Question 1

All of the terrestrial planets have plate tectonics with converging and spreading plates similar to Earth's.

Accepted Answer

Only Earth has active plate tectonics, while the other terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, and Mars) have no evidence of current plate tectonics.

Question 2

A large planet will cool off faster than a small planet because it is emitting energy at a faster rate.

Accepted Answer

The rate at which a planet emits energy is proportional to its surface area, which increases with the square of its radius. Therefore, a larger planet will actually cool off more slowly than a smaller planet, as it has a greater capacity to retain heat.

Question 3

The Moon has relatively few craters and is said to be geologically active.

Accepted Answer

The Moon has many craters and is actually considered to be geologically inactive with no processes like volcanism, earthquakes or plate tectonics occurring on its surface.

Question 4

Mars has a thin,almost cloudless atmosphere that permits a clear view of the surface and the most striking visible features are the polar ice caps.

Accepted Answer

The statement is true. Mars has a thin atmosphere that allows for a clear view of the surface, and the polar ice caps are one of the most prominent visible features.

Question 5

Naked-eye observations of Mercury are best made at midnight.

Accepted Answer

Naked-eye observations of Mercury are best made during twilight, either before sunrise or after sunset.

Question 6

Venus's atmosphere is extremely hot and dense.

Accepted Answer

Venus's atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen and experiences a greenhouse effect that raises temperatures to about 864 degrees Fahrenheit (462 degrees Celsius), making it the hottest planet in the solar system. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is also about 90 times the pressure on Earth, making it very dense.

Question 7

Opposite the Caloris Basin,a huge crater on Mercury,there exists a jumbled,hilly region theorized to be caused by seismic waves that were focused after the impact.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. The region opposite the Caloris Basin on Mercury is called the "Weird Terrain" and is believed to have been formed by seismic waves from the impact that created the Caloris Basin being focused and amplified in this area.

Question 8

Venus appears almost completely featureless with neither clearly noticeable continents nor mountains.

Accepted Answer

Venus has a thick atmosphere that obscures its surface features. As a result, it appears almost completely featureless, without clearly noticeable continents or mountains.

Question 9

Valles Marineris on Mars is thought to be a rift valley,a feature created when a planet's crust breaks apart a fault line.

Accepted Answer

Valles Marineris on Mars is indeed a rift valley, which is a type of feature created when a planet's crust breaks apart along a fault line. It is believed to have been formed early in the planet's history due to tectonic activity or volcanic activity.

Question 10

No spacecraft have successfully landed on the surface of Mars,but it has been mapped with satellites orbiting the planet.

Accepted Answer

This statement is not accurate. Several spacecraft, including the Viking 1, Viking 2, Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, Phoenix, and Curiosity, have successfully landed on the surface of Mars.

Question 11

Venus has a relatively thin crust that undergoes wrinkling and flaking;this model is called "flake tectonics."

Accepted Answer

This is true. The flake tectonics model is based on observations from radar images of Venus, which show evidence of crustal blocks shifting and breaking apart. The thinness of Venus' crust compared to Earth's is believed to be a factor in the different tectonic activity on the two planets.

Question 12

Mars's atmosphere experiences a runaway icehouse effect where CO₂ is pulled from the atmosphere,lowering the temperature even more.

Accepted Answer

CO₂ (carbon dioxide) is a greenhouse gas that helps trap heat in the atmosphere. As it is pulled from the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect weakens, causing temperatures to drop even further. This is known as a runaway icehouse effect.

Question 13

Hot-spot volcanoes on Earth are only found on the continent of Australia.

Accepted Answer

Hot-spot volcanoes on Earth are found in various locations including Hawaii, Iceland, and Yellowstone National Park. There are no active hot-spot volcanoes on the continent of Australia.

Question 14

Mercury's scarps,numerous long cliffs,were probably formed as the planet cooled and contracted.

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is true that Mercury's scarps were probably formed as the planet cooled and contracted. The scarps are believed to be the result of the planet's crust wrinkling and cracking as it shrank due to the cooling of its interior.

Question 15

Jupiter's moon,Io,may have as many as 300 active volcanoes on its surface.

Accepted Answer

Io is the most volcanic body in the solar system, with hundreds of active volcanoes, some of which shoot lava 250 miles (400 kilometers) into space.

Question 16

Mars's atmosphere has always been thin and cold.

Accepted Answer

Mars's atmosphere is believed to have been thicker and warmer in the past, which could have supported liquid water on its surface. Over time, it has lost much of its atmosphere to space, becoming the thin and cold atmosphere we observe today.

Question 17

X-rays were used to map the surface of Venus.

Accepted Answer

X-rays cannot penetrate the thick atmosphere of Venus, so they cannot be used to map its surface. Other remote sensing techniques, such as radar, have been used to map Venus.

Question 18

An impact crater will always reproduce the shape of the original impacting object.

Accepted Answer

While the shape and size of an impact crater can provide some information about the characteristics of the impacting object, it will not always reproduce the exact shape. The angle and velocity of impact, as well as the composition and structure of the surface being impacted, can all influence the final shape of the crater.

Question 19

Venus's craters are uniformly scattered across the planet's surface suggesting that the entire surface of the planet is essentially the same age.

Accepted Answer

Venus's surface shows relatively few craters which are evenly distributed, indicating that the planet underwent a near-global resurfacing event about 300 to 500 million years ago, making its surface uniformly young in geological terms.

Question 20

Europa is the only world in the solar system other than Earth on which there is liquid water.

Accepted Answer

Scientists have detected strong evidence of liquid water under the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, making it the only other world in the solar system besides Earth where there is strong evidence of a large amount of liquid water.

Quiz 6: Exploring Terrestrial Surface Processes and Atmospheres