P 2 topic 9 exploreing the moon

Question 1

why did astronomers not know what the far side of the moon looks like

Answer 1

can’t see it due to the rotation period

Question 2

why was it not possible to take picture of the moons far side before 1959

Answer 2

rockets were not powerful enough / suitable technology had not been developed

Question 3

in 1968 the maned Apollo 8 space craft flow around the moon and took photographs, why were they of much higher quality then those obtained by lunar 3

Answer 3

Significant developments in photography (1)
Photographs obtained by more sophisticated
cameras (1)
cameras were manually-controlled and could
control brightness, contrast etc. (1)

Question 4

Describe two ways in which the Moon’s far side appears different from its near side.

Answer 4

Almost entirely highlands / terrae (1)
Hardly any / almost no seas / maria (1)

Question 5

Explain what evidence there is to suggest that Mare Moscoviense is
younger than the surrounding highlands.

(2)

Answer 5

Fewer craters in the seas / mare (1)…
…suggesting older craters had been covered
over as lava flowed into the maria basins (1)

Question 6

Describe one piece of evidence from the Mare Orientale (the eastern sea) to suggest that the feature is a lunar sea.

Answer 6

Any one of:

darker area in centre (1)
almost no craters in centre (1)

Question 7

Explain one cause of lunar libration.

Answer 7

Any one cause of lunar libration described, with
reference to:
which part(s) of Moon are made visible (1)
physical reason (1)

Question 8

What are the phases of the moon

Answer 8

Question 9

what is the capture theory

Answer 9

Capture theory suggests that the Moon was a wandering body (like an asteroid) that formed elsewhere in the solar system and was captured by Earth’s gravity as it passed nearby.

Question 10

what is the co-accretion theory

Answer 10

Coaccretion suggests that the Moon and Earth were formed together from a primordial cloud of gas and dust. This scenario, however, cannot explain the large angular momentum of the present system. In fission theories a fluid proto-Earth began rotating so rapidly that it flung off…16 Feb 2024

Question 11

The most popular theory regarding the origin of the Moon is the Giant Impact
Hypothesis.
According to the theory, a large body struck a glancing blow with a very young Earth.
(a) State two different pieces of evidence to show that the Earth has and continues to be
struck by rocky bodies.

Answer 11

Impact craters such as Barringer / Meteor

Crater in Arizona, US (1) (1)
Existence of meteorites: (1)