Deck 8: Mars

Question 1

Seasons on Mars

A) are similar to those on the Earth but twice as long
B) are exactly the same at the Earth
C) are more intense than on the Earth but the same length
D) are similar to those on the Earth but half as long

Answer 1

are similar to those on the Earth but twice as long

Question 2

The first scientist to measure the rotation period of Mars was

A) Angelo Secchi
B) Percival Lowell
C) Giovanni Schiaparelli
D) William Herschel

Answer 2

William Herschel

Question 3

Due to its elliptical orbit, Mars is farther from the Sun on average during summer in the Northern Hemisphere. This means Northern Summer on Mars will be

A) long and mild
B) short and hot
C) long and hot
D) short and mild

Answer 3

long and mild

Question 4

The English author H. G. Wells is famous for writing which book about Mars in 1898?

A) The Martian Chronicles
B) Mars as the Abode of Life
C) The War of the Worlds
D) The Sands of Mars

Question 5

Due to its elliptical orbit, Mars is closer to the Sun on average during winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This means Northern Winter on Mars will be

A) short and hot
B) long and mild
C) long and cold
D) short and mild

Question 6

The seasonal variations experienced on the Earth are due

A) only to its changing distance from the Sun
B) mostly to its axis tilt
C) to small changes in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun
D) to both its axis tilt and its changing distance from the Sun

Question 7

Other astronomers were skeptical about Percival Lowell's claims of Martian canals because

A) it did not seem possible for his telescope to see the surface through its thick atmosphere
B) they discovered that Lowell suffered from poor vision
C) they were able to prove that Lowell's telescope was faulty
D) when they pointed their own telescopes toward Mars they couldn't see them

Question 8

Due to its elliptical orbit, Mars is closer to the Sun on average during summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This means Southern Summer on Mars will be

A) short and hot
B) long and hot
C) long and mild
D) short and mild

Question 9

The Lowell Observatory, built by Percival Lowell to study Mars and still in operation today, is located in

A) Sunspot, New Mexico
B) Flagstaff, Arizona
C) Mount Wilson, California
D) Amherst, Massachusetts

Question 10

What did the Martian surface look like from the Viking lander sites?

A) a dry, dusty, boulder-strewn desert
B) a huge canyon stretching out to the horizon
C) flat, dark volcanic rocks out to the horizon
D) very mountainous with huge volcanoes in the distance

Question 11

Seasonal variations on Mars are due

A) only to its changing distance from the Sun
B) only to its axis tilt
C) to small changes in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun
D) to both its axis tilt and its changing distance from the Sun

Question 12

As far as we know, the first scientist to seriously suggest the possibility of life on Mars was

A) Angelo Secchi
B) Percival Lowell
C) Giovanni Schiaparelli
D) William Herschel

Question 13

Liquid water cannot exist for very long on the surface of Mars today because

A) it gets rapidly destroyed by intense solar radiation
B) its surface temperature is too high
C) it rapidly reacts with the Martian surface to form peroxides
D) its atmosphere is too thin

Question 14

If a glass of liquid water were suddenly exposed to the Martian atmosphere today, the water would

A) either freeze or evaporate away
B) burst into flames
C) remain liquid
D) decompose into hydrogen and oxygen gases

Question 15

Due to its elliptical orbit, Mars is farther from the Sun on average during winter in the Southern Hemisphere. This means Southern Winter on Mars will be

A) long and mild
B) short and hot
C) long and cold
D) short and mild

Question 16

The first astronomer to claim to see linear features on the surface of Mars was

A) Angelo Secchi
B) Percival Lowell
C) Giovanni Schiaparelli
D) William Herschel

Question 17

When Percival Lowell insisted on the existence of Martian canals, even though his observations were discredited by other scientists, he exhibited

A) objectivity
B) stupidity
C) madness
D) personal bias

Question 18

The seasonal polar caps on Mars are made of

A) methane ice
B) carbon dioxide ice
C) water ice
D) a uniform mixture of water and carbon dioxide ices

Question 19

How easy would it be for future astronauts to psychologically adapt to living on Mars?

A) fairly easy because the Martian day is only about 40 minutes longer than the terrestrial day
B) extremely easy because the Martian day is exactly the same length as the terrestrial day
C) very difficult because the Martian day is much longer than the terrestrial day
D) very difficult because the Martian day is much shorter than the terrestrial day

Question 20

The residual polar caps on Mars are made of

A) carbon dioxide ice
B) methane ice
C) water ice
D) a uniform mixture of water and carbon dioxide ices

Question 21

The Mars Exploration Rovers have photographed which of the following meteorological phenomena on Mars?

