Deck 16: Earth and Moon: Bases for Comparative Planetology

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the four stages in the development of a terrestrial planet?

A) flooding
B) cratering
C) slow surface evolution
D) fusion of hydrogen to helium
E) differentiation

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Slow surface evolution on the Moon is limited to

A) low-density masses of rock rising from the interior.
B) low level meteorite impacts.
C) moonquakes disturbing the surface features.
D) motion along a network of small faults.
E) All of the other choices are correct.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the development of a terrestrial planet, the stage of ___________ when dense material settled to the core and less dense to the outer parts.

A) differentiation
B) cratering
C) glaciation
D) accretion
E) flooding

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of these gases is most responsible for the greenhouse effect on Earth?

A) oxygen (O₂)
B) nitrogen (N₂)
C) carbon dioxide (CO₂)
D) ozone (O₃)
E) ammonia (NH₃)

Question 5

The Himalayan Mountains are rugged, jagged peaks and the Appalachians are smooth and rolling. Why is there a difference?

A) The Himalayas are much older and the rocks have begun breaking off.
B) The Himalayas are volcanic mountains and the Appalachians are not.
C) The Appalachians are much older and have been smoothed by erosion.
D) The Appalachians are younger and just started to be thrust upward by plate tectonics.
E) a and d

Question 6

Motion of the plates of Earth's crust is thought to be due to

A) the solar wind.
B) convection from the hot interior.
C) tides in the oceans.
D) friction between wind and the land surface.
E) Earth's magnetic field.

Question 7

Slow surface evolution is caused by

A) wind erosion.
B) plate tectonics.
C) differentiation.
D) wind erosion, plate tectonics, and differentiation.
E) wind erosion and plate tectonics.

Question 8

In the development of a terrestrial planet, the stage of ___________ occurred when molten rock flowed through fissures and filled deep basins.

A) differentiation
B) cratering
C) glaciation
D) accretion
E) flooding

Question 9

Earth's core is mostly ___________ as indicated by the absence of S waves.

A) solid
B) liquid
C) gas
D) solid and gas
E) solid, liquid, and gas

Question 10

Earth possesses few visible craters and the Moon possesses many. This is because

A) Earth formed later than the Moon and, therefore hasn't encountered as many meteoroids.
B) the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up many of the meteorites before impacting.
C) erosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on Earth.
D) Earth formed later than the Moon and, therefore hasn't encountered as many meteoroids; the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up many of the meteorites before impacting; and erosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on Earth.
E) the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up many of the meteorites before impacting and erosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on Earth.

Question 11

Which of the following is not produced by plate tectonics?

A) mid-ocean rifts
B) rift valleys
C) the ring of fire
D) the Appalachian Mountains
E) Earth's magnetic field

Question 12

The lunar maria are

A) the lava plains of the lunar lowlands.
B) the smooth plateaus of the lunar highlands.
C) less than one billion years old.
D) moving plates of lunar crust.
E) older than the lunar highlands.

Question 13

That Earth ___________, evidence that Earth differentiated.

A) rotates slowly
B) has an average density that is higher than the density of the crust
C) has a no magnetic field
D) has a surface that is 75% water
E) all of these

Question 14

The oxygen in Earth's atmosphere

A) was manufactured inside stars.
B) was added to the atmosphere by plant life.
C) has grown more abundant since the origin of Earth.
D) was manufactured inside stars, was added to the atmosphere by plant life, and has grown more abundant since the origin of Earth.
E) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 15

Earth's magnetic field is generated by the dynamo effect in the

A) molten metallic core.
B) solid central core.
C) plastic mantle.
D) crust.
E) aurora.

Question 16

In contrast to the outer solid mantle, parts of the central regions of Earth's interior are thought to be fluid because

A) P seismic waves cannot make it through those regions.
B) S seismic waves cannot make it through those regions.
C) neither P nor S seismic waves can make it through those regions.
D) both P and S seismic waves easily make it through those regions.

Question 17

Why would a decrease in the density of the ozone layer create a public health concern?

A) The greenhouse effect would not be as efficient and the temperature of Earth would decrease.
B) The greenhouse effect would be more efficient and the temperature of Earth would increase.
C) Plant life would no longer have the ozone it needs for photosynthesis to create chlorophyll.
D) Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun would bombard Earth.
E) none of the above

Question 18

The greenhouse effect occurs on Earth because carbon dioxide is

A) transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation.
B) opaque to visible light and transparent to infrared radiation.
C) totally opaque to both visible light and infrared radiation.
D) totally opaque to both visible light and infrared radiation.

