Example Chapter 8 Questions PDF

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Example Chapter 8 Questions Mercury has the widest variation in surface temperatures between night and day of any planet in the solar system. True False

Mercury and the Earth have about the same average density, but Mercury's core is much larger, compared to the size of the body. True

False

An atmosphere can escape a planet if the escape velocity is six times the average molecular speed at that temperature. True

False

The orbit of Mercury is more elliptical than that of any other terrestrial planet. True

False

Two Mercury years are the same length as three Mercury sidereal days. True False

For Mercury, the tidal stress of the Sun is much greater at aphelion than at perihelion. True False

Ice is widely observed in the dark floors of many Moon's craters all over the surface. True

False

Ice is widely observed in the dark floors of many craters all over the surface. True

False

Mercury has "weird terrain" directly opposite its huge Caloris Impact Basin. True

False

Relative to the size of the planet, Mercury has the largest core of any planet. True

False Mercury's magnetic field is surprisingly comparable to the Earth's field in strength.

True

False Mercury is very hard to observe from Earth because: it always appears as only half lit from Earth.

it never gets more than 28 degrees from the Sun's glare.

its elliptical orbit causes it to change speed unpredictably.

its barren surface reflects too little sunlight; it is almost invisible always.

its very rugged surface does not allow radar to bounce back to Earth.

Comparing the densities of the Moon and Mercury, we find: the Moon is slightly denser than Mercury.

similar in surface appearance, they are also similar in density.

that density increases as we go outward from the Sun.

the Moon's is similar to Earth's crust, while Mercury's is similar to the entire Earth.

both are much denser than our water-covered planet

The lunar mare are found: anywhere large meteor impacts created deep basins.

almost entirely on the far side, which was more likely to be hit.

almost entirely on Earth side, where the crust was thinner. mainly in the south polar region, where the largest impact occurred

not at all, since no liquid water really exists on the Moon.

The lunar highlands are: more rugged, heavily cratered , and older than the lunar mare.

made of lighter colored, younger rocks than the mare.

formed by plate tectonics, like the Earth's Himalayas. formed by volcanic eruptions, much like our Andes.

brighter than the mare, since they are covered with reflective glass from the rays.

The youngest features visible with telescopes on the Moon are: the volcanoes seen erupting in the highlands.

the craters sitting atop the mare.

the darkest regions of the mare. the bright polar caps of nitrogen ice.

the scarps recently created by tectonic activity.

What is true of the lunar highlands? They are not found on the Moon

They are less heavily cratered than the mare.

They are the darker regions of the Moon seen with the naked eye.

They are younger than the darker mare.

They are the oldest part of the lunar surface..

To measure how Mercury spins, astronomers sent ________ to Mercury and used the Doppler shift to determine how fast it was rotating. probes

laser mirrors

radar beams

a satellite

a single frequency X-ray signal

What did radar astronomers find in the polar regions of Mercury? green valleys

large mare basins, such as near our Moon's south pole

water ice that never melts in the deep craters

polar caps of dry ice that vary seasonally, much like Mars

auroral displays much like Earth's Which statement about the rotations of the Moon and Mercury is FALSE? Our Moon is in a 1:1 synch with the Earth, keeping the same side toward us

Mercury is in the 3:2 synch with the Sun, with the same side Sunward at perihelion.

Like our Moon, Mercury does not rotate at all, keeping the same side facing the Sun.

On Mercury, three days exactly equal two years.

On the Moon, each "day" lasts about 15 earth days of constant sunlight. How does Mercury's rotation relate to the Sun? It always keeps one face tidally locked toward the Sun, as our Moon does with us.

Its year is much shorter, only 88 days, than its slow rotation of 243 days on its axis.

Its rotation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances.

Its day is the same length as its year.

It does not spin at all, being tidal stopped by the solar tides. Mercury presents the same side to the Sun

every other orbit.

all the time, just like our Moon. every 12 hours.

every third orbit.

twice every orbit.

What is true of the Moon's orbital and rotational periods? The rotational period is longer.

The orbital period is longer.

The rotational period varies with the Moon's phase. They are equal.

The orbital period is greatest at full moon.

The chief erosive agent now on the Moon is: lunar ice melting and refreezing in the polar regions.

lava flows welling up in the mare.

volcanic vents in the rugged highlands.

the rain of micrometeorites chewing up the regolith.

rain from cometary debris melting as it enters the moon's atmosphere.

The rate of cratering: has remained constant over the last 4.6 billion years.

has recently increased with more collisions in the asteroid belt.

fluctuates over time, with massive bodies occasionally coming in from the Oort Cloud.

shows that most interplanetary debris hit soon after the formation of the solar system.

The average rate of erosion on the Moon is far less than on Earth because the crust of the Moon is much denser than the earth's crust.

the Moon is much younger than the earth.

the Moon lacks wind, water and an atmosphere.

the Moon's magnetic field protects it from the solar wind better than ours does.

the Moon's mare long ago dried up, so there is only wind erosion there.

Mercury's surface most resembles that of which other body? Earth Moon

Venus

Mars Mercury and the Moon appear similar, but we note that: the lunar mare are darker than Mercury's intercrater plains.

Mercury has "weird terrain" opposite its huge Caloris basin.

Mercury has striking lobate scarps due to the shrinking of its core.

Mercury does not always keep the same face toward the Sun, while the Moon does have the Earthside always facing us.

All of the above are correct.

The scarps on Mercury were probably caused by tectonic activity.

meteorite bombardment.

a tidal bulge.

volcanism.

the interior cooling and shrinking. How does Mercury's magnetic field compare to our own? Like Venus, Mercury has no detectable magnetic field.

Like Venus and the Earth, it too has undergone polarity reversals

It is 1/100th as strong as ours, but does deflect the solar wind to some degree.

It is amazingly strong, comparable to our own.

It was predicted from Mercury's rapid rotation and molten core vulcanism

How are the polar regions of Mercury and the Moon similar? Both are covered by huge mare-type basins from impacts

Both seem to have ice pockets in the deepest, darkest crater floors.

Both have bright dry ice polar caps, like Mars. Both have lakes of liquid water under their regolith.

Both have been hit by large comets that melted there.

Mercury's evolution was different from the Moon's because: Mercury developed a dense atmosphere while the Moon never did.

Mercury was located farther from Earth, so experienced no tidal forces.

Mercury was subject to negligible asteroid bombardment compare to Moon.

dense Mercury had an iron core that shrank, creating the lobate scarps.

Mercury developed a strong magnetic field to protect it from solar radiation....