A) dust devils
B) hurricanes
C) ice storms
D) tornadoes

Question 22

During summer, the northern polar cap of Mars is made of

A) carbon dioxide ice overlaying water ice
B) a layer of carbon dioxide ice
C) a layer of water ice
D) water ice overlaying carbon dioxide ice

Question 23

The lightly cratered terrain surrounding the Tharsis volcanoes represents which geological era?

A) Amazonian
B) Hesperian
C) Cenozoic
D) Noachian

Question 24

Due to the dust suspended in the Martian atmosphere, sunrises and sunsets on Mars are

A) red
B) orange
C) blue
D) yellow

Question 25

The most important geological process that has removed craters from the Martian surface in the past is

A) plate tectonics
B) wind erosion
C) volcanism
D) water erosion

Question 26

Which of the following do winds on Mars NOT cause

A) global dust storms
B) local dust storms
C) hurricanes
D) dust devils

Question 27

The majority of the southern hemisphere of Mars represents which geological era?

A) Amazonian
B) Hesperian
C) Cenozoic
D) Noachian

Question 28

What method has been used to determine the most recent time the Tharsis volcanoes on Mars have erupted?

A) measuring the thickness of lava flows on their sides
B) measuring the intensity of infrared radiation emitted by them
C) measuring the changes in sulfur compound concentrations in the planet's atmosphere
D) counting the craters on their slopes

Question 29

During winter, the northern polar cap of Mars is made of

A) a layer of carbon dioxide ice
B) a layer of water ice
C) carbon dioxide ice overlaying water ice
D) water ice overlaying carbon dioxide ice

Question 30

The Northern hemisphere of Mars is at

A) a higher than average elevation and is covered with impact craters
B) a higher than average elevation and is relatively smooth
C) an average elevation and is covered with impact craters
D) a lower than average elevation and is relatively smooth

Question 31

Where is probably the best place to find life on Mars today?

A) inside craters that used to be filled with water
B) in the Mariner Valley
C) in the residual polar caps
D) in geologically active areas like Tharsis where subsurface water may exist

Question 32

What is the most likely origin of the Valles Marineris on Mars?

A) it is a fissure in the surface carved out by a giant impact
B) it is a tectonic fracture associated with the formation of the adjacent Tharsis bulge
C) it is a huge canyon system formed by water erosion
D) it was formed from the separation of two tectonic plates

Question 33

What are the relative ages of the heavily cratered Southern highlands and the smooth Northern plains of Mars?

A) the highlands and the plains are the same age
B) it is impossible to tell unless we know the specific geological processes that occurred in each hemisphere
C) the plains are older than the highlands
D) the highlands are older than the plains

Question 34

The Southern hemisphere of Mars is at

A) an average elevation and is covered with impact craters
B) a higher than average elevation and is relatively smooth
C) a higher than average elevation and is covered with impact craters
D) a lower than average elevation and is relatively smooth

Question 35

The most important geological process occurring on Mars today is

A) water erosion
B) plate tectonics
C) volcanism
D) wind erosion

Question 36

Typically, what color is the Martian sky during the daytime?

A) green
B) yellow-brown
C) red
D) blue

Question 37

In the Tharsis region of Mars we find

A) a huge impact basin
B) heavily cratered highlands
C) smooth rolling plains
D) huge shield volcanoes like Olympus Mons

Question 38

At the beginning of summer, the carbon dioxide at the summer pole

A) melts
B) sublimates
C) freezes
D) ionizes

Question 39

The number of impact craters on the slopes of Tharsis volcanoes suggests that they have been inactive

A) since Mars formed 4.6 billion years ago
B) for at least a billion years
C) for at least tens of millions of years
D) only for the last few hundred years

Question 40

The Tharsis region of Mars was most likely formed

A) from sediment that piled up due to past water erosion
B) by plate tectonics
C) by a plume of molten mantle material rising to the surface forming a giant bulge in the Martian crust
D) from compressions in the Martian crust as the planet cooled and contracted

Question 41

Spacecraft orbiting Mars have detected hydrated minerals, such as clays, sulfates, and silica, which are known to form in the presence of

A) hydrogen
B) water
C) carbon dioxide
D) oxygen

Question 42

The water that formed many of the erosion features seen on Mars appears to have originated

A) from clouds in the atmosphere
B) from volcanic outgassing
C) comet impacts
D) from beneath the surface of the planet

Question 43

What field of science are the experiments on the two Mars Exploration Rovers most closely related to?

