Complete Test Bank Terrestrial Worlds in the Inner Solar Ch6 - Understanding Our Universe 3e Complete Test Bank by Stacy Palen. DOCX document preview.
Chapter 6: Terrestrial Worlds in the Inner Solar System
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
6.1 Impacts Help Shape the Terrestrial Planets
6.1a Describe how impact cratering changes the surface of a planet or moon.
6.1b Use the characteristics of craters to determine the history and relative ages of a planet’s or moon’s surface.
6.2 The Surfaces of Terrestrial Planets Are Affected by Processes in the Interior
6.2a Explain how seismology is used to probe the inner structure of a planet.
6.2b Relate the sources of heating and cooling of a planet’s or moon’s interior.
6.2c Describe the causes and effects of tidal forces acting on a planet or moon.
6.2d Explain why pressure and temperature determine the state of a planet’s or moon’s interior.
6.2e Explain what is responsible for generating a planet’s magnetic field.
6.3 Planetary Surfaces Evolve through Tectonism
6.3a Differentiate plate spreading, plate convergence, subduction, and faults.
6.3b Show how convection of magma leads to plate tectonics.
6.4 Volcanism Reveals a Geologically Active Planet
6.4a Explain the differences between a shield volcano and a composite volcano.
6.4b Summarize the evidence for volcanic activity on other planets and moons.
6.5 Wind and Water Modify Surfaces
6.5a Identify four causes of weathering of a planet’s or moon’s surface.
6.5b Explain why astronomers have great interest in finding evidence of water on other planets or moons.
6.5c Deduce the geological history of a solar system object by analyzing its geological features.
Working It Out 6.1
Working It Out 6.1a Use abundances of parent and daughter elements to determine the age of a sample of material.
Working It Out 6.2
Working It Out 6.2a Calculate the density of an object given its mass and radius.
Chapter 6: Terrestrial Worlds in the Inner Solar System
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Based on the number of impact craters observed per square meter on their surfaces, place these terrestrial planets in order of youngest to oldest surface.
a. Earth, Venus, Mercury c. Mercury, Venus, Earth
b. Venus, Earth, Mercury d. Earth, Mercury, Venus
2. According to studies of impact cratering, which of the terrestrial planets has the oldest surface?
a. Mercury c. Earth
b. Venus d. Mars
3. Younger impact craters tend to be
a. larger than older craters.
b. smaller than older craters.
c. found on the oldest part of a planet’s surface.
d. superimposed on top of older craters.
4. What can be said of the smaller craters inside this large crater in the center of the image?
a. They are older than the large crater.
b. They are younger than the large crater.
c. They are all the same age.
d. Nothing can be determined from this image.
5. What can be said of the larger crater encompassing the smaller craters?
a. It is older than the large crater.
b. It is younger than the large crater.
c. They are all the same age.
d. Nothing can be determined from this image.
6. Studies of the amount of cratering at different locations on the Moon along with other dating methods indicate that
a. the rate of cratering in the Solar System has changed dramatically over time.
b. the younger lunar surfaces are hundreds of billions of years younger than the oldest surfaces.
c. the Moon has never been geologically active at any point in its history.
d. most of the heavy cratering in the Solar System occurred before Earth formed.
7. Name the following terms associated with debris based on their locations: in space, burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere, and impacting the ground.
a. meteor, meteoroid, meteorite c. meteorite, meteor, meteoroid
b. meteoroid, meteor, meteorite d. meteoroid, meteorite, meteor
8. Which of the following methods would yield the best estimate for the age of the Solar System?
a. measuring the number of craters per square meter on Mercury
b. radioactive dating of rocks retrieved from the Moon
c. carbon dating of rocks from mountains on Earth
d. measurement of the magnetic field variations on the seafloor
9. If a radioactive element has a half-life of 20,000 years, what fraction of it is left in a rock after 40,000 years?
a. one-half c. one-eighth
b. one-fourth d. one-sixteenth
10. A sample of rock from Venus shows that for every one 238U isotope there are seven 207Pb isotopes. What would the age of this rock be? Note that 238U decays to 207Pb with a half-life of about 700 million years. Assume that there was no 207Pb in the rock when it originally formed.
a. 1.4 billion years c. 230 million years
b. 2.1 billion years d. 4.5 billion years
11. What is the evidence for Earth’s interior being composed of regions of different density?
a. continental drift
b. subduction
c. differences in the propagation of seismic waves
d. volcanic activity
12. The source or sources of the internal heat of Earth are
a. tidal stress. c. leftover heat of planetary formation.
b. radioactive decay. d. All choices contribute heat.
13. What is currently the most significant source of the internal heat of Earth?
a. tidal stress
b. radioactive decay
c. leftover heat of planetary formation
d. All choices contribute about the same heat.
