Deck 20: Earth the Active Planet

Question 1

Most of Earth's history has been destroyed by an active crust and erosion.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Some of Earth's rocks retain traces of the magnetic field that point backward to its field today.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Based purely on its size, which of these planetary bodies is least geologically active?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Io

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Human output of CO₂ is minor in comparison to the CO₂ output of volcanoes.

Question 5

All Terrestrial planets are separated into layers of different densities.

Question 6

Which of the Terrestrial planets is considered a "water world"?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Neptune

Question 7

The first stage in planetary evolution is cratering.

Question 8

Earth's core is hot, dense, and mostly composed of iron and nickel.

Question 9

Earth's magnetic field is a direct result of its rapid rotation and its molten metallic core.

Question 10

Heat rising from Earth's interior drives erosion.

Question 11

In comparing the Terrestrial worlds, which planet is most similar to Earth's moon?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Earth
D) Mars
E) Uranus

Question 12

Pressure (P) waves move as displacements of particles perpendicular to the waves' direction of travel.

Question 13

Earth's upper atmosphere is protected from infrared radiation by an ozone layer.

Question 14

Mantle material behaves like a gas.

Question 15

There is oxygen in Earth's atmosphere because of plant life.

Question 16

Terrestrial planets, like Earth, are made up of rock and metal.

Question 17

A major process in modifying Earth's crust is erosion by wind.

Question 18

Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of planets is known as _____.

A) geology
B) plate tectonics
C) greenhouse effect
D) comparative planetology
E) Terrestrial planet classification

Question 19

Earth displays slower erosion than any other Terrestrial planet.

Question 20

In comparing the Terrestrial planets, which planet is most similar in size to Earth?

A) Mercury
B) Venus
C) Mars
D) the Moon
E) Neptune

Question 21

The collision of plates can produce ____.

A) craters
B) rift zone
C) erosion
D) midocean rise
E) folded mountain ranges

Question 22

Where can you find a midocean rise?

A) Mediterranean Sea
B) Pacific Ocean
C) Arctic Ocean
D) Red Sea
E) Indian Ocean

Question 23

Why can't S waves travel through Earth's liquid core?

A) Earth's liquid core is creating its own S waves.
B) Earth's liquid core causes the seismic activity to be reflected back to its origin.
C) Earth's liquid core absorbs the waves.
D) Earth's liquid core is too hot and changes the wavelength of the S wave.
E) Earth's liquid core does not have the rigidity required for shear waves to travel along.

Question 24

What theoryexplains the movement of the continents on Earth's surface?

A) continental spreading
B) continental drift
C) continental tectonics
D) continental rifting
E) continental rise

Question 25

Where are volcanoes most common?

A) subduction zones
B) transform boundaries
C) folded mountain ranges
D) continental basins and ranges
E) plates pushing against one another

Question 26

What is a characteristic of all terrestrial planets?

A) They all have water.
B) They all have a rocky surface.
C) They all have a thick atmosphere.
D) They all have weather patterns.
E) They all have a very geologically active surface.

Question 27

Why is the very center of Earth's core a solid and not a liquid?

A) There is less metal in the central core.
B) The central core has a combination of gases with the metals.
C) Accretion "seeded" Earth with a solid central core.
D) The pressure at the central core raises the melting point of the metals higher than its temperature.
E) The central core is a frozen block of water ice.

Question 28

What is responsible for much of the erosion of Earth's surface?

A) lava flows
B) solar wind
C) impact craters
D) convection
E) water

Question 29

What is the correct order of planetary development?

A) differentiation, cratering, flooding, slow surface evolution
B) cratering, flooding, differentiation, slow surface evolution
C) slow surface evolution, differentiation, flooding, cratering
D) differentiation, flooding, cratering slow surface evolution
E) flooding, slow surface evolution, cratering, differentiation

Question 30

What does molten rock solidify into?

A) basalt
B) marble
C) sandstone
D) quartzite
E) travertine

Question 31

What form of seismic waves travel in compressions and decompressions?

A) systematic waves
B) earthquake waves
C) pressure waves
D) shear waves
E) gravity waves

Question 32

It is believed that there was a heavy bombardment of planetesimals at what stage in planetary development?

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

Question 33

The formation of the Red Sea as Africa pulls apart from the Arabian peninsula is an example of what geological feature?

A) subduction zone
B) midocean rise
C) ocean spreading
D) rift valley
E) volcanic eruption

Question 34

What is the first stage of planetary development?

A) cratering
B) flooding
C) bombardment
D) differentiation
E) slow surface evolution

Question 35

Why do scientist refer to Earth's mantle as a plastic?

A) The mantle has the properties of a solid, but can flow under pressure.
B) The mantle has the mixed properties of a solid and a liquid.
C) The mantle frequently shifts between its states of matter.
D) The mantle is a softer solid as it approaches the core.
E) The mantle has the properties of a liquid, but is limited in its movement.