Question 19

The ozone layer is

A) transparent to ultraviolet radiation.
B) opaque to ultraviolet radiation.
C) opaque to visible light.
D) opaque to infrared radiation.
E) responsible for producing most of the oxygen that animal life needs.

Question 20

The youngest parts of Earth's crust are

A) the bottom layer found in the walls of the Grand Canyon.
B) the continents.
C) the continental margins.
D) the Appalachian Mountains.
E) the mid-ocean rifts.

Question 21

In the giant impact theory of the Moon's origin,

A) the Moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its Moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the Moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the Moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 22

The presence of vesicular basalts among the lunar rock samples shows that

A) the lunar surface was fragmented by meteorite impacts.
B) volcanism did not occur on the Moon.
C) the crust must have been made of anorthosite.
D) molten lava once flowed over the lunar surface.
E) the Moon was once hit by a very large meteorite.

Question 23

That the Moon has no magnetic field implies that

A) the Moon is spinning too slowly to produce a magnetic field.
B) the interior of the Moon is too hot to produce a magnetic field.
C) the crust of the Moon is so thick that the magnetic field cannot get out of the interior.
D) the Moon's core contains little if any molten iron.
E) the Moon is moving further from Earth.

Question 24

Evidence for the drifting of continents or plate tectonics on Earth is

A) the manner in which the outlines of continents fit together much like puzzle pieces.
B) the similarity of rocks found occurring along certain continental coastal areas.
C) the long, continuous ridges found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
D) all of the other choices.

Question 25

The magnetic field of Earth is thought to be generated by motions in its

A) atmosphere.
B) liquid water oceans.
C) solid surface.
D) molten iron interior.

Question 26

The presence of breccias among the lunar rock samples shows that

A) volcanism did not occur on the Moon.
B) molten lava once flowed over the lunar surface.
C) the crust must have been made of anorthosite.
D) water once existed on the Moon in the form of small lakes and streams.
E) the lunar surface was fragmented by meteorite impacts.

Question 27

Which hypothesis concerning the formation of the Moon makes predictions that best fit the observed lunar data?

A) the large impact hypothesis
B) the fission hypothesis
C) the capture hypothesis
D) the condensation hypothesis
E) the regolith hypothesis

Question 28

The four stages of planetary development are shown above. Which is the first one?

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

Question 29

The four stages of planetary development are shown above. Which is the last one?

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

Question 30

In the fission theory of the Moon's origin,

A) the Moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its Moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the Moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the Moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 31

When plates spread apart and magma rises, what forms in the above labeled map of Earth?

A) mountains
B) seas
C) mid-ocean rises
D) subduction zones

Question 32

The Earth is about ___________ years old by ___________.

A) 4 billion years old: radioactive dating
B) 4 million; measuring Earth's orbital period around the Sun
C) 4 billion; measuring Earth's orbital period around the Sun
D) 4 million; radioactive dating

Question 33

Compared to Earth, wind and water erosion on our Moon is

A) more evident.
B) less evident.
C) the same.
D) not present.

Question 34

The interior of Earth is studied by using

A) infrared light waves.
B) yellow light waves.
C) seismic waves.
D) gamma waves.

Question 35

Compared to the Earth, the Moon is no longer geologically active because

A) it is rotating too slowly.
B) its radioactive elements were never abundant.
C) it is much smaller in mass.
D) its crust is too thin.
E) it does not have water on its surface.

Question 36

The Moon's distance from Earth is measured very accurately by bouncing a laser beam off of a small mirror left on the surface of the Moon. If a laser is fired at the Moon and the signal returns in 2.6 seconds, what is the distance to the Moon?

A) 390,000 km
B) 390,000 m
C) 780,000 km
D) 780,000 m

Question 37

Which of these does Earth's Moon NOT have because of its weaker gravity/smaller mass than Earth?

A) thick atmosphere
B) liquid water oceans
C) solid surface
D) thick atmosphere and liquid water oceans
E) liquid water oceans and solid surface

Question 38

On Earth, according to current ideas about plate tectonics, ____________ were once together.