14. What is true of P-waves?
a. They are transverse waves.
b. They are unaffected by different medium densities.
c. They travel through liquids.
d. All choices are valid.
15. What is true of S-waves?
a. They are transverse waves.
b. They are bent by different medium densities.
c. They only travel through solids.
d. All choices are valid.
16. Roughly how often does a high tide occur?
a. once every 6 hours c. once every 18 hours
b. once every 12 hours d. once every 24 hours
17. What is the evidence for the Earth’s deep interior being composed of regions of different density?
a. volcanism
b. continental drift
c. subduction
d. differences in the propagation of seismic waves
18. Which statement about the cooling of planetary interiors is true?
a. Larger planets cool faster.
b. Larger planets cool slower.
c. Size doesn’t matter.
d. Planets cool slower when farther from the Sun.
19. Which of the following has the biggest effect on the tidal distortion of the Earth?
a. rotation of Earth
b. size of Earth relative to its distance from the Sun and Moon
c. mass of Earth relative to the mass of the Sun and Moon
d. orbit of Earth
20. Mars, Venus, and Earth are much less heavily cratered than Mercury and the Moon. This is explained by the fact that
a. the rate of cratering in the early Solar System was strongly dependent on location.
b. all three have thick, protective atmospheres.
c. Earth and Venus were shielded from impacts by the Moon, and Mars was protected by the asteroid belt.
d. Mars, Venus, and Earth were geologically active longer than Mercury and the Moon.
21. The fact that Earth’s interior is differentiated suggests that
a. it formed first from denser material and then afterward accreted lighter material.
b. it has both a liquid and solid core.
c. it was liquid at some point in the past.
d. only the crust is solid; the rest of Earth’s interior is liquid.
22. In the past the Moon was closer to Earth, and the differences in the heights of the ocean at high and low tides were
a. the same. c. smaller.
b. larger. d. Tides were nonexistent in the past.
23. Neap tides result in
a. Extreme low and high tides
b. Higher low tides and lower high tides
c. No tides
d. A global low tide
24. What is true about spring tides?
a. They occur only during the spring.
b. Tides are at their most extreme lows and highs.
c. They occur at first or third quarter moons.
d. High and low tides are minimal.
25. Neap tides occur during which lunar phase?
a. Full Moon c. First and third quarter
b. New Moon d. Full and new Moon
26. What causes tides?
a. gravitational forces c. magnetic forces
b. rapid rotation d. tectonic activity
27. Tidal distortion of the Earth is due to the
a. rotation of the Earth.
b. size of the Earth relative to its distance from the Sun and Moon.
c. mass of the Earth relative to the mass of the Sun and Moon.
d. orbit of the Earth.
28. Why is Earth’s tidal distortion lined up as seen in this image?
a. Earth’s rotation frictionally drags the oceans ahead of the Moon’s orbit.
b. The Sun perturbs the tidal bulge.
c. Tectonic motion perturbs the tidal bulge.
d. Winds drive the tides, not the Moon.
29. Which object besides the Earth has a significant magnetic field?
a. Moon c. Venus
b. Mercury d. Mars
30. Which of the following planetary characteristics might explain the lack of a magnetic field?
a. distance from the Sun c. slow rotation
b. a liquid iron core d. All of these choices are valid.
31. Which of the following statements is true about the Earth’s magnetic field?
a. It is caused by a large bar magnet in the Earth.
b. It is perfectly aligned with the rotational poles.
c. Its magnetic poles are rigidly fixed in location.
d. Its magnetic polarity reverses roughly every 500,000 years.
32. The current theory is that a planet will have a strong magnetic field if it has
a. fast rotation and a solid core. c. fast rotation and a liquid core.
b. slow rotation and a liquid core. d. slow rotation and a solid core.
33. The Earth’s magnetic field is due to
a. rapid rotation. c. an electrically conducting outer core.
b. a circulating liquid outer core. d. All of these choices are required.
34. Earth’s innermost core is solid, not liquid, because
a. the core temperature is lower than the outer core.
b. differentiation caused all of the heavy, solid material to sink to the bottom while Earth was forming.
c. all the liquid has moved up into the mantle via convection.
d. the pressure is too high for a liquid state.
35. Based on the assumption that a liquid conducting core and rapid rotation are both required for a magnetic field to operate, which terrestrial planets would you expect to have magnetic fields?
a. Earth only c. Earth, Mercury, and Mars only
b. Earth, Venus, and Mars only d. Earth and Mercury only
36. Plate tectonics are responsible for the formation of
a. mountain ranges. c. volcanoes.
b. ocean trenches. d. All choices are valid.
37. Which of the following are sites of volcanic activity on Earth?
a. local hot spots c. subduction zones
b. spreading centers d. All choices are valid.
