Exam Prep Chapter 7 Atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars

Chapter 7: Atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

7.1 Atmospheres Change over Time

7.1a Explain why planets naturally lose their atmospheres.

7.1b Relate thermal equilibrium to the average kinetic energy of particles.

7.1c Describe the origin of terrestrial planets’ secondary atmospheres.

7.2 Secondary Atmospheres Evolve

7.2a Explain why planetary mass affects a planet’s ability to retain its atmosphere.

7.2b Describe the atmospheric greenhouse effect.

7.2c Explain the physical processes governing the formation and evolution of terrestrial planet atmospheres.

7.3 Earth’s Atmosphere Has Detailed Structure

7.3a Explain how Earth developed an oxygen-rich atmosphere.

7.3b Compare terrestrial planets’ atmospheric pressures and structures.

7.3c Explain the causes of auroras.

7.3d Relate a planet’s rate of rotation to its wind patterns.

7.4 The Atmospheres of Venus and Mars Differ from Earth’s

7.4a Describe the atmospheric characteristics of Venus and Mars.

7.4b Explain the causes for the atmospheric characteristics of Venus and Mars.

7.5 Earth’s Climate Is Changing

7.5a Compare and contrast weather and climate.

7.5b Distinguish between natural and anthropogenic greenhouse effects.

7.5c Summarize the evidence that human activity is causing global climate change.

Working It Out 7.1

Working It Out 7.1a Calculate a planet’s temperature based on its parent star and albedo.

Chapter 7: Atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. We do not expect Mercury to have an atmosphere at all because

a. it is small.

b. it has a high temperature on its surface facing the sun.

c. it is bombarded by intense solar radiation.

d. All choices are valid.

2. Why did the terrestrial planets lose their primary atmospheres?

a. Their low gravities couldn’t hold them.

b. The solar wind blew them away.

c. Their high surface temperatures made them chemically react with rock.

d. The centrifugal force from their fast rotation rates made them fly off.

3. The nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere came from

a. decomposition of ammonia delivered by cometary impacts.

b. photosynthesis in algae and plants.

c. oxidation.

d. accretion from the solar disk.

4. How did nitrogen become a constituent of atmospheres on terrestrial planets?

a. decomposition of ammonia by sunlight

b. photosynthesis in algae and plants

c. oxidation

d. accretion from the solar disk

5. Which molecule moves with the fastest average speed in Earth’s atmosphere in thermal equilibrium?

a. water (atomic mass 18) c. nitrogen (atomic mass 28)

b. carbon dioxide (atomic mass 44) d. oxygen (atomic mass 32)

6. Which of the following processes did NOT contribute to Earth’s secondary atmosphere?

a. volcanism c. oxidation

b. accretion d. impacts

7. What is true about a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas that is in thermal equilibrium?

a. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms all move at the same speeds.

b. Oxygen atoms will move four times faster than hydrogen atoms.

c. All atoms will move with the same average kinetic energies.

d. All choices are valid.

8. What determines the kinetic energy of a particle?

a. mass only c. size only

b. speed only d. mass and speed

9. What is true about a gas in thermal equilibrium?

a. All particles have the same average kinetic energy.

b. All particles have the same speeds.

c. Heavier particles move faster than lighter ones.

d. Particles won’t interact with each other.

10. Which of the following contributes most to the large difference in the average daytime and nighttime temperatures on the Moon? The lack of

a. a hydrosphere. c. an atmosphere.

b. a magnetosphere. d. geological activity.

11. Earth releases the energy it receives from the Sun by emitting __________ radiation.

a. infrared c. ultraviolet

b. visible d. radio

12. Based solely on mass, which of the following terrestrial objects would you expect to retain a secondary atmosphere?

a. Mercury c. Mars

b. Venus d. the Moon

13. The greenhouse effect raises Earth’s surface temperature by roughly

a. 3.3 kelvin (K). c. 330 K.

b. 33 K. d. 3300 K.

14. The presence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor in a planet’s atmosphere is direct evidence of

a. high surface temperatures as the planet formed.

b. volcanic activity.

c. cometary impacts.

d. the presence of liquid water early in the planet’s history.

15. The main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the terrestrial planets are

a. oxygen and nitrogen. c. carbon dioxide and water vapor.

b. methane and ozone. d. hydrogen and helium.

16. The major difference in the composition of Earth’s atmosphere compared with the atmospheres of Venus and Mars is a direct consequence of

a. life on the planet. c. a moderate greenhouse effect.

b. a geologically active interior. d. the presence of liquid water.

17. If it were not for the greenhouse effect on Earth,

a. there would be no liquid water.

b. life as we know it would not have developed.

c. it would be much colder.

d. All of the above are true.