A) physics
B) biology
C) geology
D) astronomy

Question 44

Observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter show that most of the water on Mars today is

A) frozen beneath the surface
B) flowing in rivers on the surface
C) present in the atmosphere
D) present in the residual polar caps

Question 45

The indistinct rims of large craters and the relative lack of small craters on Mars may be due to

A) winds
B) rainfall
C) glaciers
D) all of these

Question 46

The presence of channels carved out on the slopes of large Martian volcanoes is consistent with

A) recent wind erosion
B) the action of plate tectonics
C) the existence of past underground pockets of water
D) recent impacts

Question 47

The most recent time that water appears to have flowed on Mars, if only briefly, is during the

A) Amazonian Era
B) Hadean Era
C) Noachian Era
D) Hesperian Era

Question 48

If melted, the ice now known to be on Mars would represent water to cover the entire planet to a depth of

A) around 11 meters
B) a few centimeters
C) several kilometers
D) less than a millimeter

Question 49

The tiny spheres called "blueberries" discovered by the rover Opportunity are made of

A) carbonate
B) hematite
C) silicate
D) fruit

Question 50

Results from the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity suggest that liquid water

A) has never existed in significant quantities on the surface of Mars
B) was once plentiful on the surface of Mars
C) is only present in the Tharsis region of Mars
D) is present in large quantities beneath the Martian surface today

Question 51

Significant quantities of water last flowed on the surface of Mars during which geological era?

A) Amazonian
B) Hesperian
C) Noachian
D) Hadean

Question 52

The Meridani Plains were chosen as the landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity because

A) we believe this region was once filled with water
B) remote sensing measurements from the Mars Odyssey orbiter indicate that larger than average deposits of water ice are present beneath the surface
C) of its proximity to the Tharsis region
D) remote sensing measurements from the Mars Odyssey orbiter indicate that deposits of the mineral hematite (which commonly forms in water) are present

Question 53

Spacecraft orbiting Mars have detected hydrated minerals, such as clays, sulfates, and silica, which are known to contain

A) water or hydroxide (OH)
B) hydrogen carbonates
C) hydrogen gas
D) oxygen

Question 54

The Phoenix spacecraft which landed in the Martian arctic in 2008 found

A) water ice on the surface
B) no water ice either on or below the surface
C) water ice just beneath the surface
D) water ice several feet beneath the surface

Question 55

The discovery of opaline and hydrated sulfate minerals on Mars by the rover Spirit suggests that Mars once had

A) a sulfur-rich atmosphere
B) vast oceans of water
C) simple microbial life
D) volcanically heated thermal hot springs

Question 56

The ancient water erosion features on the surface of Mars suggest that the planet must have had a much

A) warmer, thinner atmosphere in the past
B) cooler, thicker atmosphere in the past
C) cooler, thinner atmosphere in the past
D) warmer, thicker atmosphere in the past

Question 57

At the Mars Pathfinder landing site, the surrounding rocks are scattered and stacked against each other. This suggests that the spacecraft landed in

A) an ancient floodplain
B) the debris from a giant impact
C) an area which had been subjected to wind erosion
D) an area of explosive volcanic activity

Question 58

Evidence for very recent water erosion on Mars comes from the observations of

A) gullies in the rims of craters
B) channels carved on the slopes of volcanoes
C) dried up river beds on the highlands
D) mud flows surrounding craters

Question 59

The large water erosion features on Mars appear to be

A) less than 1 million years old
B) less than 2 billion years old
C) more than 4 billion years old
D) at least 2-3 billion years old

Question 60

Gusev Crater was chosen at the landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit because

A) of its proximity to the Tharsis region
B) remote sensing measurements from the Mars Odyssey orbiter indicate that larger than average deposits of water ice are present beneath the surface
C) we believe this region was once filled with water
D) remote sensing measurements from the Mars Odyssey orbiter indicate that deposits of the mineral hematite (which commonly forms in water) are present

Question 61

Compared to the Earth, Mars has experienced wild swings in its axis tilt over relatively short time periods. This is because of its

A) proximity to Jupiter and its lack of a large moon
B) greater distance from the Sun
C) slower rotation rate
D) small size

Question 62

What are the most likely sources of the methane gas detected in the Martian atmosphere by the Mars Express orbiter?

A) biological activity only
B) biological and/or volcanic activity
C) comet impacts only
D) volcanic activity only

Question 63

Which of the following statements best describes the idea behind the Carbon Assimilation Experiment on board the Viking landers?

