Topic 9

Question 1

Name all the divisions of the moon
-what % of the moon is the core

Answer 1

crust, mantle, partial melt, outer core, inner core
-core is 20% of the moon

Question 2

Give 4 differences between the near and far side of the moon

Answer 2

-far side has fewer maria
-far side has more craters
-far side has a thicker crust
-near side has higher amount of heat producing elements

Question 3

Why didn’t we know what the far side looked like until 1959

Answer 3

-moon has synchronous rotation, orbital period=rotational period so we can only see 59% of the moon
-in 1959 the luna 3 probe was launched and took photos of it

-no radio interference from earth can reach the far side so it is a possible location for a future radio telescope

Question 4

Define Earth’s Escape Velocity

Answer 4

-speed a rocket must reach to break free of earth’s gravity
~11.2 km/s

Question 5

Name the 4 theories about how the moon originated

Answer 5

1. co-accretion
   -moon formed at same time as earth in similar place

2.capture
-moon evolved in a different part of ss and was captured by earth’s gravity

3.fission
-earth spun rapidly during early evolution and material flung out to form moon

4.giant impact hypothesis
-mars sized object (theia) crashed into early earth, tilted its axis and caused jets of debris into its orbit which clumped together into the moon