Deck 21: The Moon and Mercury

Question 1

Mercury is still geologically active today.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Since there are no folded mountain chains on the Moon, what does this imply about the Moon's geology?

A) Plate tectonics does not exist on the moon.
B) The geological history is extremely short.
C) Mountains were worn down by erosion.
D) Mountains were destroyed during the heavy bombardment.

Answer 2

Plate tectonics does not exist on the moon.

Question 3

There is no air on the Moon to scatter light and soften shadows

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In larger craters, the deformation of the rock can form one or more concentric inner rings with the outer rim, producing _____.

A) ejecta blanket
B) maria
C) sinuous rilles
D) central peak
E) multiringed basin

Question 5

The Moon's core does not contain much iron, so it cannot produce a dynamo effect.

Question 6

The Moon's crust is thicker on the side facing Earth.

Question 7

What is the dominant feature of the lunar surface?

A) mountains
B) rilles
C) craters
D) lobate scarps
E) lava tubes

Question 8

Because of Mercury's lower gravity, ejecta from a meteorite covers much of its surface.

Question 9

Lobate scarps are very low and small disturbances on the surface of Mercury.

Question 10

Mercury is more than 60 percent denser than the Moon.

Question 11

Mercury has a weak magnetic field because of its iron core.

Question 12

Mare Imbrium is the result of a planetesimal of 275 km across striking the lunar surface 4 billion years ago.

Question 13

The nights are cold on Mercury because it has a negligible atmosphere.

Question 14

The lunar rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts contained a surprisingly large amount of water.

Question 15

Debris blasted from the impact of a crater is called ____.

A) ejecta
B) maria
C) sinuous rilles
D) multiringed basin
E) central peak

Question 16

Mercury completes one orbit around the Sun in 8 days.

Question 17

Most of the craters on the Moon are relatively young.

Question 18

What does "maria" mean?

A) plateaus
B) ponds
C) rivers
D) Rivers
E) seas

Question 19

Between July 1969 and December 1972, 17 people reached the surface of the Moon.

Question 20

What are sinuous rilles found on the lunar surface?

A) ancient lava flows
B) channels cut by flowing lava on the edge of the maria
C) large basins once filled with water
D) light-colored rock found in the lunar highlands
E) fault lines found within the crust

Question 21

During which stage of planetary development did the lunar maria form?

A) cratering
B) differentiation
C) flooding
D) tectonic plate movement
E) slow surface evolution

Question 22

Large, smooth, dark plains on the moon are called ____.

A) ejecta blanket
B) central peak
C) maria
D) multiringed basin
E) Sinuous rilles

Question 23

What solid evidence do we have of the Moon's age?

A) deep core samples of the Moon
B) igneous rock samples brought back by Apollo astronauts
C) meteorites that have impacted Earth
D) laser altimetry readings from the LCROSS mission
E) sedimentary rock samples brought back by Apollo astronauts

Question 24

Which is a unique geological feature found on Mercury's surface?

A) craters
B) lobate scarps
C) shield volcanoes
D) sinuous rilles
E) basins

Question 25

Which characteristic is NOT shared by the Moon and Mercury?

A) heavily cratered surface
B) negligible atmosphere
C) rotations altered by tides
D) dense metallic core
E) geologically inactive

Question 26

What formed the lunar maria?

A) ancient lava flows
B) Earth-moon collision
C) volcanic eruptions
D) erosion
E) tectonic plate movement

Question 27

Which was the source of lava during the flooding stage of the Moon's development?

A) moonquakes and tectonic shifts
B) lower crust and upper mantle
C) the deep core
D) volcanoes
E) impacts

Question 28

What method was used to determine the absolute ages of the lunar rock samples from the Apollo missions?

A) electromagnetic measuring
B) radar imaging
C) telescopic observations
D) microscopic evaluation
E) radioactive dating

Question 29

What was the purpose of the LCROSS mission?

A) To determine if lava still flowed beneath the crust
B) To generate an altitude map of the Moon's surface
C) To photograph geological features of the Moon
D) To photograph geological features of the moon
E) To determine if there is water ice buried in soil of the Moon's south pole

Question 30

What is one of the largest impact basin in the Solar System?

A) Crisium Basin
B) Caloris Basin
C) Imbrium Basin
D) Mare Tranquillitatis
E) Aitken Basin

Question 31

Which best describes Mercury's plains?

A) heavily impacted with craters and large rays
B) solidified lava flows that are a uniform gray color
C) a geologically active surface of molten lava
D) solidified lava flows rich in dark basalts
E) a rich layer of soil containing iron and silicate

Question 32

What makes up the dark colors of the lunar lowlands?