A) living organisms in the soil should incorporate carbon from atmospheric gases
B) radioactive gases should be produced when radioactive nutrients are added to a soil sample
C) soil with living organisms in it should contain organic molecules
D) living organisms in the soil should give off gases when they metabolize nutrients

Question 64

Even though 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect on Mars today is very weak because its atmosphere is very

A) dusty
B) thin
C) dry
D) cold

Question 65

The interior of Mars cooled more quickly than the interior of the Earth because it has

A) a smaller surface area-to-volume ratio
B) a lower density
C) a larger surface area-to-volume ratio
D) a thinner atmosphere

Question 66

Which of the following statements best describes the idea behind the Gas Exchange Experiment on board the Viking landers?

A) radioactive gases should be produced when radioactive nutrients are added to a soil sample
B) living organisms in the soil should give off gases when they metabolize nutrients
C) soil with living organisms in it should contain organic molecules
D) living organisms in the soil should incorporate carbon from atmospheric gases

Question 67

If the Earth has a radius of 6378 km and Mars a radius of 3396 km, what is the surface area-to-volume ratio of Mars compared to the Earth?

A) 0.53
B) 2.7
C) 1.9
D) 3.2

Question 68

What is the nickname of the Mars Science Laboratory rover that will land on Mars in 2012?

A) Curiosity
B) Oddity
C) Prodigy
D) Anomaly

Question 69

The Earth's axis tilt has changed little over its history due to

A) the stabilizing effects of Jupiter's gravity
B) the stabilizing effects of the Sun's gravity
C) the stabilizing effects of the Moon's gravity
D) its rapid rotation

Question 70

Which was the only biology experiment on the Viking landers which gave a positive result?

A) Labeled Release
B) Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
C) Carbon Assimilation
D) Gas Exchange

Question 71

Why must lander probes on Mars be sterilized before launch?

A) to prevent terrestrial microbes hitching a ride on the probe and contaminating the Martian surface
B) to prevent terrestrial microbes destroying the electronics in the probe during its passage to Mars
C) to prevent Martian dust from building up on the probe on the surface
D) to prevent Martian microbes from contaminating the lander probe

Question 72

The gullies seen on Mars may not be due to recent small-scale water flows, but instead may be due to

A) marsquakes
B) landslides
C) dust storms
D) rain

Question 73

Which of the following statements best describes the idea behind the Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer Experiment on board the Viking landers?

A) soil with living organisms in it should contain organic molecules
B) radioactive gases should be produced when radioactive nutrients are added to a soil sample
C) living organisms in the soil should incorporate carbon from atmospheric gases
D) living organisms in the soil should give off gases when they metabolize nutrients

Question 74

Which of the following statements best describes the idea behind the Labeled Release Experiment on board the Viking landers?

A) living organisms in the soil should give off gases when they metabolize nutrients
B) soil with living organisms in it should contain organic molecules
C) living organisms in the soil should incorporate carbon from atmospheric gases
D) radioactive gases should be produced when radioactive nutrients are added to a soil sample

Question 75

The extent to which Mars has been habitable essentially boils down to the

A) question of whether liquid water has ever been present on its surface
B) question of whether oceans of liquid water have existed on its surface
C) amount of water that has been present on its surface
D) length of time liquid water has been present at or below its surface

Question 76

The positive result from the Labeled Release experiment was inconsistent with the results from which other biology experiment or experiments?

A) Carbon Assimilation
B) Gas Exchange
C) Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer
D) it was inconsistent with all of them

Question 77

Which of the following statements is an overall summary of the findings from the Viking biology experiments?

A) the Martial soil showed no signs of chemical or biological activity
B) the Martian soil showed clear signs of biological activity
C) the Martian soil was chemically reactive but showed no conclusive signs of biological activity
D) the Martian soil contained organic molecules but showed no signs of biological activity

Question 78

What field of science were the experiments on the two Viking lander most closely related to?

A) physics
B) biology
C) geology
D) astronomy

Question 79

Which of the following did NOT contribute to the thinning of the Martian atmosphere during its early history?

A) the photodissociation of water molecules by ultraviolet light in the atmosphere
B) the stripping of the atmosphere by solar wind particles from the Sun
C) the consumption of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic bacteria
D) atmospheric gases being blasted into space by large impacts

Question 80

Recent data suggest that the most important contribution to the thinning of the Martian atmosphere was probably

A) the photodissociation of water molecules by ultraviolet light in the atmosphere
B) the stripping of the atmosphere by solar wind particles from the Sun as its magnetic field weakened
C) the consumption of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic bacteria
D) atmospheric gases being blasted into space by large impacts