18. Which of the following factors can directly influence the temperature of a planet?

a. the luminosity of the Sun c. the albedo of the planet

b. the distance of the planet from the Sun d. All choices are valid.

19. Examine the following plot. Which planet might have large temperature ranges as a result of day and night sides of the planet?

a. Mercury c. Earth

b. Venus d. Uranus

20. Examine the following plot. What can be said about the observed temperatures compared with those predicted by the equilibrium model for most of the planets in our solar system?

a. They are all highly consistent. c. Most are observed cooler.

b. Most are observed warmer. d. They don’t agree at all.

21. Examine the following plot. What might explain the discrepancies in the predicted versus measured temperatures of the planets?

a. They may not freely radiate as blackbodies.

b. Different sides may be heated differently.

c. There may be heating sources other than sunlight.

d. All choices are valid.

22. If Saturn has a semimajor axis of 10 astronomical units (AU) and an albedo of 0.3, what is its expected temperature?

a. 81 K c. 35 K

b. 65 K d. 170 K

23. An asteroid with an albedo of 0.1 and a comet with an albedo of 0.6 are orbiting at roughly the same distance from the Sun. How do their temperatures compare?

a. They both have the same temperature.

b. The comet is hotter than the asteroid.

c. The asteroid is hotter than the comet.

d. You must know their distance to compare their temperatures.

24. Earth has roughly __________ times more atmospheric pressure than Mars and __________ times less than Venus.

a. 10; 100 c. 10; 10

b. 100; 100 d. 100; 10

25. __________ in our atmosphere is a direct consequence of the emergence of life.

a. Carbon dioxide c. Nitrogen

b. Water vapor d. Oxygen

26. Without the ozone layer, life on Earth would be in danger from increased levels of __________ radiation.

a. ultraviolet c. gamma ray

b. X-ray d. infrared

27. Examine the following image.

Auroras are

a. gases in the atmosphere interacting with the solar wind.

b. the Van Allen belts of Earth hitting its atmosphere.

c. the ozone layer being destroyed.

d. a product of the atmospheric greenhouse effect.

28. The Northern Lights are caused by

a. decay of radiative materials in the atmosphere.

b. absorption and remission of solar UV light.

c. static electricity in the atmosphere.

d. energetic particles from the Sun interacting with Earth’s atmosphere.

29. Oxygen was first introduced into Earth’s atmosphere by

a. cyanobacteria. c. trees.

b. dinosaurs. d. volcanic activity.

30. Examine the following figure. In the Southern Hemisphere, hurricanes __________ compared with hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere because of the Coriolis effect.

a. rotate in the opposite direction c. move from east to west

b. cause more damage d. have larger wind speeds

31. It took approximately __________ years for oxygen to become a large component of Earth’s atmosphere.

a. 3,000 c. 3 billion

b. 1 million d. 1 billion

32. Approximately how many years ago did oxygen reach its current levels in the Earth’s atmosphere?

a. 250 million c. 3 billion

b. 1 million d. 1 billion

33. If plant life were to die on Earth,

a. the atmosphere would become denser.

b. oxygen would disappear from the atmosphere.

c. the atmosphere would become too sparse.

d. nitrogen would disappear from the atmosphere.

34. Planets without a significant magnetic field would likely not have

a. Hadley circulation. c. auroras.

b. atmospheres. d. oxygen in the atmosphere.

35. What weather or climate phenomenon is a consequence of the Coriolis effect?

a. snow c. rain

b. hurricanes d. thunderstorms

36. Which cause of auroras also causes increasing temperature of Earth’s atmosphere in the thermosphere?

a. increased amounts of greenhouse gases

b. a larger proportion of ozone than in lower layers

c. interaction of solar wind with particles of earth atmosphere

d. Earth’s magnetic field

37. Examine the following figure. What is the main driver that causes Hadley circulation in a planet’s atmosphere to break up into zonal winds?

a. the planet’s rapid rotation

b. heating from the solar wind

c. hurricanes developing along the planet’s equator

d. convection driven by solar heating

38. The different colors of light observed during auroras are due to

a. solar wind particles of different energy interacting with the ozone layer.

b. solar wind particles heating atmospheric gases to different temperatures.

c. radioactive decay of solar wind particles.

d. de-excitation of different atmospheric gases excited by solar wind particles.

39. From what aspect of the rotation of Earth does the Coriolis effect arise?

a. Locations closer to the poles are moving at a larger speed than locations farther from the poles.

b. Locations closer to the poles are rotating faster than locations farther from the poles.

c. Locations closer to the poles are moving at a slower speed than locations farther from the poles.

d. The 23.5° tilt of Earth’s rotation axis.

