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PHYS 183 > Lecture 7 - The Terrestrial and Jovian Planets > Flashcards

Lecture 7 - The Terrestrial and Jovian Planets Flashcards

1
Q

what are the 3 layers of Earth?

A
  1. Core
  2. Mantle
  3. Crust
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2
Q

what is the density of the core?
what is it made of? what is happening to these elements?
outer core vs. inner core

A

core has highest density

made of nickel and iron –> heavy metals slowly burning away via nuclear fission

outer core is molten, inner core is solid bc of high pressure even tho higher temp

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3
Q

what is the density of the mantle?

what is it made of? how do we know this?

A

moderate density

made of silicon + oxygen, we know about this because of earthquakes propagating soundwaves thru it

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4
Q

what is the density of the crust?

what is it made of?

where is it thick? where is it thin?

A

lowest density

made of granite, basalt

thick where land is, thin where water is

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5
Q

describe what happens during differentiation

what does this indicate about Earth’s temp?

A

gravity pulls high-density material to center and low-density material rises to surface –> allows material to be separated by density

planet must have been hot enough for interior rock and lithium to melt

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6
Q

is the lithosphere related to lithium?

A

no

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7
Q

what is the lithosphere? what happens when it is thick/thin?

A

outer layer of cool, rigid rock that “floats” on warmer, softer rock beneath

thin = brittle, cracks easily
thick = stronger, prevents passage of molten rock so there are less volcanic eruptions and mountain formations

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8
Q

which planet is taken up the most by its metal core?

A

mercury

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9
Q

what do geological processes on planets lead to? what is this driven by

A
  1. volcanic eruptions
  2. earthquakes
  3. erosion

driven by interiors heating up and cooling off from sun’s nuclear fusion

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10
Q

what is fueled by heat of nuclear fusion from the sun? what are 2 exceptions?

A

EVERYTHING is fueled by heat of nuclear fusion from sun

  1. except heat pumps using fluid to heat from core of earth
  2. except tidal power using energy of tides extracted from orbits to generate power with turbines
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11
Q

what are the 3 sources of energy for heating planets?

A
  1. accretion
  2. differentiation
  3. radioactive decay
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12
Q

how is energy produced via accretion?

A

gravitational PE converted to KE converted to thermal energy when planets were young

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13
Q

how is energy produced from differentiation?

A

light materials rise, dense materials fall and convert gravitational PE to thermal energy when planets were young

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14
Q

how is energy produced from radioactive decay?

A

mass-energy contained in nuclei converted to thermal energy (from sun)

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15
Q

why are planets slowly cooling?

A

due to fewer collisions

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16
Q

what are the 3 sources for planets cooling?

A
  1. convection
  2. conduction
  3. radiation
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17
Q

what is convection?

A

transports heat as hot material rises and cool material falls

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18
Q

what is conduction?

A

transfers heat from hot to cool material

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19
Q

what is radiation?

A

sends energy to space

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20
Q

what is geological activity controlled by?

A

planetary size controls geological activity

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21
Q

what happens to smaller planets? what has happened to mercury and the moon?

A

cool off faster and harden earlier bc easier to get heat out

mercury and the moon now geologically dead

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22
Q

what happens to craters if a planet has no crust?

A

if a planet has no crust, there would be no craters

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23
Q

are magnetic fields constant?

A

no, they change very quickly

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24
Q

what cause magnetic fields in a planet(2)?

A
  1. motions of charged particles
  2. molten core
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25
Q

are the magnetic poles on Earth a monopole? what happens to magnetic North each year?

A

North and South magnetic poles are always connected –> NEVER a monopole

magnetic north changes every year

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26
Q

what are the 3 requirements for magnetic fields on a planet?

A
  1. molten, electrically conducting interior (moving charged particles)
  2. convection
  3. moderately rapid rotation
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27
Q

which of convection, conduction, or radiation is responsible for how energy is transported from sun to Earth?

A

RADIATION

28
Q

What does Einstein’s theory of relativity prove?

A

can never prove anything –> has been disproven

29
Q

when does Einstein’s theory apply? when is it a poor description of events?

A

applies only when things are really heavy (planets, black hole)

poor description when gravity and quantum mechanics are involved bc Einstein doesn’t account for uncertainty

30
Q

what are 2 situations where Einstein’s theory doesn’t make sense?

A
  1. doesn’t make sense with Big Bang
  2. doesn’t make sense with Black Hole –> Einstein says infinite density
31
Q

what are 4 processes that shape surfaces?

A
  1. impact cratering
  2. volcanism
  3. tectonics
  4. erosion
32
Q

how does impact cratering shape surfaces?

when did most of this occur?

