moon with an atmosphere
  • Its thick
  • Nonstop drizzle of ethane and/or methane
  • Largest moon of any mass
  • Cold temps keep atmosphere close
  • Has cryovolcanoes and liquid lakes of methane and ethane
  • Liquid hydrocarbons on surface
  • People are interesting in methane-based life
  • Subsurface it has so much liquid water
20
Q

Compare and contrast Water, Methane, Ethane, Ammonia, including knowing their chemical formulas.

A
  • Water and ammonia are similar molecules
  • Water is polar: has one negative charge and two positive
  • We can think of life based on ammonia
  • Ammonia: freezing point is lower
  • Ethane and methane could not likely replace liquid water
21
Q

What is the Turing test? What does it seek to understand? How does a machine pass the Turing test?

A
  • Alan Turing came up with a test to see if a person could decipher if a person was talking to a computer or person
  • It seeks to determine whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being
  • A machine passes the turing test when it convinces the humans on the other end of the conversation that they are talking to a human
22
Q

What makes Enceladus an intriguing place to visit?

A
  • Cassini mission found that the surface was young (replenishing itself)
  • Presence of water volcanism or
  • Liquid is formed by high temps
  • Found that the ocean has molecules that can be the precursors for life
  • Pre biotic conditions are especially intriguing to visit
  • The dust particles can even reveal its innermost secrets
23
Q

How is Saturn’s outermost ring formed?

A
  • By enceladus

- Has water rich geysers. These “cryovolcanoes” are feeding Saturn’s outer ring.

24
Q

What are the different types of subsurface oceans?

A

1) An ocean that is touching the core or mantel— salt and organic molecules in the rock get dissolved into the water
2) An ocean that is sandwiched between two water-ice layers— ocean water contains mostly pure water

25
Q

Implication of ocean that is touching the core or mantel

A
  • Enceladus’s ocean is touching the moon core and contains salts and organic molecules
  • These molecules are typically useful for life
26
Q

Implication an ocean that is sandwiched between two water-ice layers

A

One of ganymedes several ocean layers is sandwiched between two layers of ice

27
Q

If you were sending a mission to enceladus and took a measurement and found 0 salt, what would this tell you.

A

Would tell you that the ocean wasn’t touching the core/ mantel

28
Q

Pluto should be:

A
  • Scientists expected a dead terrible environment for life
  • Frozen
  • It should not has leftover heat from formation because its too small
  • It should not have tidal heating because its not near anything
  • There is no energy for life
  • New horizons proved this wrong
29
Q

Pluto is:

A
  • Geologically active
  • With very faint atmosphere
  • Which is weird because it is so small
  • Has liquid water below its surface
  • Pluto had a large collision that left internal heating
  • Caused pluto’s moons
  • NO TIDAL HEATING (because it’s too far)
  • Ice flows from mountains and valleys

Intelligent life in the universe (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions