Quiz 6 Practice

Question 1

Geologic activity

Answer 1

the process by which planetary and other surfaces “reform” or “reshape” themselves; can occur through wind, volcanic activity, water erosion, sand, temperature, and tectonic plate movement

Question 2

Crustal thickness

Answer 2

the measurement of the depth of the crust that forms the planetary surface of Earth and the other terrestrial planets

Question 3

Chicxulub Crater

Answer 3

a crater that landed on Earth during the Heavy bombardment period and is theorized to be the crater that caused the dinosaurs to go extinct.

Question 4

Relief Map

Answer 4

relief maps are topography maps that use the depth/elevation of the surface and water to determine the remnants of craters.

Question 5

Asteroid Belt

Answer 5

thousands of small, rocky bodies and one dwarf planet (Ceres) that separate the terrestrial planets from the ice and gas giants; its mass is less than the mass of the Moon

Question 6

Differentiated/Differentiation

Answer 6

the process by which objects and liquids of heavier mass sink to the bottom of a planet or moon and form the “core”, while the objects (usually solids) with lighter densities rise and form the surface of the planet or moon

Question 7

Absolute Age

Answer 7

how many years old is this surface; can be determined through the radioactive half-life of samples collected from the surface; Uranium to Lead is the most favorable because its half-life is around the age of the Solar System; Potassium and Argon are used for planetary surfaces; Carbon to Nitrogen is used for biological samples

Question 8

Relative Age

Answer 8

how many years older or younger is Surface A to Surface B; calculated through crater counting and crater observations; smaller craters are younger, while larger craters are older and a sign of no geological activity

Question 9

A moon (vs. The Moon)

Answer 9

moons are small, rocky or icy bodies orbiting a planet and have different compositions; our Earth and Moon have similar compositions due to heavy bombardment

Question 10

Regolith

Answer 10

layer of rocky material covering surface (does not contain organic material)

Question 11

Atmosphere

Answer 11

the ability of a planet to hold an atmosphere depends on the mass of the planet; Mercury has no atmosphere because of its low mass –> low surface gravity –> low atmosphere

Question 12

Mariner 10

Answer 12

3 flybys; captured pictures of Mercury’s surface and reached a close distance to the north pole

Question 13

MESSENGER

Answer 13

first spacecraft to orbit Mercury; orbited from 2011 to 2015 and took almost 7 years to reach Mercury; observed ice water at the poles and geological activity; AND the magnetic field of Mercury

Question 14

Magnetic field

Answer 14

planets have magnetic fields when their cores are molten or partially molten metals

Question 15

Scarp

Answer 15

occurs in planets that are still shrinking; when the surface cools it wrinkles and creates visible raised edges

Question 16

Resonance

Answer 16

describes the spin-orbit of two periods; for every 2 spins on its axis Mercury orbits the Sun 3 times; the Moon has a 1:1 spin-orbit due to synchronous revolution