A) sedimentary rock
B) anorthosite
C) andesite
D) basalt
E) iron

Question 33

What is the Moon's gravity?

A) There is no gravity on the Moon.
B) 1/3 of Earth's gravity
C) 1/2 of Earth's gravity
D) 1/6 of Earth's gravity
E) The Moon's gravity is the same as that of Earth.

Question 34

Where did the Apollo 11 lunar module land and sample?

A) Taurus-Littrow region
B) Taurus-Littrow Region
C) Mare Tranquillitatis
D) Hadley Rille
E) Descartes region

Question 35

What part of the Apollo spacecraft actually returned to Earth?

A) descent rocket
B) lunar module
C) rocket boosters
D) command module
E) support stage

Question 36

Which mission has recently provided scientists with information about Mercury's magnetic field?

A) Magellan
B) MESSENGER
C) LCROSS
D) Voyager
E) Apollo

Question 37

Where did the Apollo 15 lunar module land and sample?

A) Taurus-Littrow region
B) Oceanus Procellarum
C) Mare Tranquillitatis
D) Hadley Rille
E) Descartes region

Question 38

Which hypothesis suggested that the Moon formed elsewhere and was later caught by Earth's gravity?

A) fission hypothesis
B) fusion hypothesis
C) large-impact hypothesis
D) capture hypothesis
E) condensation hypothesis

Question 39

Which Apollo mission never made it to the lunar surface?

A) Apollo 11
B) Apollo 12
C) Apollo 13
D) Apollo 14
E) Apollo 15

Question 40

Which of the following is the oldest geological feature of the Moon?

A) maria
B) lowlands
C) highlands
D) regolith
E) rilles

Question 43

What is the largest impact crater on Mercury?

A) Caloris Basin
B) Aitken Basin
C) Mare Crisium
D) Mare Imbrium
E) Mare Tranquillitatis

Question 45

Briefly describe Mercury's geological history through the four steps of planetary development.

Question 46

Explain Mercury's peculiar rotation and revolution. How is it different than most other planets?

Question 47

How were the lunar maria formed?

Question 48

What space mission is currently exploring Mercury? What information has this mission so far provided about the planet?

Question 49

What are the shared common characteristics of the Moon and Mercury?

Question 50

Briefly compare and contrast the characteristics of the Moon and Mercury.

Question 51

Explain the three different hypotheses for the origin of the Moon and how evidence from the Apollo lunar rocks persuaded scientists to develop a new hypothesis.

Question 52

Which is the oldest geological feature of Mercury?

A) smooth plains
B) jumbled terrain
C) intercrater plains
D) lobate scarps
E) rilles

Question 53

What surprised scientists to learn about Mercury from MESSENGER's data?

A) Mercury is still geologically active with molten lava flows on the surface.
B) Mercury does have an atmosphere causing some erosion of the surface.
C) Mercury has significantly more craters than the Moon.
D) Mercury has a magnetic field despite its size.
E) Mercury is rotating faster than earlier predicted.

Question 54

The presence of _______________ increases the possibility that a human lunar base may be established someday.

Question 55

The lunar maria are ancient _______________ that have apparently covered older, cratered lowlands.

Question 56

Will the Moon's surface change over time? Why or why not?

Question 57

What may have caused Mercury to have a large metallic core and a relatively thin crust?

A) a large impact
B) tidal coupling with the Sun
C) solar wind clearing the nebula
D) a slow orbital period
E) a long period of flooding

Question 58

There are no _______________ rocks on the surface of the Moon.

Question 59

The lunar _______________ are saturated with craters.

Question 60

What was significant in the design of the Apollo spacecraft?

Question 61

The Moon's gravity is only _______________ that of Earth.

Question 62

Because the Moon has a low average density and no magnetic field, then its dense core must be _______________.

Question 63

Many Moon rocks are classified as _______________, which are made up of fragments of earlier rocks cemented together by heat and pressure.

Question 64

Mercury is _______________ to the Sun, thus affecting its rotation.

Question 65

Because of the _______________, atoms in Mercury's atmosphere just bounce around and eventually disappear into space.

Question 66

The Apollo spacecraft had a(n) _______________  tacked on the front of the command module.

Question 67

Mercury's _______________ are marked by meteorite craters less than 15 km in diameter, in addition to secondary craters.

Question 68

Mercury's period of rotation is exactly _______________ of its orbital period.

Question 69

The rate of heat loss of a planet is proportional to its _______________, thus the smaller the world, the faster it is for heat to escape.

Question 70

The relationship between the rotation of Mercury and its revolution is referred as a(n) _______________.

Question 71

It is believed that a giant impact may have taken away some of Mercury's low-density crustal rock and left a small, dense world with a(n) large, dense, and _______________ core.