38. What drives plate tectonics?
a. radiation in the inner core c. convection in the upper mantle
b. convection in the outer core d. seismic activity in the lithosphere
39. Which of the following will be a consequence of Earth’s consumption of the bulk of its radioactive “fuel” in the future?
a. Earth will spin more slowly on its axis.
b. The liquid interior of the planet will solidify.
c. Volcanic activity will increase.
d. Ocean tides will cease.
40. The North American Plate and the Pacific Plate are sliding past one another at a rate of approximately 3 centimeters per year (cm/yr). San Francisco, which is located on the edge of the North American Plate, is sliding southward toward Los Angeles, which is located on the Pacific Plate. If they are currently separated by a distance of 600 kilometers (km), how many years will it take for the two cities to meet?
a. 3 million years c. 20 million years
b. 300,000 years d. 20,000 years
41. The area marked B in the following image below can best be described as a
a. plate-spreading region. c. subduction zone.
b. convection cell. d. fault.
42. The area marked C in the following image can best be described as a
a. plate-spreading region. c. subduction zone.
b. convection cell. d. fault.
43. What is responsible for the large canyon (Valles Marineris) stretching across the middle of Mars?
a. tectonic activity c. water erosion
b. volcanic activity d. grazing asteroid impact
44. If the Himalaya mountain range is currently 8,000 meters in height and is rising at a rate of 0.5 meter per century because of the convergence of two continental plates, how long did it take to create this mountain range?
a. 1,600 years c. 1.6 million years
b. 160,000 years d. 160 million years
45. A planet in which volcanism is highly active would likely
a. have a high density of visible impact craters.
b. have no atmosphere.
c. show relatively little evidence of impacts.
d. have a completely smooth surface.
46. The more fluid the lava erupting from a volcano is, the more likely that volcano may be
a. part of a chain of volcanoes. c. a composite volcano.
b. very steep. d. a shield volcano.
47. The largest volcanic mountains in the Solar System are found on
a. Mercury. c. Earth.
b. Venus. d. Mars.
48. Which of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System has the most volcanoes?
a. Mercury c. Earth
b. Venus d. Mars
49. Which of the following contributes to tall volcanoes or mountains on a planet?
a. rapid rotation c. age
b. low surface gravity d. liquid in the core
50. Which of the following is a factor that helps explain Earth’s lack of craters compared with the Moon?
a. wind erosion c. liquid water on the surface
b. larger atmosphere d. All choices are valid.
51. How might liquid water exist on Mars where the temperature is routinely below the freezing point of water?
a. Martian water may contain salts, which lowers the freezing temperature of the water.
b. Ice is melted by the heat of geological activity.
c. Liquid water emerges from Martian volcanoes.
d. Water precipitates from the Martian atmosphere.
1. What are the four main processes that shape the surfaces of the terrestrial planets?
2. Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on the Moon?
3. Name the terrestrial planets in order of increasing distance from the Sun. Name the terrestrial planets in order of increasing geological age of their surfaces.
4. Why are impact craters rare on the surface of Earth but plentiful on Mercury?
5. If a sample of Martian rock has one isotope of 238U for every seven isotopes of 207Pb, what would the age of this rock be? Note that 238U decays to 207Pb with a half-life of about 700 million years. Assume that there was no 207Pb in the rock when it originally formed.
6. How does the radioactive heating of Earth vary from when it was first formed 4.6 billion years ago until today?
7. What causes the tides on Earth, and how often do high and low tides occur?
8. Without direct measurements, how can the internal structure of Solar System bodies be estimated?
9. Given the Earth’s mass of 5.97 
1024 kilograms (kg) and radius of 6.378 106 meters (m), and that the volume of a sphere is 
what is the Earth’s average density? Compare it with the typical rock density on the surface of 2,900 kg/m3. Why are they different?
10. Describe one form of tectonic disruption on Mercury, Venus, and Mars, respectively, and how these disruptions formed.
11. How do we know that Earth’s magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times in the past?
12. How can a planet or moon that is inactive geologically have incidents of volcanism?
13. Whereas volcanic activity usually results in reduced visible evidence of impact cratering on a planet’s surface, how can visible evidence of both impact cratering AND volcanic activity be reconciled?
14. The following image is of Olympus Mons on Mars. How are the volcanoes on Venus and Mars different from the volcanoes on Earth? What might explain this difference?
15. 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.
16. The following image is of Olympus Mons on Mars. What is it, and what evidence does it show about Mars?
17. Label the geological processes that create the features in the following images.
18. What would be the significance of finding water on other planets?
19. What geological processes created the streaks seen with the craters in this image of Mars?
20. What geological processes created the meandering and braided patterns in this image of Mars?