Question 36

If plate tectonics is what builds up Earth's mountains and continents, then what process tears them down?

A) convection
B) volcanism
C) cratering
D) erosion
E) accretion

Question 37

What process in Earth's core is important in the generation of Earth's magnetic field?

A) accretion
B) differentiation
C) convection
D) eruption
E) gravitation

Question 38

Which stage of planetary development has all but eliminated much of Earth's surface history?

A) flooding
B) cratering
C) differentiation
D) bombardment
E) slow surface evolution

Question 39

A plate sliding into a subduction zone can trigger ____.

A) midocean rise
B) cratering
C) volcanism
D) hurricanes
E) erosion

Question 40

The ____ couples convection in the liquid core with Earth's rotation to produce electric currents that are believed to be responsible for Earth's magnetic field.

A) albedo
B) bow shock
C) axis rotation
D) convection currents
E) dynamo effect

Question 41

Which statement is a common misconception with regard to Earth's atmosphere?

A) The carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere since the year 1800 is mostly or entirely due to human burning of fossil fuels.
B) All of Earth will warm at the same rate if there is global warming.
C) The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the lower atmosphere and Earth's surface from harmful solar UV radiation.
D) Global warming and ozone depletion are two very different activities in Earth's atmosphere.
E) Earth has experienced a greenhouse effect its entire planetary history.

Question 42

Terrestrial worlds are all differentiated, which means they are separated into layers of different _______________.

Question 44

The region controlled by Earth's magnetic field is the _______________.

Question 45

Seventy five percent of Earth's surface is covered by _______________.

Question 46

With the understanding of differentiation, which layer of Earth would be the densest?

A) lithosphere
B) core
C) crust
D) hydrosphere
E) mantle

Question 47

Where would you find Van Allen belts of radiation?

A) Within Earth's core
B) Within Earth's ozone layer
C) Within Earth's magnetosphere
D) Within Earth's mantle
E) Within Earth's subduction zones

Question 48

When Earth was young, its atmosphere had no free ____.

A) nitrogen
B) oxygen
C) helium
D) carbon dioxide
E) water vapor

Question 49

Which element would not have been found in Earth's early atmosphere? What is the most abundant gas found in Earth's atmosphere today?

A) nitrogen (N₂)
B) carbon dioxide (CO₂)
C) helium (He)
D) hydrogen (H)
E) oxygen (O₂)

Question 50

The heavy bombardment of the early Solar System made _______________ on the Terrestrial planets.

Question 51

The exploration of Earth's interior is possible because _______________ produce vibrations called seismic waves.

Question 52

Because P waves are_______________ waves, they can move through a liquid.

Question 53

What is the current debate about the origin of water on Earth?

Question 54

During Earth's third stage of development, flooding , began as _______________ continued to heat Earth's interior and caused rock to melt in the upper mantle.

Question 55

What are the four stages of Terrestrial planet development?

Question 56

What important role does the ozone layer play in Earth's atmosphere?

A) The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet photons.
B) The ozone layer traps in infared radiation.
C) The ozone layer produces water vapor.
D) The ozone layer traps in UV radiation.
E) The ozone layer produces the oxygen needed for life.

Question 57

Venus, which is 95 percent the diameter of Earth, has a(n) _______________ atmosphere.

Question 58

Apart from carbon dioxide, which is the most abundant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere?

A) water vapor
B) helium
C) ammonia
D) methane
E) nitrous oxide

Question 59

What part of Earth's magnetic field is the first line of defense to solar wind particles?

A) radiation belts
B) bow shock
C) magnetosphere
D) Van Allen belts
E) magnetic poles

Question 60

Internal heat forces Earth's liquid core to circulate with _______________.

Question 61

Explain how solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field to create auroras at the poles. Make sure to include each part of the magnetic field the solar particles interact with.

Question 62

_______________ produces the majority of the geological activity on Earth.

Question 63

What is the difference between hot spot volcanism and subduction zone volcanism?

Question 64

Explain why it is a common misconception to believe that life on Earth exists because of the presence of oxygen.

Question 65

When an earthquake occurs, no direct _______________ pass through the core to register on seismographs on the opposite side of Earth.

Question 66

Astronomers believe that some of the abundant water on Earth arrived late in the formation process as a bombardment of _______________.

Question 67

Why can we not see as many craters on Earth as on the Moon?

Question 68

Explain the greenhouse effect and the impact made by humans on the greenhouse effect.

Question 69

List some of the geological forces and end products of plate tectonics.

Question 70

Describe each differentiated layers of Earth.

Question 71

How have scientists been able to determine that Earth has a liquid metal outer core?