40. Which of the following has an atmosphere of primarily carbon dioxide?

a. Mercury c. Earth

b. Venus d. the Moon

41. Which of the following has an atmosphere of primarily carbon dioxide?

a. Mercury c. Earth

b. Mars d. the Moon

42. What is the primary cause for the differences in climate between Mars and Venus?

a. The compositions of their atmospheres.

b. The shape of their orbits.

c. The thicknesses of their atmospheres.

d. The times at which their atmospheres formed.

43. Which of the following causes more extreme seasonal variations on Mars compared with Earth? Mars’

a. orbital eccentricity is smaller.

b. spin axis is largely tilted with respect to its orbital plane.

c. atmosphere is much lower in density.

d. rotation takes longer.

44. Humans cannot survive on the surface of Mars for long periods because

a. there is not enough oxygen in the atmosphere.

b. the range in temperature between day and night is too large.

c. the flux of ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface is too high.

d. All of these are valid reasons.

45. Given the thickness and composition of Venus’s atmosphere, by how much would you expect its average surface temperature to change between day and night?

a. almost no change at all

b. by tens of kelvins (like Earth)

c. by hundreds of kelvins (like Mercury)

d. The answer depends on where Venus is in its orbit (closer to or farther from the Sun).

46. Venus’s surface temperature is fairly uniform from the equator to the poles because

a. Venus rotates very rapidly, which causes strong zonal winds.

b. Venus is covered by a thick cloud layer that absorbs most of the sunlight that falls on it.

c. the carbon dioxide in Venus’s atmosphere efficiently emits infrared radiation.

d. Venus rotates slowly, so Coriolis forces do not disrupt Hadley circulation.

47. Examine the following figure.

The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has been increasing over the past 50 years because of

a. global warming. c. the burning of fossil fuels.

b. the growth of the ozone hole. d. increased energy output from the Sun.

48. Examine the following figure. The top trend line is the actual sea level rise over time while the bottom line is ocean mass added over time. Why are they different?

a. Land masses are sinking.

b. Formation of more icebergs displaces more water.

c. Warmer water expanding is more significant than melting glaciers.

d. periodic El Nino and La Nina conditions

49. All weather and wind on Earth is a result of convection in the

a. troposphere. c. mesosphere.

b. stratosphere. d. ionosphere.

50. Which of the following is a source of anthropogenic climate change?

a. changes in the Sun’s energy output

b. changes in Earth’s orbit or the inclination of its rotation axis

c. volcanic eruptions, which can block sunlight

d. increasing greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels

1. The first atmospheres of the terrestrial planets formed from hydrogen and helium. Why? What happened to this gas?

2. Most of Earth’s present-day atmosphere comes from a combination of what three sources?

3. Where is most of Earth’s supply of carbon dioxide today?

4. What factors control a planet’s temperature?

5. Given the Sun’s known luminosity, what two factors control a planet’s temperature?

6. What would you expect the temperature of a comet to be if its distance was 100 AU from the Sun? Assume that it is very icy and reflective so that its albedo is equal to 0.6. Does it matter what the radius of the comet is?

7. Given its current location in the solar system, what characteristic would have to be changed to allow Mercury to retain an atmosphere?

8. Given its current location in the solar system, what characteristic would have to be changed to allow Mars to retain an atmosphere?

9. Why does the temperature decrease as you go higher up in altitude in the troposphere on Earth?

10. Why does the temperature increase as you go higher up in altitude in the Earth’s stratosphere, and what is a consequence of this temperature reversal from the troposphere?

11. The global winds on Earth are the result of a combination of what three things?

12. The top of Earth’s thermosphere can reach 1000 K. What causes this high temperature?

13. The top of Earth’s thermosphere can reach 1000 K. Why would this high temperature not feel warm on your skin?

14. Why are auroras seen mainly near the poles and not everywhere on Earth?

15. If sunlight cannot penetrate Venus’s cloud layer efficiently, why does the temperature remain so high?

16. On Mars, water would exist in what forms (solid, liquid, or gas)? How does this vary with the seasons on Mars? Why are the seasonal variations on Mars different between the northern and southern hemispheres?

17. In the following figure, why is it so difficult to see the surface of Mars in September compared with June?

18. Why does Venus have so little water compared with Earth?

19. Examine the following figure. Carbon dioxide levels in Earth’s atmosphere have been rising by about 4 percent per decade because of the use of fossil fuels. If this trend continues, what could happen to Earth?

20. Global warming will increase the amount of water in the atmosphere and produce more clouds. How might this affect the Earth’s climate?