A) Africa and South America
B) Africa and North America
C) North America and Europe
D) Africa and South America; Africa and North America; and North American and Europe

Question 39

In the condensation theory of the Moon's origin,

A) the Moon broke from a rapidly spinning Earth.
B) Earth and its Moon formed from the same cloud of matter.
C) the Moon formed elsewhere in the solar nebula and was later captured by Earth.
D) the Moon formed when a very massive planetesimal smashed into the young Earth.

Question 40

What causes erosion?

A) wind
B) water
C) glacier ice
D) all of the other choices.

Question 41

____________________ is responsible for absorbing ultraviolet radiation in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Question 42

Which stage of planetary formation is shown above for the surface of the Moon?

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

Question 43

_____________, or dried seas of dark basalt, are only seen on the near side of the Moon, the side that faces Earth.

Question 44

____________________ waves are seismic waves that do not travel through Earth's liquid core.

Question 45

____________________ are great lava flows covering 17% of the lunar surface.

Question 46

What is the above graph showing?

A) when the ozone hole formed
B) how the industrial revolution contributed to global warming
C) how the industrial revolution contributed to greenhouses gasses in Earth's atmosphere
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 47

Earth's primary atmosphere was probably mostly ____________, ____________, and ______________.

Question 48

In the diagram below label each of the major divisions of Earth's interior.

Question 49

The dark features on the Moon as shown in the above photo are _________________.

A) mare
B) craters
C) the man on the Moon
D) maria

Question 50

The ____________________ hypothesis for the formation of the Moon suggests that the moon and Earth formed from the same cloud of material and coalesced as two separate objects.

Question 51

A plate sliding into a(n) ____________________ can trigger volcanism.

Question 52

Three major greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are ___________, ___________, and ____________, but ____________ is believed to contribute most to global warming.

Question 53

In the above cartoon, infrared radiation is bouncing around in the atmosphere of a planet. Which wavelength band of photons passes through the planet's atmosphere as shown above by the longest wave?

A) radio
B) infrared
C) visual
D) ultraviolet

Question 54

The ____________________ of Earth is composed of rocks at high density that behave as a plastic.

Question 55

For which decade is the ozone concentration above Halley Bay Station highest?

A) 1960-1970
B) 1970-1980
C) 1980-1990
D) 1990-2000

Question 56

By combining three oxygen atoms, a/an ________________ layer formed in Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs UV photons.

Question 57

As shown in the above cartoon plot, infrared radiation is bouncing off of _______________ in the atmosphere of a planet.

A) atoms
B) molecules
C) ions
D) None of the other choices are correct.

Question 58

The separation between Africa and the Arabian peninsula is a(n) ____________________ valley.

Question 59

Earth's secondary atmosphere occurred when _____________ was added to the carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen mix by plant life, and _____________ was removed from the carbon dioxide, water vapor, and nitrogen mix by dissolution in seawater.

Question 60

Colliding plates can generate _____________________ ranges.

Question 61

The greenhouse effect occurs because carbon dioxide is opaque to infrared radiation.

Question 62

Earth's magnetic field is generated in the iron-rich mantle.

Question 63

Earth's magnetic field has reversed itself.

Question 64

The first Apollo missions to the Moon found the maria to be plains of solid lava.

Question 65

The Moon stopped evolving because it is too small to have kept its internal heat.

Question 66

Human output of carbon dioxide is small compared to natural output by volcanoes, for example.

Question 67

The greenhouse effect is bad for Earth.

Question 68

Fragmenting during meteorite impacts caused the vesicular basalts found among the lunar samples.

Question 69

Earth and the Moon could not have condensed from the same materials because they have different densities and compositions.

Question 70

The Earth is geologically dead and the Moon is geologically active.

Question 71

The ozone layer is produced by oxygen atoms that link to form O₃.

Question 72

Volcanism can occur in a mid-ocean rift, above a hot spot in the mantle, or where one tectonic plate slides below another.

Question 73

Earth never passed through the cratering stage in planetary development.

Question 74

The oldest parts of Earth's crust are located along the mid-ocean rifts.

Question 75

On the Moon, the maria are younger than the highlands.

Question 76

The central part of Earth's core is solid.

Question 77

Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere is outgassed in volcanic eruptions.

Question 78

Pressure (P) waves can travel through a liquid, but shear (S) waves cannot.

Question 79

Fragmenting during meteorite impacts caused the breccias found among the lunar samples.

Question 80

On the Moon, the maria have fewer craters than the highlands.