A

planet impacted by asteroids or comets that releases enough energy to vapourize solid rock and debris flying onto planet or into space

most craters occurred soon after the solar system was formed

33
Q

are there more large or small craters? what does this indicate?

A

more small craters –> indicates more small planetesimals formed during the birth of the solar system

34
Q

why do we not see the meteorite? where do we find fragments?

A

cannot see the meteorite bc the heat produced caused it to vapourize

bit often find fragments within or near the crater

35
Q

is there a lot of energy in the collision of a crater?

A

YES

36
Q

What is volcanism? what does it require?

A

eruption of molten rock (magma) thru lithosphere onto surface –> then molten rock becomes lava at surface

requires internal heat

37
Q

what does the thickest type of lava make?

A

steep-sloped volcanoes –> stratovolcanoes

38
Q

what type of volcano does slightly runny lava make?

A

shallow-sloped volcanoes –> shield volcanoes

39
Q

what does runny lava make?

A

flat volcanic plains like on the moon

40
Q

is the moon geologically dead or alive?

A

dead

41
Q

what are tectonics? what causes it and what is required for this process?

A

disruption of a planet’s surface by internal stresses

caused by convection of the mantle that produces stresses in the crust –> Tectonic Forces

requires internal heat

42
Q

what creates mountain ranges?

A

compression of crust from tectonics

43
Q

what creates valleys?

A

forms where crust is pulled apart

44
Q

how do Earth’s continents slide around?

A

slide around on separate plates of crust

45
Q

describe plate tectonics on earth

A

plates are produced from ongoing stress of mantle convection that fractures the lithosphere into >dozen pieces

plates move over, under, and around each other

46
Q

what do measurements of plate motions tell us?

A

tells us past and future layout of continents and geological features

47
Q

describe structures on mercury that are due to tectonics and how does this affect mercury’s size?

A

mercury has long cliffs which indicate it shrank early in its history

48
Q

what causes erosion?

A

wind, water, ice –> break down or transport rock

49
Q

when did most cratering occur?

A

in the first billion years

50
Q

what does it mean if a planet has many craters? what does this indicate about the age of the surface

A

its surface has not changed much in the past 3 billion years

more craters = older surface

51
Q

describe cratering on the moon

what happened to the younger regions?

why do we know that the surface has remained unchanged for billions of years?

A

some areas more heavily cratered than others

younger regions were flooded by lava after most cratering

but we see many craters so the surface has remained virtually unchanged for billions of years

52
Q

does earth have a lot or few craters? what does this indicate about its age?

A

earth has very few craters so it is younger

53
Q

describe Lunar Maria vs Lunar Highlands in terms of craters and age

when did heavy bombardment likely end? why?

A

Lunar Maria
- smooth + dark, less craters
- 3-3.9 billion years old

Lunar Highlands
- craters on top of craters
- 4.4 billion years old

therefore, the lava flow that made the volcanic plains had occurred by that time and heavy bombardment must have ended by 4 billion years ago

54
Q

why do we not see significant crater features on Earth like Mercury and the Moon?

A

erosion and volcanic activity on Earth has resurfaced the earth since it was heavily bombarded

55
Q

what happens to geology on smaller planets? larger planets?

A

SMALLER: cool off faster and harden earlier so geology ends soon bc the surface stops changing sooner –> therefore more craters, no atmosphere so no erosion

LARGER: remain warm to cause convection in mantle, promote volcanism, tectonics, and erosion due to gravity retaining an atmosphere, and molten core may produce magnetic field if rotation is fast enough

56
Q

describe the atmosphere of larger planets

A

larger atmosphere bc their

57
Q

describe the relationship between distance from sun and erosion

A

close to sun:
- too hot for rain, snow, ice
- difficulty in retaining an atmosphere
- less erosion

far from sun:
- too cold for rain
- less erosion

medium distance:
- liquid water

58
Q

how does the speed of rotation affect:
1. weather
2. erosion
3. magnetic field

A

SLOW ROTATION:
1. less weather
2. less erosion
3. weak magnetic field

FAST ROTATION:
1. more weather
2. more erosion
3. stronger magnetic field

59
Q

what were the canals on mars initially thought to be?

A

initially thought to be machine-built by martians

60
Q

describe cratering on mars

A

amount of cratering varies across Mars’ surface

many early craters have been erased

61
Q

describe volcanism on mars. what is its most significant volcano?

A

mars has many large shield volcanoes

Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in solar system

62
Q

what is a feature of Mars that is thought to have originated from tectonics?

A

system of valleys called Valles Marineris

63
Q

why do we believe water likely flowed on mars at one point?

A

we can see dried up riverbeds in close-up photos

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Q
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PHYS 183 (20 decks)

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