Question 1

Give a specific example of a historical impact of an asteroid or comet that hit the Earth.Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?

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Question 2

Three different things can happen when two continental plates meet.What is the name given to each,and briefly explain what happens in each.

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Question 3

How do we know that Earth's magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times in the past?

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Question 4

Which is denser-the mantle or crust of the Earth? Explain why.

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Question 5

Describe the difference between seismic primary and secondary waves and why this difference makes them useful in probing the structure of the Earth's interior.

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Question 6

The American and African/European continents are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean,which is approximately 4,000 km wide.Assuming a continental drift rate of 2 cm/year,how long has it been since they were one land mass?

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Question 7

Which planet would you expect to have a larger molten core,a planet of Earth's size or a planet that had half the radius of Earth? Explain why.

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Question 8

The rovers named Spirit and Opportunity that recently explored the surface of Mars discovered:

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The rovers found minerals that suggest liquid water was once present on the surface of Mars, indicating a habitable past for the planet.

Question 9

Suppose that two planets of the same size formed from the same material.If planet A had differentiated and planet B had not,how would samples of their surface rock differ? Explain why.

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Question 10

Describe one example of tectonic disruption on Mercury,Venus,and Mars,respectively,and explain how they formed.

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Question 11

Present-day erosion on the surface of the Moon is primarily caused by:

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Question 12

If you obtained a sample of Martian rock,determined the abundances of 230_U and 207_Pb in it,and found that for every one uranium atom there were seven lead atoms,then what would the age of this rock be? Note that 230_U decays to 207_Pb with a half-life of 700 million years.Assume that there was no 207_Pb in the rock when it originally formed.

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Question 13

What are the four main processes that shape the surfaces of the terrestrial planets?

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Question 14

List the main process that shaped the planetary surface features illustrated in each of the four pictures shown below.

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Question 15

Describe two reasons why we know that the Earth's magnetic field cannot be a result of permanent magnetism in a solid iron core.

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Question 16

Which is NOT a reason that we suspect that the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by a large impact by a large object?

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The identification of a remaining meteorite on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico is not a reason that we suspect the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by a large impact by a large object. It is, in fact, evidence that supports this hypothesis.

Question 17

Which is NOT a reason that we suspect Mars once had liquid water on its surface?

Accepted Answer

The presence of water ice in Mars's polar icecaps is evidence of water on Mars, not a reason why we suspect Mars once had liquid water on its surface. The other options all provide evidence that supports the theory that Mars once had liquid water on its surface.

Question 18

How did the radioactive heating of Earth vary from when it was first formed 4.6 billion years ago until today?

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Question 19

Name the terrestrial planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun.What are the terrestrial planets in order of increasing geologic age of their surface?

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Question 20

We have direct evidence for the current existence of water on the surface of which terrestrial object?

Accepted Answer

Mars has been found to have water on its surface in the form of ice and liquid brines.

Quiz 8: The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon