The Inner Solar System Flashcards
What is the correct formula of Kepler’s third law is a is the semi-major axis and T is the orbital period
T ~ -/ a^3
Which planets have a large obliquity
Venus and Uranus
Why is Earths magnetic field important for life
It prevents solar wind from reaching the surface of the planet
What are the stages of the creation of an impact crater from earliest to latest?
Body strikes the surface, body is buried, an explosion creates the crater, the rocks rebound at the centre
What is false about Mercury?
A - lobate scarps are due to the impact with a proto-planet
B - mercury was heavily cratered in the final stages of planet formation
C - a large impact with a proto-planet caused the Caloris basin
D - planet cooling caused lobate scarps due to shrinkage
A
Why is CO2 a predominant gas in Venus’s atmosphere and not in Earth’s atmosphere?
Venus lost its water due to the absence of a magnetic field
Where is water found on Mars
Underground and at the poles
Which of the following is false about the moon?
A - the moon has a low density crust and mantle
B - the moon has a thicker crust on the outward looking face with respect to earth
C - the moon’s rotation is gravitationally locked with Earth
D - the presence of Maria is evidence of the presence of old seas
D
Why are volcanoes on Mars larger than those on Earth?
The lack of tectonic activity of Mars
What do terrestrial planets all have?
Solid rocky surfaces and dense metal cores
Describe the orbits of the planets in the solar system
Elliptical with low eccentricity and anti-clockwise as seen from the North Pole
What is the second stage if the solar nebula hypothesis?
Disc rotation
What is the third of the four possible stages of planet formation?
Flooding by lava and/or water
What is continental drift the motion of
Tectonic plates moving due to convection currents in the mantle
Where did the majority of water on earth come from
Comets hitting earth during the period of intense bombardment
Describe the crust of the far side of the moon
Thick because it cooled faster
What is the Caloris Basin on mercury responsible for?
The jumbled terrain on the opposite side of the planet
What spacecraft have landed on Venus?
Venera 9 and 13
What was studied on Mars to help us learn about Earth?
Macro weather patterns
Name 4 Martian rovers
Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance, Spirit
What is true about the weather on Mars.
A - insufficient atmosphere to support weather
B - Martian weather is dominated by runaway greenhouse gasses
C - weather on Mars has dust storms, cyclonic behaviour and dust devils
D - the magnetic fields shields it from solar wind
C
Shield volcanoes on Mars are
A - responsible for the formation of island chains
B - larger than those on earth due to lack of continental drift
C - occur primarily in the subduction zones
D - a currently active due to the molten core
B
What does Keplers second law explain?
Why planets travel faster when they are closer to the sun
What does the solar nebula hypothesis explain?
Why the solar system is disc shaped and has nearly uniform direction of rotation
